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The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (EOA) was the centerpiece of the "War on Poverty," which in turn was a major thrust of the "Great Society" legislative agenda of the Lyndon Johnson administration.
The EOA provided for job training, adult education, and loans to small businesses to attack the roots of unemployment and poverty. Originally coordinated by the Office of Economic Opportunity, many sections of the EOA have been rescinded. However, other important segments have simply been transferred within the federal government.
The EOA was passed in August, 1964, after having been drafted the previous February by task force director Sergeant Shriver, who had connections to the Kennedy administration.
After passage of the EOA, Shriver became the director of the Office of Economic Opportunity and served until 1969. EOA programs included VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America), a personal priority of LBJ; the Job Corps; the Neighborhood Youth Corps; Head Start; Adult Basic Education; Family Planning; Community Health Centers; Congregate Meal Preparation; Economic Development; Foster Grandparents; Legal Services; Neighborhood Centers; Summer Youth Programs; Senior Centers; and others .
The EOA established over a thousand of Community Action Agencies (CAA's) at the local level to implement Great Society programs. CAA's varied greatly, with some being nonprofit groups, some being city agencies, and some community-controlled groups.
The EOA required the poor have "maximum feasible participation" in poverty program planning. CAA's sought participation by the poor by opening storefront and neighborhood centers.
Such centers helped train a new generation of community activists and leaders. These individuals also were recruited into the ranks of federal poverty program administration.
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