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RCAP’s national programs: 

1. the Technitrain Program (funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development)
2. the Small Community Drinking Water and Wastewater Projects (funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water and the Office of Waste Water Management)
3. with funding from the Office of Community Services of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services:
   • water and wastewater programs that are run in each of RCAP's six regions
   • the Safety and Security Training and Technical Assistance project

Also: the SMART About Water program (ended Sept. 2009), run by RCAP and the National Environmental Services Center and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water; the program’s website is still operational, and most of the program's materials are available there

These programs are implemented by RCAP’s six regions. The RCAP national office manages these programs, secures funding for them, and coordinates the regular reporting on the use of the funds (only for the Safety and Security Services for Very Small Systems Program portion of No. 3 above).    

• onsite technical assistance to address water-supply and waste-disposal needs
• training for community leaders, utility board and staff members
• publication and dissemination of informational and instructional materials
• financing assistance to undertake infrastructure improvements (through the RCAP Revolving Loan Fund)

• A community is referred to RCAP for assistance (from the Dept. of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service, the state health/environmental department where the community is located, public officials, etc.); or a direct request from a community is made
• Initial data gathering and eligibility determination takes place
• RCAP initiates direct contact with the community and schedules a site visit
• Onsite, RCAP assesses the community’s problems and needs; prioritizes its needs
• RCAP works with the community to develop a problem description and service plan, which includes proposed tasks and projected outcomes
• RCAP obtains an agreement from the community on the proposed service plan
• RCAP assigns the project to a Technical Assistance Provider (TAP) and enrolls the community into its database for record keeping and reporting
• The project service plan is implemented
  • RCAP coordinates the work with the community, helps it to utilize other resources, and helps to keep funder/primacy agencies informed
  • A report on completed tasks is generated; progress on resolving problems and needs is summarized
  • The overall success in achieving a satisfactory resolution of problems and needs is reported
• The projects is closed