<P> Federal funds were provided for special education schemes in slum areas, including help in paying for books and transport, while financial aid was also provided for slum clearances and rebuilding city areas . In addition, the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 created jobs in one of the most impoverished regions of the country . The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 provided various methods through which young people from poor homes could receive job training and higher education . </P> <P> The OEO reflected a fragile consensus among policymakers that the best way to deal with poverty was not simply to raise the incomes of the poor but to help them better themselves through education, job training, and community development . Central to its mission was the idea of "community action", the participation of the poor in framing and administering the programs designed to help them . </P> <P> The War on Poverty began with a $1 billion appropriation in 1964 and spent another $2 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 (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). </P> <P> Programs included the Community Action Program, which initiated local Community Action Agencies charged with helping the poor become self - sufficient; and Project 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, while major amendments were made to Social Security in 1965 and 1967 which significantly increased benefits, expanded coverage, and established new programs to combat poverty and raise living standards . In addition, average AFDC payments were 35% higher in 1968 than in 1960, but remained insufficient and uneven . </P>

Which great society program dealt with urban renewal