The following page contains a brief description of the agencies you will see mentioned throughout this site and in the related sites. In order to allow you to move quickly to the agency of your choice, the following Menu has been constructed. When you CLICK on an agency listed in the Menu, you will be moving within this page (no other pages will load). However, there are links to other pages in the script below, including the section, "Return to a Staff Member's Page" immediately following the Menu.

Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)

The ARC is a regional economic development agency representing a unique partnership of federal, state, and local governments. Established by an act of Congress in 1965, ARC is composed of the governors of the 13 Appalachian states and a federal co-chairman, who is appointed by the president. The 13 Appalachian states are: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Each year Congress appropriates funds, which ARC allocates among its member states. The Appalachian governors, consulting with local development districts, draw up annual Appalachian development plans and select, for ARC approval, projects to implement them.

Community Development Block Grant Administration (CDBG)

The Community Development Block Grant Program is administered by the Department of Economic and Community Development in the state of Mississippi. The Golden Triangle PDD staff has been successful in negotiating contracts to provide administrative services for many projects. Project activities include housing, fire protection, water, sewer, public building construction, and street and road construction.

Planning studies have been funded in the District through CDBG and include a sewer evaluation study, fire protection plans, a digital address system for rural roads, a street improvement study, and a water improvement study. Housing planning grants have been awarded in two municipalities.

Community Resource Council (CRC)

This Council is an informally organized local group comprised of community resource providers. The Council holds a luncheon meeting the first Wednesday of each month and offers information on a designated resource agency at each monthly meeting.

East Mississippi Community College and the Golden Triangle Campus (EMCC; GTC)

EMCC, located in Scooba, MS, is one of fifteen community colleges within the statewide network. The GTC is located centrally among the cities of Columbus, Starkville, and West Point, and is a satellite of EMCC, which offers post-secondary vocational and technical, training opportunities. Additionally, the GTC sponsors JTPA vocational training programs, Adult Basic Education training, the Single Parent/Displaced Homemaker Program, and the Skill/Tech: One-Stop Career Center.

Economic Development Administration (EDA)

The EDA was established under the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121), as amended, to generate new jobs, help retain existing jobs, and to stimulate industrial and commercial growth in economically-distressed areas of the United States. EDA assistance is available to rural and urban areas of the nation experiencing high unemployment, low income, or sudden and severe economic distress.

EDA Minority Business Enterprise Program

This program focuses on aiding minorities, including women.

EDA Small Business Assistance Act

Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Job Training Partnership Act Administration (JTPA)

Golden Triangle PDD works with the Department of Economic and Community Development, Employment Training Division, and the Mississippi Service Delivery Area to identify job-training needs for this area. This is accomplished by GTPDD providing a JTPA Planner to work in coordination with the JTPA Local Planning Council.

This planning council is comprised of private and public sector representatives from each of the seven counties. These representatives meet to review demographic and labor market data, to determine labor market needs in the area, to recommend JTPA programs which meet the needs of the unemployed as well as the labor market demands.

Mississippi Employment Security Commission (MESC)

The local offices of the MESC provide an automated labor exchange system between businesses and industry in need of qualified employees and the unemployed seeking appropriate employment referrals. In addition to the administration of the JTPA On-The-Job Training and Individual Referral Programs, MESC local offices provide the enrollment and certification of participants for other JTPA programs operated within the District.

MS Dept. of Human Services (MDHS; DHS)

The MDHS county offices provide economic assistance that includes basic living expenses, nutritious food, and medical care and protective services for children. The major programs administered are: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (ADC); the Food Stamp Program; the Medicaid Program; the Emergency Food Distribution Program; Food Stamp Employment and Training; Child Support Enforcement, and Family and Children's Services (intervention for neglected and abused children).

Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services (MDRS)

The Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services provides vocational rehabilitation services to individuals who are impeded from securing and maintaining employment by physical and/or mental limitations. MDRS operates JTPA Programs that are specifically designed to serve its rehabilitation clients.

The Mississippi Regional Housing Authority (MRHA)

The MRHA provides low-rent housing for individuals and families who are economically disadvantaged. The Family Self-Sufficiency Program, operated by the local housing authority, provides for increases in a resident's income to be placed in a escrow account which is awarded to the individual/family at the time of the resident's termination from public assistance.

MS Dept. of Wildlife, Parks, and Fisheries:  Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)

The City of Eupora received a grant for picnic area improvements adjacent to the proposed White's Creek Watershed Lake. The town of Sturgis received funding for improvements to the local baseball / softball field. The City of Louisville received funding from LWCF for acquisition of land and for the construction of recreational improvements.

Prairie Opportunity, Inc (POI)

Prairie Opportunity, Inc is a non-profit, private corporation chartered by the state of Mississippi in 1965. Its charter was last amended in 1978 when the counties of Winston and Lowndes were added to its service area, thereby including all seven counties in the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District. POI offers an array of community services including Head Start, and has been the principal service provider of the JTPA Summer Youth Employment and Training Program in the Golden Triangle area.

Rural Development Authority (USDA)

This organization was formally Farmer's Home Administration.

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

 Child care assistance may be received for parents who meet minimum eligibility requirements for the TANF block grant program. The client's county Department of Human Services office determines eligibility for the TANF recipient. A referral is then forwarded to the TANF Case Management office where the need for client support services is determined.

The TANF block grant was established by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Effective July 1, 1997, TANF replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) programs. This action eliminated the entitlement to assistance commonly referred to as "welfare". TANF places limits on the amount of time an individual can receive cash benefit payments and requires that recipients work for the benefits.