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1993.09.27 :  Director of Office of Community Services

Contact:  David Siegel (202) 401-9215     
September 27, 1993

     HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today named Donald Sykes of
Milwaukee, Wis., as director of the Office of Community Services
in the Administration for Children and Families.  
     Most recently Sykes was the executive director of the New
Hope Project in Milwaukee, a nationally recognized demonstration
program designed to find a more effective way to provide
assistance to America's poor through making work pay.  New Hope
offers participants help in finding a job, wage subsidies that
ensure an income above the poverty level, health insurance and
child care.  It is sponsored by a consortium of representatives
from community, government, business, labor and social service
organizations. 
     "Don Sykes is a dedicated and capable professional who
brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to HHS," said
Secretary Shalala in making the appointment.  "During his many
years as a leader in community action, economic development, and
social planning in Milwaukee, he has been active in finding
solutions to the problems associated with poverty and in finding
ways to improve the quality of life of the people whom he has
served and for whom he has advocated.  His leadership in
community revitalization, especially in the New Hope project,
will be particularly valuable as we work to change welfare as we
know it.  He will be a valued addition to the HHS team."
     Sykes is also a consultant in the field of human resource
management.  He has recently concentrated on issues facing
America's work force, developing programs to help employers and
workers better cope with the issues of diversity, workplace
literacy, team building and understanding of the impact of new
technologies.
     A leader in the field of community development, Sykes served
as executive director of the Community Relations-Social
Development Commission, a multi-million dollar social planning
and community action agency for Milwaukee County.  A past
president of the National Association for Community Development,
he has been a leader in numerous national, state and local
development efforts.
     Sykes holds a master's degree in urban affairs from the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  He has also taught at the
university level and has designed programs in employment and
training that became national models for the U.S. Department of
Labor.
     The Office of Community Services in HHS' Administration for
Children and Families administers programs that serve low-income
and needy people.  These include the Community Services Block
Grant, Social Services Block Grant and the Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Block Grant programs.  It also administers a variety
of programs that foster family stability, economic security,
responsibility and self-support; promote and provide services to
homeless and low-income people; reduce family violence; and
develop innovative approaches to reduce welfare dependency.   It
has an annual budget of $4.6 billion.