Results Oriented Management and Accountability

The Monitoring and Assessment Task Force, a group consisting of federal, state, and local Community Services Block Grant Network officials, created ROMA in 1994. Based on principles contained in the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, ROMA provides a framework for continuous growth and improvement among local Community Action Agencies and a basis for state leadership and assistance.

In 1998, the CSBG Reauthorization Act made ROMA implementation a requirement for receiving federal CSBG funds. This statutory mandate changed both the nature and pace of ROMA implementation throughout the CSBG Network.

Local Community Action Agencies are encouraged to undertake a number of ROMA implementation actions that focus on results-oriented management and accountability.

Results Oriented Management Principles

• Assess poverty needs and conditions within the community.
• Define a clear anti-poverty mission for the CSBG Network and the strategies and services to address those needs, both immediate and longer-term, in the context of existing resources and opportunities in the community.
• Identify specific improvements, or results, to be achieved among people with low incomes and communities in which they live.
• Organize and implement programs, services and strategies, both within the agency and among partner organizations, to achieve anticipated results.

Results Oriented Accountability Principles

• Develop and implement processes to identify, measure and record improvements in the condition of people with low incomes and the communities in which they live
• Use information about outcomes, or results, among agency tripartite boards and staff to determine overall effectiveness; inform annual and long-range planning; and promote new funding and community partnership activities.
• Encourage state Community Services Block Grant offices and state Community Action Agency associations to coordinate their work. Aim to advance ROMA performance-based concepts among CSBG-eligible entities through ongoing training and technical assistance.

NASCSP Data

NASCSP Data keeps its members, the federal government, and other interested parties informed about issues related to CSBG and WAP through its publications and training.

National Peer to Peer Project

The ROMA National Peer to Peer (NPTP) Training Project supports training and technical assistance throughout the country, so that Community Action Agencies can increase integration of ROMA into their management and administration.

The NPTP website provides a portal to the National Peer to Peer "Train the Trainer" Project, which operates on a fee-basis. The site serves several functions.

If you are interested in becoming a Nationally Certified ROMA Trainer, visit the NTPT website to learn more about this process and working with other CAAs to expand ROMA efforts.

• Provides information on upcoming trainings (dates and locations)
• Provides general resources for the entire CAA Network
• Provides "member" resources to NCRTs and NCRIs
• Manages applications for individuals seeking to become either Nationally Certified ROMA Trainers (NCRTs) or Nationally Certified ROMA Implementers (NCRIs).
• Houses the portals for the Phase I online ROMA course and the Phase III and IV NCRI Portfolio and Exam.