About RCAP
Printer-friendly
Email to friend
RCAP is a national service-delivery network that works toward these outcomes with small, rural communities:
-
improved environmental and community health
-
utilities that are in compliance with federal and state regulations
-
sustainable water and waste-disposal systems
-
increased capability of local leaders to address current and future needs
RCAP programs help communities that are seeking to build, maintain or expand their water and wastewater infrastructure. We provide:
- on-site technical assistance
- training in the financial, managerial and operational areas of water and wastewater systems
- educational resources
- financial resources
Every year, more than 150 RCAP specialists based in the field provide assistance to more than 2,000 communities in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The staff includes registered professional engineers, certified operators, utility finance and board-management specialists, community planners, and experts with other relevant backgrounds. Most of the communities we assist are economically disadvantaged and have populations under 2,500, and many have significant minority populations.
RCAP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its funding comes solely from federal government agencies:
- Office of Community Services of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water and the Office of Waste Water Management)
The RCAP network is made up of a national office in Washington, D.C., and six regional partners.
The national office engages in program management, applied research, advocacy and policy development, and public education on rural issues, especially with respect to community infrastructure. It also supports the work of the other parts of the network – the regional partners - by obtaining financial support, sharing knowledge and best practices across the network, and promoting dialog to help communities understand the relationship between the environment, public health, and economic viability. It does this by representing the partnership in rural associations, networks, regulatory committees and coalitions, along with other ways.
Each RCAP regional partner is an autonomous organization with its own governance, staff, structure, and other sources of funding. Even the official names of some partners do not resemble the common name of Rural Community Assistance Partnership. Each partner provides an array of services that directly respond to the needs of its area. These region-specific services include affordable housing-development assistance; loans for water and wastewater infrastructure, as well as housing and business development; community and economic development; job training and placement; community-based education programs; and special programming for underserved populations.
What binds the RCAP network together are the programs each regional partner has in the water and wastewater sector. This work in each region with the collaboration of the national office is done together under the name of Rural Community Assistance Partnership.
