community action—representatives of the poor

community action—representatives of the poor Sec. 203. Section 202 of the Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsections: “(c) (1) The Director shall not approve, or continue to fund after March 1, 1967, a community action program which is conducted, administered, or coordinated by a board which contains representatives of various geographical areas in the community unless such representatives are required to live in the area they represent. “(2) The Director shall not approve, or continue to fund after March 1, 1967, a community action program which is conducted, administered, or coordinated by a board on which representatives of the poor do not comprise at least one-third of the membership. “(3) The representatives of the poor shall be selected by the residents in areas of concentration of poverty, with special emphasis on participation by the residents of the area who are poor. “(4) In communities where substantial numbers of the poor reside outside of areas of concentration of poverty, provision shall be made for selection of representatives of such poor through a process, such as neighborhood meetings, in which the poor participate to the greatest possible degree. “(d) The Director shall require community action agencies to establish procedures under which representative groups of the poor including but not limited to minority groups, the elderly, and the rural population, which feel themselves inadequately represented on their community action agency policy board, may petition for adequate representation on such board.”