AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADMINISTRATORS IN COMMUNITY MIGRANT HEALTH CENTERS/

Community and migrant health centers (CHC/MHCs) play a secondary role as avenues for the development of minority and women health care profe ssionals, groups traditionally underrepresented in administrative and managerial positions within the health cave system. This paper focuses on the role of CHC/MHCs in eliminating the barriers that typically li mit the professional advancement of these groups. In a survey of both rural and urban CHC/MHC administrators, it was found that CHC/MHCs hav e higher percentages of minorities in top management positions than ge neral management but do not necessarily reflect the minority compositi on of those being served. Of the CHC/MHC administrators, 20 percent we re African American, less than the population served (31 percent) but greater than the percentage of African Americans in the general U.S. p opulation (12 percent). This suggests that CHC/MHCs have partially met the original goal of upward mobility and that there is room for impro vement.