Economic Opportunity Act

Economic Opportunity Act (EOA), federal legislation establishing a variety of social programs aimed at facilitating education, health, employment, and general welfare for impoverished Americans. It was signed into law in August 1964 by U.S. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson as one of the landmarks of his War on Poverty and Great Society domestic programs.

In his State of the Union address in January 1964, Johnson announced an “unconditional war on poverty,” and his administration introduced sweeping social welfare legislation that sought to help end poverty in the United States. The resulting War on Poverty was part of a wider legislative program known as the Great Society, with which Johnson hoped to transform the United States into a more just and equitable country. The Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) established the Office of Economic Opportunity under the direction (1964–68) of R. Sargent Shriver, whom Johnson had tasked with spearheading the War on Poverty.

The act created the Job Corps; modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) of the Great Depression era, the Job Corps was a residential education and job-training program for low-income at-risk young people that provided them with academic and vocational skills they needed to attain meaningful lasting employment. The act also established Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA)—a domestic counterpart of the Peace Corps, the popular foreign program created by U.S. Pres. John F. Kennedy. VISTA placed volunteers throughout the country to help fight poverty and to address illiteracy, lack of quality housing, and poor health, among other issues, through work on community projects with various organizations, communities, and individuals (in 1993 it would be folded into AmeriCorps).

Another linchpin of the EOA was the Head Start program, which was designed to help prepare children from disadvantaged families for success in public schools. Having learned that some of the difficulties encountered by disadvantaged children stemmed from the lack of opportunities for normal cognitive development during their early life, the program provided medical, dental, social service, nutritional, and psychological care for disadvantaged preschool children. Later, Head Start spawned similar programs, including one with an in-home focus and another that targeted elementary-school students. Among the other programs funded by the EOA were the Neighborhood Youth Corps, which provided training and jobs for young people (age 16–21) from impoverished families, work-study programs, and community action programs. The act also provided loans to small businesses and farmers.