IV. RESPONSE TO THE PRESIDENT'S PROPOSAL FOR To determine the public's reaction to a National Service Program-and the willingness on the part of our citizens to serve in it-questionnaires were distributed through 84 colleges and universities, through 100 senior-citizen and noncollege groups and to Peace Corps trainees and unused applicants. Tabulation of responses to these questionnaires through February 4, 1963, showed strong support among all groups, as follows: 1. Of the 10,216 students from 65 colleges and universities responding, 88 percent favored creation of a National Service Corps, and 70 percent said that they would definitely join or consider joining such a Corps. 2. Of the 4, 130 senior citizens or retired persons who responded from 79 different organizations, 82 percent thought a domestic service corps would be desirable, and 57 percent indicated they would definitely join or consider joining it. 3. Of the 606 Peace Corps Volunteers in training at 12 different sites who responded to a Peace Corps questionnaire, 19 percent said they would have had equal or greater interest in joining the National Service Corps if it had existed at the time they entered the Peace Corps; 33 percent would be willing to serve in the National Service Corps for a year after they complete their Peace Corps service; and 54 percent would have been willing to serve in the National Service Corps for a year before their Peace Corps service began, if the National Service Corps had existed. 4. Of the 353 Peace Corps applicants not used by the Peace Corps because of age, medical, family or other technical reasons, 57 percent indicated an equal or greater interest in domestic service; 55 percent indicated they would serve in the National Service Corps for a year after their Peace Corps service; and 80 percent indicated willingness to serve in the National Service Corps for a year before Peace Corps service. The Study Group has received and replied to letters from more than 1,000 citizens offering to serve. In November 1962, several newspapers published the results of a Gallup Poll which showed that 62 percent of those questioned favored a domestic counterpart to the overseas Peace Corps. Among those papers and magazines which have given serious consideration to the idea of a domestic Peace Corps, the response has been usually encouraging. Life Magazine, for instance, summed up the opinion of a great segment of the nation's press in an editorial which observed that: "The well of American idealism is still deep, especially on campuses. Why not channel it into the many undeniable pockets of great need that deface our prosperity?" Similarly, Malcom S. Forbes, Publisher of Forbes Magazine, expressed the view of many progressive American businessmen: "The Administration's plan to set up in this country a domestic equivalent to the Peace Corps is first rate," wrote Forbes. "For a variety of reasons, many, both young and old, may not be able to undertake overseas service in the Peace Corps. We have at home, however, a wide and crying need for those idealistically motivated and with proper background to tackle the assorted specific tasks at hand. At very low cost, such idealism can be intelligently harnessed and directed for maximum effect." C. Institutional Response From the beginning, the Study Group assumed that a National Service Corps could not succeed, and should not even be attempted, without strong support from the organizations already working in every phase of social service. Consequently, the Study Group has corresponded with or met hundreds of leading organizations and individuals in the service fields. The response to the proposed National Service Corps on the part of organizations working in the field has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic. (For a list of organizations and individuals endorsing the proposed National Service Corps- -see Appendix C. D. Response by Organizations Proposing Specific Projects All total, 50 project models have been submitted to the Study Group by various local and state organizations. Based on the type of people to be served, the models which have been submitted can be divided into five broad categories: (1) Migratory workers and their families; (2) Indians; (3) Residents of depressed and/or isolated rural areas; (4) Residents of urban slums; and (5) Persons under the care of institutions for the mentally ill, the mentally retarded, delinquent and/or dependent children, adult criminal offenders, the elderly, the physically handicapped and chronically ill, and the physically ill (in general hospitals). Locations range from urban centers such as New York and Los Angeles to Indian communities in South Dakota and Arizona; from migratory labor camps in San Antonio, Texas and Fort Pierce, Fla., to community development in the District of Columbia and Upper Cumberland, Tennessee. Models were submitted by organizations in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Sponsoring groups range from the City of New Haven to the State of Kentucky; from the Veterans Administration in Washington, D. C. to the Tribal Council of the Oglala Sioux; from the Washington Urban League to Rutgers University. The jobs requested and skills required are impressively varied. In general, they require some specialized skill (though sometimes this skill could be acquired in the training period); some college experience is generally requested. Jobs range from highly skilled occupations such as law and case-work in which graduate training would be necessary; to the teaching of, and health work with, migrants, for which a college degree and some knowledge of Spanish would be required; to psychological testing and camp counseling of emotionally disturbed children for which some college education would be required; to homemaker's assistant and nurse's aide for which a high school degree would be sufficient. (For a discussion of the project models, see Section VI). The Study Group has also received a number of letters indicating interest in having corpsmen come into an area. They range from the request of the president of an Alaskan native village for one corpsman to come to the village and help it to develop its economic resources, to a letter from a county health and welfare council expressing its interest in developing a complex model for juvenile delinquents and the elderly. One rather unusual suggestion has been received: that deaf corpsmen be recruited to work with deaf patients in mental hospitals and to serve as interpreters to the hospital staff of the needs of these patients. V. PROJECTS A. Selection With such an overwhelming need for a National Service Corps, it is obvious that the selection of individual projects to be undertaken by the Corps will be of extreme importance. The following statement of criteria would be used by local groups to develop projects and by the National Staff to evaluate them: A National Service Program would: 1. Respond to Local Request Requests for National Service Corpsmen will be made by a local or state public or private group. In addition to having the prospective host group indicate who will administer the project locally, the request should contain evidence of a desire for service by the group to be served. Finally, the request should evaluate the quality and potential support of key individuals and local groups who could be expected to cooperate with the host group. 2. Work with Those in Critical Need The National Service Program would choose projects in which corpsmen could work with people in great need-i.e., those who, despite efforts to help themselves or because they cannot help themselves, are denied the essentials of a decent life in a generally prosperous society. 3. Cooperate with, and be Locally Supported and Supervised The project designed by the local group must meet the problem of critical human need. The local host organization, not the Federal Government, must be prepared to administer the project and supervise the corpsmen. Within its capability, the local community would contribute supporting resources to the project, including volunteer or other personnel with whom corpsmen would work on a cooperative basis. 4. Expect Corpsmen to Work at Meaningful Tasks Appropriate to the Qualifications of Available Corps Personnel and to the Nature of the Problem to be Addressed The tasks must be substantive, ones which will permit the corpsmen to make a contribution to a resolution of problems. The local request must specify corpsmen's roles in the project by describing their tasks and the skills required to carry out such tasks. Further, the request, should provide assurance that the proposed project would neither duplicate nor replace existing local programs nor displace local personnel. 5. Help to call Attention to Critical Needs and Demonstrate Methods One of the primary purposes of the National Service Program would be to work on problems of national concern. By calling attention to the problems, by motivating others to serve in their own communities, by demonstrating creative ways of dealing with problems, the project should have the potential of producing a catalytic effect on the locality, the area, and the nation. Thus each project should be designed to permit eventual phase-out of national service program personnel and their replacement by local professionals or volunteers. The following questions, derived from the above criteria should be answered by model developers as part of their proposals: a. b. C. Respond to Local Request (1) What is the name, address, and nature of the group making the request? (2) What other groups have been consulted in the preparation of the project request? (3) Does the group to be served desire this help? (4) What evidence is there of present or potential opposition by local groups and individuals? Work with Those in Critical Need (1) Who are the people in critical need? (2) What is the nature and extent of their need? (3) What efforts has the community or the group made to meet these needs? Cooperate with, and be Locally Supported and Supervised by, Those (1) Describe the proposed project, particularly how it would meet the problem of human need described above. (2) Who would administer the project? (3) Who would supervise the corpsmen on the job? (4) What is the nature and extent of local supporting personneladministrative, professional, and volunteer? (5) Would the project duplicate or replace any existing project or personnel? (6) What plans are there to "phase out" the project within a foreseeable time? |