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WACO, TEXAS Some 15,000 people, or 14 percent of the population live in the Waco model neighborhood, with about two-thirds Negro and one-third white and Mexican-American. The unemployment rate in the target area ·is three times the rest of the city, while 63 percent of the housing is considered substandard. About 50 percent of the adults have less than a high school education, and about 40 percent of the families earn less than $3,000. Citizen Participation Developing Waco's five year program involved nine task forces working closely with six model neighborhood citizen boards, independent organizations, volunteer groups and city, State and Federal agencies. More than 500 citizens participated in planning the Waco program. More than 400 meetings were held with model neighborhood residents and task force planning committees. city Demonstration Agency staff comprising three professionals and seven persons assigned from local organizations worked closely with a Model Cities Commission and Model Neighborhood Boards to develop the final plan submitted to City council. Five Year Program Waco's five year program is aimed at correcting the phy sical blight in the area while improving its social and educational conditions. To accomplish this, Waco seeks to involve private enterprise and public support. The major elements of the program are directed at improving housing through the construction of 400 new units by private enterprise and non-profit corporations, while up-grading resident employment a nd training opportunities. The model neighborhood residents gave first priority to improving drain age facilities and s treet conditions in the area. The second priority is in education, and calls for curriculum development and improving educational opportunities for pre-school children . Other program elements include improving medical and social services with f ull emphasis on developing training opportunities in pre- professi onal positions for residents by coordination with city, county, and State non-profit organizations. A new health and extended medical services program has been designed ~ PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Employment The Concentrated Employment Program (CEP) will be used to help reduce an unemployment rate of 9 percent for men and 7 percent for women. Other work-training programs will provide residents �- 2 - with an opportunity to participate in developing businesses. Planned for the future is a Work Skills Development program operated by James Connally Technical Institute which will provide vocational as well as academic training for entire families who will live on the campus. During the first year, CEP activities will include a New Careers program, adult basic education, vocational and technical training and on-the-job training. Education The basic program approach in education is to develop a comprehensive pre-school educational program and expand vocational technical training. The curriculum of the model neighborhood schools will be reformed through the use of computer assisted instructional programs and Instructional Media Resources Centers. A communication mobile unit in the target area will help students with learning problems by providing aid in such basic skills as reading, writing, and speech. Several programs are proposed for upgrading teacher skills, including an instructional laboratory for training teachers to work with disadvantaged children. A cross-Over Program to help teachers recognize the social and educational problems of students involved in desegregation would be expanded. Also planned is an Experienced Teacher Fellowship Program at Baylor University offering university courses to 30 teachers to increase their skills needed to teach the disadvantaged. During the first year computer terminals will be installed in three area schools to carry out the instructional program. An Occupational Skills Analysis Laboratory which will provide special instruction through video tapes, will also be started. Social Services Social services programs are directed principal l y at coordinating services of numerous social agencies and in improving their accessibility to residents. The social services corr~onent will also deal with developing welfare aid and employment oppor tunities within its services. A Foster Grandparent program and a nutritional program will serve the elderly. Other first year activities include a Homemaker Service for the elde rly and disabled, and an Extensive counselling Program for y oung women and husbands of planned parenthood clients. Health The principal health components include health care for the elderly, visiting nurses services in the home, and extending family planning services. The Medical Society will help develop �----- - ~ - 3 - a continuity of care concept through a medical education program. This program is intended to bring about b etter coordination of all health programs and providing medical training opportunities for model neighborhood residents. A Family Physician Program will reorganize and coordinate health services and recruit doctors to Waco and to staff model neighborhood facilities . Also included in the plan are a Detox ification Center fo r Alcoholics and Mental Hea l th-Mental Retardation S e rvic es . During the first year, construction of the Mental Health facility will begin. Two school health programs focusing on medical e x aminations for mode l neigborhood students and Health , Sex, and Drug Educati on will also start immedi a tely . Law Enforcement Juvenile services and improved police community relations are emphasized in this component. Specific first year activities include a Police Science Libr ary to supplement a n exis t ing degree p r o gr am f o r l aw en f orcement o f fice r s and expans ion o f a Juven il e Po lice Bureau t o in i ti a t e a del i nquency prevent i on p r ogram. Recreation The recreati on progr am calls for community cente rs and dev eloping programs in c rafts and cu l tural enr ichment. Model n eighb orhood res idents wi ll be emp l o ye d in the p r og r a m. Pl a ns a l s o c all f o r devel opin g re c reation fa ci lities o n the Brazos Riv er wh i ch runs t h rough the model neighborhood. Phy sic al Planning Ar eas This comp onen t o f the Waco p r o gram i s aime d a t up- gr a d ing existing physical c o nd itions s uch as streets, housing a nd community facilities and providing new facilities wh ere need ed. Three elemen ts are e mphas ized - - urban design , h ousing , a n d public f ac iliti es. The goa l of the urban d esign component i s p roper l and use, including commercial, i ndus t rial and hous i ng facilities, and a transportati on system meeting the needs of the model neighborhood residents. An Urban Design Center is prop o sed to bridge the gaps in design, as well as provide technic al assistance to model neighborhood residents involved in this phase of the program . The center will feature visual aids which will show existing physical conditions in the area as well as project f uture goals a nd concepts �- 4 - to be achieved in the Model Cities program. Waco proposes to use the new Neighborhood Development Program for physical renewal of the target area. The goal of the housing component is suitable new and rehabilitated standard housing for all model neighborhood residents at prices they can afford. Some 400 new housing units through public and private resources are proposed. First year activities include street construction, a sanitary sewer project, construction of drainage systems, a coordinated code enforcement project and a study of user needs for low-income housing in the model neighborhood. Also planned is a Resident Homebuilder project which would combine construction of 14 new homes with training a minority resident to establish a homebuilding firm. �