NCJ Number
75413
Date Published
1969
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This employment of nonprofessionals in manpower programs is examined, using data gathered from the more than 50 experimental and demonstration (E&D) projects funded by the Manpower Administration during the 1960's.
Abstract
The 'nonprofessional' includes all untrained personnel and all ranks of nonprofessional activity, with particular attention to the indigenous worker who lives in the target area. In addition to reviewing project reports, five urban programs which were using nonprofessionals in an innovative way were visited. Indigenous nonprofessionals are often hired because they bridge gaps between social welfare agencies and clients, provide employment for lower income people, and are often quite effective in helping clients from similar environments. Nonprofessionals associated with youth projects have been drawn from diverse backgrounds, including local residents, middle-class volunteers, college students, and agency volunteers. They have provided direct services, such as tutoring, and performed auxiliary duties which facilitate client-agency contacts. Nonprofessionals have also been involved in recruiting and monitoring clients. Although the use of nonprofessionals in manpower programs has been encouraged by Federal funding practices, potential conflicts exist between professional workers and indigenous nonprofessionals, particularly problems stemming from different loyalities and priorities. Recruitment and selection of nonprofessionals are reviewed. Training programs for nonprofessionals have generally been inadequate, but a centralized approach is detailed which provides comprehensive training for nonprofessionals in broadly related fields by an experienced staff. Visits to E&D projects indicated that indigenous nonprofessionals had been used extensively in varying ways. Some community militants had been coopted into the system, while others were a source of valuable information on the target population. Nonprofessional employment also serves as a channel for upward mobility. However, service patterns seem to have cast the nonprofessional staff member with the low income minority group, while the professional focuses on the highly motivated client. Manpower projects have tended to use nonprofessionals as shock troops and have squandered their potential usefulness by not integrating them into the program's basic fabric. Footnotes are included.