Washington County Celebrates the 50-year Anniversary of the Community Development Block Grant Program

Washington County, with the Cities of Beaverton and Hillsboro, are celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the Community Development Block Grant Program. To kick-off the celebration, Washington County’s Board of County Commissioners, along with local City Councils, issued a proclamationin April 2024 recognizing the Community Development Block Grant Program and proclaiming April as Community Development Month. The national anniversary of the Community Development Block Grant Program is August 22, 2024, but the celebration has been ongoing in Washington County since April with the goal of bringing renewed awareness to the federal investments necessary to sustain the programs funding.

As part of our celebration, Washington County's Office of Community Development has spent the last several months highlighting the impact the Community Development Block Grant Program has had on our local communities. Our newly released video spotlights various community development projects made possible throughout the years thanks to the program’s sustained funding. This 50-year celebration is also bringing together community members, elected officials, government staff, program subrecipients and beneficiaries for a formal celebration the day of the program’s national anniversary, August 22, 2024. The formal celebration will consist of an interactive bus tour featuring projects funded by the program throughout Washington County.

The Community Development Block Grant Program provides funding to over 1,200 local governments to create neighborhood approaches that improve the physical, economic, and social conditions in their communities. These federal grant programs help build stronger and more resilient communities. Since the program’s inception in Washington County, over $112 million has been invested in our local communities. The program’s funding supports housing rehabilitation, emergency rental assistance, public infrastructure projects, public facility projects, small business assistance, and a wide array of public service programming. The Community Development Block Grant Program is needed now more than ever to continue helping our most vulnerable community members and to maintain the progress we have made in neighborhood improvements over the years.