Editing Great Society (section)

====Programs====
The War on Poverty began with a $1&nbsp;billion appropriation in 1964 and spent another $2&nbsp;billion in the following two years. It gave rise to dozens of programs, among them the [[Job Corps]], whose purpose was to help disadvantaged youth develop marketable skills; the [[Neighborhood Youth Corps]], established to give poor urban youths work experience and to encourage them to stay in school; [[Volunteers in Service to America]] ([[Volunteers in Service to America|VISTA]]), a domestic version of the [[Peace Corps]], which placed concerned citizens with community-based agencies to work towards empowerment of the poor; the [[Model Cities Program]] for urban redevelopment; [[Upward Bound]], which assisted poor high school students entering college; legal services for the poor; and the [[Food Stamp Act of 1964]] (which expanded the federal food stamp program).<ref name="adaction1964">{{cite journal |url=http://www.adaction.org/media/votingrecords/1964.pdf |title=Voting Record-88th Congress, 2nd Session |journal=ADA World |publisher=Americans for Democratic Action |date=October 1964 |access-date=August 26, 2013 |archive-date=May 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528223644/http://www.adaction.org/media/votingrecords/1964.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Programs included the [[Community Action Program]], which initiated local [[Community Action Agencies]] charged with helping the poor become self-sufficient; and Project [[Head Start (education)|Head Start]], which offered preschool education for poor children. In addition, funding was provided for the establishment of community health centers to expand access to health care,<ref>{{cite journal |first=Fred D.|last=Rachman|url=http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_7730_3079_20787_43/http%3B/wci-pubcontent/publish/onc/public_communities/_content/files/rachman_quality_wg_testimony_102810.pdf |title=Quality Measures Workgroup Testimony |publisher=Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services |date=August 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921130826/http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_7730_3079_20787_43/http%3B/wci-pubcontent/publish/onc/public_communities/_content/files/rachman_quality_wg_testimony_102810.pdf |archive-date=September 21, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> while major amendments were made to [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] in 1965 and 1967 which significantly increased benefits, expanded coverage, and established new programs to combat poverty and raise living standards.<ref name="ssa">{{cite web |url=http://www.ssa.gov/history/ssa/lbjleg1.html |title=History of SSA During the Johnson Administration 1963–1968 |publisher=Social Security Administration |access-date=July 15, 2013}}</ref> In addition, average AFDC payments were 35% higher in 1968 than in 1960, but remained insufficient and uneven.<ref>Backlash against welfare mothers: past and present by Ellen Reese</ref>