Community Action Programs and Citizen Participation: Issues and Confusions

Abstract

The Community Action Program (CAP) of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 is defined in the act as fighting poverty by (1) providing service assistance and con ducting other activities that give promise of bettering the conditions under which peo ple live, learn, and work, (2) mobilizing and utilizing public and private resources, and (3) developing, conducting, and ad ministering such programs with the maximum feasible participation of the neighborhood residents (i.e., low-income in dividuals, families, and groups upon whose needs the programs are focused). The central preoccupation of CAPs, conse quently, is the planning and development of relevant activities and services as well as effective and efficient allocation of re sources. This is to be accomplished through organizational operations whereby the target population participates in set ting goals, developing strategies, defining policies, and establishing structures for reaching the legislative objectives.1 The mandatory requirement of enlisting the active participation of indigenous peo