RACE, JOB-TRAINING, AND ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT - BARRIERS TO RACIAL EQUITY IN PROGRAM-PLANNING

This article examines barriers to implementing government programs des igned to redress racial economic exclusion. The authors review the cur rent urban employment environment, and the need for more extensive job training and education programs targeting young African Americans. A case study is presented of the implementation of one such program in O hio, the High Unemployment Population Program. It demonstrates that th e most well designed program can fail if staff charged with implementa tion are not committed to its goals. In the current racially charged e nvironment of the country, this barrier to implementation is likely to affect many new government programs throughout the 1990s. The article concludes with several recommendations for successful program impleme ntation.