Abstract:

The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) is a federal initiative that provides energy efficiency upgrades to income-eligible households across the United States. The Department of Energy receives congressional funding to oversee its implementation through state, Tribal, and territorial grantees. From 2020 to 2023, WAP saw notable shifts in its budget and priorities, including a 228% increase in funding, new regulations, and a program focused on addressing health and safety issues to reduce deferrals. Despite legislative changes and growing interest in an equitable energy transition, few studies have examined WAP implementation from the implementer's perspective across multiple states. This explanatory study is the first to compare program implementation across two states, presenting findings from semi-structured interviews with coordinators at nine Community Action Agencies (CAAs), serving a high proportion of the Latine population in Washington and Tennessee, states with contrasting political landscapes, funding structures, and geographies. Common challenges across both states include workforce shortages, rising material costs, and administrative cost constraints and barriers to serve families with undefined immigration status and low English proficiency. Meanwhile, bilingual staff, utility partnerships and inter-agency collaborations were identified as key strengths. State-specific differences emerged principally in funding flexibility and workforce certification opportunities. Our findings suggest that regulatory burden, workforce constraints and social barriers hinder equitable program delivery. We elucidate the implications of the findings for the program designs, offering recommendations such as engaging Latine families and expanding local efforts to advance energy justice, especially among low-income Latine families.