Statement Announcing Plans for Summer Programs for Disadvantaged Youth

FOR YOUNG people, and especially for the disadvantaged, summer can be a time of frustration and despair. But it does not have to be. It can also be a time of great opportunity:

--It can be a time of opportunity for the youth to learn new skills, and to test his skills in the world of work;

--It can provide him an opportunity to contribute to the well-being of others, thus both improving their lives and enriching his own;

--It can open opportunities to take part in physical fitness, health, and organized recreational activities.

I am pleased today to announce plans for 1971 summer programs for disadvantaged youth which will help convert these opportunities into realities.

I will transmit to the Congress, as soon as it returns from its current recess, a supplemental request for $64.3 million to provide an additional 100,000 Neighborhood Youth Corps summer employment opportunities for high school students and to finance the Recreation Support Program in the largest cities across the Nation.

Combined with currently available resources, these supplemental funds would raise the number of summer jobs for disadvantaged youth to 576,000.

Of this total, 514,000 would participate in the Neighborhood Youth Corps in all 50 States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Trust Territories, with special emphasis on the Nation's 50 largest cities. This program has been modified in important directions which will yield long range educational and career benefits to enrollees in addition to serving America. One major new activity, for example, operating with assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Education, will involve enrollees in the work of preserving our environment while introducing them to the possibilities of careers in this crucial area of public interest.

In addition, 62,000 young people will be employed in Federal offices, where they will have a chance to become acquainted with people in Government, the functions Government performs, and the problems it faces.

All of these summer jobs will offer work opportunities while encouraging the young employees to complete their education. Wages will be increased from $1.45 per hour to $1.60, an indication that this employment program is not "make-work"; we expect these young employees to make a meaningful contribution.

In addition to the summer jobs opened up by these programs, other projects will provide almost 2 million youth with an opportunity to participate in projects to improve physical fitness and provide health services, meals, transportation, and exposure to local cultural institutions.

--A $3 million grant to the National Collegiate Athletic Association will enable it, through its member colleges, to provide organized sports and other related activities for 50,000 inner-city youths.

--The Recreation Support Program, serving children too young for employment and who have lacked the opportunity to engage in sports and other recreational activities, will provide such opportunities for 1.9 million youth in the Nation's 100 largest cities. Neighborhood Youth Corps enrollees will be employed as recreation aides in the Support Program, providing both practical experience and encouragement for the development of career interests in this expanding area.

These summer employment and recreation proposals represent a positive response to many of the handicaps faced by America's disadvantaged youth. Early action by the Congress will enable the States and communities to make timely plans for ensuring that these programs are carried out to the fullest advantage. I also urge the States and localities to expand their own summer youth programs, so as to make this summer truly one of youth opportunity.