Community Action Committee, Inc. of Chambers-Tallapoosa-Coosa
Concentrated early-childhood need: a 1,723-slot planning gap for children at or below 130% of the federal poverty level.
Counties served (3): Chambers, Coosa, Tallapoosa
Territory
Service area per ADECA — Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) service areas.
Data readiness
- Source year
- 2024 planning-context county table (report also contains 2025 estimate tables)
- County indicator coverage
- 100% of counties
- Impact dataset
- Pending
Need snapshot
Regional values from CACCTC 2026 Community Needs Assessment. These describe the whole service area and are not applied to individual counties.
- Regional population
- 84,803
- Children under age 5
- 4,239
- Regional poverty rate
- 18.0%
- Children at or below 130% FPL (Chambers + Tallapoosa)
- 2,811
- Current Head Start + licensed child-care slots
- 1,088
- Early-childhood planning gap
- 1,723
- Children experiencing homelessness
- 173
- Disability-related planning proxies
- 419
- Transportation-assistance programs identified
- 5
- Mental-health providers identified
- 14
2024 planning table
Another report table uses 2025 estimates; source-year specificity is retained rather than blended.
Approximate
Author-calculated regional approximation
Alabama benchmark 15.2%; U.S. benchmark 10.6% in the source.
Tri-county planning evidence.
Tri-county planning evidence.
County comparison
Share of residents below the federal poverty level.
| County | Poverty | Median HH income | Labor force | Commute | Broadband | Child food insecurity | Age 65+ | Disability <65 | Living wage 1A+1C | Gross rent | Owner occupied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chambers | 18.9% | $49,656 | 55.0% | 23.1 min | 82.1% | 29.6% | 21.4% | 14.9% | $32.93/hr | $871 | 71.8% |
| Tallapoosa | 17.0% | $59,356 | 53.5% | 25.2 min | 83.9% | 27.0% | 24.7% | 14.2% | $31.94/hr | $765 | 76.1% |
| Coosa | 19.1% | $57,355 | 47.4% | 31.5 min | 80.7% | 27.1% | 27.4% | 19.6% | $31.52/hr | $665 | 81.6% |
Community voice & listening sessions
Values are percentages of surveyed households with children (and retirees for the comparison), reported as community input rather than population estimates.
Households with children — survey signals
- Lack of quality jobs72
- Low pay as a barrier to finding/keeping work61
- Childcare + transportation barriers to employment44
- Positive life satisfaction (households with children)48
- Positive life satisfaction (retirees)64
Planning signals
- 1High child poverty / concentrated preschool needDrives the ERSEA expansion model.
- 2Food insecurity / material hardshipChild food insecurity 27.0%–29.6% across the tri-county area.
- 3Unmet early-childhood capacity1,088 current slots against 2,811 eligible children.
- 4Elevated ERSEA priority populations173 children experiencing homelessness; 419 disability-related planning proxies.
- 5Lower family well-being / constrained mobility5 transportation-assistance programs and 14 mental-health providers identified.
Needs vs response
Documented need
Unmet early-childhood capacity
2,811 children at or below 130% FPL in Chambers + Tallapoosa against 1,088 Head Start and licensed child-care slots — a 1,723-slot planning gap.
CACCTC 2026 Community Needs Assessment · 2024 planning-context county table (report also contains 2025 estimate tables)
Planning response
Planning Response — phased ERSEA expansion
Planned, not completed: a phased target of +212 slots by 2030 under the current expansion model centered on Chambers and Tallapoosa.
- Planned additional slots by 2030
- 212
- Remaining planning gap
- 1,723
CACCTC 2026 Community Needs Assessment · 2024 planning-context county table (report also contains 2025 estimate tables) · Source year is retained per table rather than blended. The regional poverty figure is an author-calculated regional approximation, not an official published rate.
Data sources & methodology
- County table values use the 2024 planning context for consistent primary comparison; the report also contains 2025 estimate tables which are not blended with them.
- Regional poverty (18.0%) is an author-calculated regional approximation.
- Alabama and U.S. benchmarks are those published in the source document.
- ERSEA planning figures describe planned capacity, not delivered service.
- Curated CNA extract from the published assessment — not a live connection to the assessment document.
Territory source: ADECA — Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) service areas — https://adeca.alabama.gov/CSBG/