Kennedy Asks National Service Corps To Aid Professional Social Workers

Phillips Brooks House has announced the completion of a report on possible programs for President Kennedy's National Service Corps. The report, originally suggested by Senator Edward M. Kennedy '54, was sent to Senator Kennedy and to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy '48. The Attorney General is considering modeling part of the National Service Corps on the PBH Mental Hospitals Committee.

PBH recently criticized the Harlem Domestic Peace Corps for what it called an "appallingly incomplete" program. The Domestic Peace Corps is operated by a private organization, Associated Community Teams, Inc., which currently receives annual grants from the government totalling about $250,000.

The Harlem project is completely separate from the National Service Corps, the government program presented to Congress yesterday by the President. PBH officials have expressed enthusiasm for the latter program.

In its suggestions for the government's National Service Corps, the PBH report pointed out that "there is a wide tendency to underestimate the potential effectiveness of volunteers." It urged the government to place emphasis on those of college age, while at the same time trying to include older citizens in various communities. PBH also urged that the central concern of the government program be to establish projects operated directly by the community involved.