Clinton Initiative Would Improve Access to Services

WASHINGTON — A new initiative from the Clinton administration and several members of Congress may benefit Black colleges, two-year institutions and students of color in high-poverty areas of the South.
The president's New Markets initiative seeks to promote economic development and community improvements in several high-poverty areas nationwide. Following the lead of several congressional lawmakers, Clinton's plan includes a specific goal to target the Mississippi Delta region, which encompasses seven states and 219 counties in areas near the Mississippi River.
Supporters of the plan envision a series of initiatives to improve services, including education, in the counties located in Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois. These states are home to many HBCUs that could benefit from the program, sponsors say.
One goal is to help schools, colleges and communities gain better access to federal services, including grant competitions and program funding. To support that goal, the U.S. Department of Education recently held a workshop to help colleges, particularly two-year institutions, learn more about available federal funds. Such initiatives, if successful, could improve everything from student retention to community outreach services.
"We want to strengthen their hands with more information on federal grants and programs," says Jacqueline Woods, the Education Department's liaison for community colleges. Other federal agencies, including the U.S. departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture, are expected to offer similar workshops again to highlight federal funding opportunities.
The other major part of the initiative is to give the Delta area a higher national profile as well as more funding. Newly proposed legislation from Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., would create a Delta Regional Authority similar to one that has existed for decades in Appalachia, another concentrated high-poverty area.
The authority would serve as a "one-stop shopping" center to provide access to business development, education and other services, Lincoln says.
Co-sponsors of the Delta plan include several Congressional Black Caucus members such as Reps. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., and Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.
The White House recently pledged $30 million, should Congress approve it. Overall, the administration is proposing $110 million for Delta-related initiatives. Poverty rates in the region average about 20 percent, nearly double the national average.