The present study examines the background of the Economic Opportunity Act in a local administrative structure. An extensive investigation is made of the Community Action Program of Laredo, Texas. The Community Action Program is a new approach which is still in the formative period and this receptive to constructive suggestions for change. Perhaps, it is hoped, this study will point the direction for such change, to the benefit of the long-run effectiveness of the poverty program as well as healthier interlocal relations.

From the time of the "war on poverty" of 1964, to the era of "welfare reform" in 1990s, the federal welfare system underwent a change from a model that acted to protect citizens from the vagaries of the market economy to one that mandated their participation in the paid labor force. For a shift in policy of this magnitude to occur and be unquestioningly accepted by the public, a significant change also had to occur in how poverty and welfare issues were discussed and perceived over the intervening years. Using discourse analysis, this study examines how editorials in elite newspapers framed the issues of poverty and welfare in the months prior to the passage of the Economic Opportunity Act (1964) and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (1996). It also addresses how newspaper editorials influenced public perception about the nature and causes of poverty and welfare reliance.

The federal government has taken an increasingly active role in its involvement in public education since the turn of the twentieth century. Prior to World War II, federal intervention in public education was a result of war initiatives. Following World War II, the United States experienced a number of social and economic conditions that had implications for public education. Among these were a rapid increase in student enrollments resulting from the post World War II baby boom, continuing racial segregation, and chronic inferior education for African Americans and economically disadvantaged students of all races and ethnic groups. To combat the economic, social, and political implications associated with these conditions, the federal government worked with states and local departments of education to formulate plans for educational reform. During the 1960s, federal aid to public schools grew from half a billion dollars in 1960 to 3.5 billion in 1970 (Kantor & Lowe, 1995). Federal aid was increased to provide support for educational facilities and to provide compensatory educational programs for economically disadvantaged students through Head Start of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Educators were encouraged to develop programs to meet the needs of the minority, disadvantaged, and special education populations through the provisions of these acts and subsequent appropriations. This is the report of a historical study of the federal response to the needs of the identified students as implemented through Roanoke County Public Schools. The purpose of this study is to provide a historical account of the development of Head Start and Title I programs in Roanoke County Public Schools within the national context of Head Start and Title I programs. The potential impact of this study includes a greater understanding of the influences that led to the development of Head Start and Title I at the national level and the subsequent educational services implemented through Head Start and Title I programs in Roanoke County Public Schools. / Ph. D.