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The Rural Office of Community
Services, Inc. (ROCS) is a private, non-profit Community Action Agency located
in Lake Andes, South Dakota. ROCS was incorporated in 1981. CSBG funded
programs service 20 counties including Aurora, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo,
Charles Mix, Clay, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Hanson, Hutchison, Jerauld, Jones,
Lyman, Mellette, Sanborn, Todd, Tripp, Union and Yankton.
In the fiscal year ending in
September 2006, ROCS programs served over 28,000 people in all of the programs.
In general, ROCS clients are senior citizens receiving services that allow them
to stay in their homes; are very poor; are family units with children; have a
lack of education and employable skills; and are representative of the ethnic
makeup of the population. According to the 2000 census, fourteen of the counties
served by ROCS programs have a higher percentage of families in poverty than the
state rate.
The mission of ROCS is to help the
low-income and elderly sector move out of poverty and into self-sufficiency.
The Direct Service programs are designed to meet the needs of our clients. The emergency programs directed by ROCS are emergency food and shelter including
assistance with rent and deposits, food pantries and food vouchers; assistance
with one months utility bill in emergency situations; school supply voucher
program for K-12 students, garden program, employment assistance program for new
employees, and
weatherization kits.
ROCS is governed by a tri-partite
board of directors. Board members represent the public, private and
low-income sectors of the population
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