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Finding aid for the Neighborhood Adult Participation Project records
0488
0488
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Table of contents
Title: Neighborhood Adult Participation Project records
Collection number: 0488
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
1.25 Linear feet
4 boxes
Date: 1962-1976, undated
Abstract: The Neighborhood Adult Participation Project (NAPP) records consist of correspondence, reports, and training materials, 1962-1976
and undated, that document the founding and activities of this Office of Economic Opportunity-funded project. Founded in April
1965, the project was initially funded by the Office of Economic Opportunity and originally overseen by the Los Angeles Economic
and Youth Opportunities Agency; by 1976 it was the largest and oldest poverty program in Los Angeles County. NAPP began operations
as a Community Action Program funded under Title II of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, with the primary purpose of providing
training and employment opportunities for adults in ten poverty areas identified by the Los Angeles Welfare Planning Council.
The bulk of the collection consists of booklets and manuals written by executive director Opal C. Jones that were used as
orientation and training materials for NAPP employees. In addition to the training activities of NAPP, the records document
some of the administrative and personnel difficulties that plagued the organization in its early years.
creator:
Jones, Opal C., (Opal Christopher)
creator:
Neighborhood Adult Participation Project (Los Angeles, Calif.).
Economic and Youth Opportunities Agency of Greater Los Angeles records, Collection no. 0473, California Social Welfare Archives,
Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
The Neighborhood Adult Participation Project (NAPP) records consist of correspondence, reports, and training materials, 1962-1976
and undated, that document the founding and activities of this Office of Economic Opportunity-funded project. The bulk of
the collection consists of booklets and manuals written by executive director Opal C. Jones that were used as orientation
and training materials for NAPP employees. In addition to the training activities of NAPP, the records document, in forms,
memorandums, and reports, some of the dissatisfaction felt by the NAPP communities with the past performance of professional
social workers; the organizational problems that this project, dispersed over a dozen or more "outposts" across the county,
experienced; and the personnel difficulties it encountered, including conflicts between Mexican American and African American
groups. Of particular interest is the file of correspondence and memorandums that document the termination of the Boyle Heights
Outpost director, Gabriel Yanez.
The Neighborhood Adult Participation Project (NAPP) was founded in April 1965 at the Avalon Center in Watts; Opal C. Jones
was the project's first executive director. Initially funded by the Office of Economic Opportunity and originally overseen
by the Los Angeles Economic and Youth Opportunities Agency, NAPP had become by 1976 the largest and oldest poverty program
in Los Angeles County, delivering services to over 50,000 residents each year at 14 community centers. NAPP began operations
as a Community Action Program funded under Title II of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, with the primary purpose of providing
training and employment opportunities for adults in ten poverty areas identified by the Los Angeles Welfare Planning Council.
The project was one of the first and most ambitious "War On Poverty" programs in Los Angeles County. Apart from its employment
component, NAPP was designed to conform with the federal edict of "maximum feasible participation" of the poor themselves
by using thousands of previously unemployed "indigenous neighborhood residents," called NAPP aides, as trainee community workers
in an effort to bootstrap up from poverty both aides and the communities they served.
[Box/folder# or item name], Neighborhood Adult Participation Project records, Collection no. 0488, California Social Welfare
Archives, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Advance notice required for access.
The use of archival materials for on-site research does not constitute permission from the California Social Welfare Archives
to publish them. Copyright has not been assigned to the California Social Welfare Archives, and the researcher is instructed
to obtain permission to quote from or publish manuscripts in the CSWA's collections from the copyright holder.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Jones, Opal C., (Opal Christopher) -- Archives
Neighborhood Adult Participation Project (Los Angeles, Calif.). -- Archives
Clippings
Correspondence
Employees--Training of--California--Los Angeles County--Archival resources
Los Angeles (Calif.)--Social conditions--Archival resources
Memorandums
Minutes
Nonprofit organizations--California--Los Angeles County--History--Archival resources
Social group work--California--Los Angeles County--Archival resources
Social workers--California--Los Angeles County--Archival resources