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The Salt Lake Area Community Action Program began operating in 1965 under the jurisdiction of the Community Services Administration of the federal government. Under the provisions of the national Community Action Program, local CAPs were to seek solutions to the social and economic problems related to poverty by sponsoring diverse programs that were targeted toward specific needs of local communities. Community Action Programs were to be funded by state, federal and private funds, and policies and programs were to be developed through a locally based Board of Directors. Originally, the Salt Lake Area CAP was to serve the entire Salt Lake County and it sponsored a number of programs including Model Cities, the Community Development Program, WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), and several area community councils. But despite its involvement in programs throughout the county, the Salt Lake CAP's main focus was on the Central City. Evidence of that main focus is the Central City Neighborhood Council, an organization not only funded by CAP, but located in the same office and staffed by CAP personnel.

In the mid 1970's, the national Community Action Program came under attack in Congress because local agencies were unable to adequately monitor funds which led to "abuse of federal monies." Further investigations indicated that the major portion of the funds were being used for administrative cost instead of reaching the poor for which they were intended. At this same time, the Salt Lake CAP came under fire from the City Commission for undocumented spending of state and federal funds. In 1975, the City Commission declared itself a Public Community Action Agency, taking control of all funds designated for the Community Action Program. Not until CAP officials agreed to a number of terms, mostly concerning record keeping and auditing, did the City Commission agree to allow the Salt Lake Community Action Program to continue its operations. In 1981, controversy over the Community Action Program and federal budget cuts threatened the continuation of local CAP's. In the end, the structure of the Community Action Program was revamped in favor of a block grant program rather than appropriating lump sums to local CAP's. In compliance with the new program structure, the Salt Lake CAP moved away from its sponsorship of social welfare agencies and began to seek funds for specific block redevelopment projects.