ABSTRACT
Current considerations for the provision of public services must include how to respond effectively to the principal challenges of the twenty-first century. Many of these challenges will emanate from changing demographics that are impacting the demand for and the delivery and provision of public goods and services. For instance, the U.S. Census Bureau (2000) notes that Hispanics are officially the largest minority group in the United States; African-Americans are the second. There are also increasing numbers of individuals of other nationalities who represent a mosaic of colors, languages, cultural values, and ethnic traditions. This situation will pose tremendous challenges that require the creation of a diverse and more efficient public service workforce. Some of the challenges that changing demographics will pose are discussed in the Workforce 2000 report published by the Hudson Institute (Johnston and Packer 1987). The report indicated that there would be major changes in the workforce by the twenty-first century. For example, 84 percent of new entrants into the workforce would be women and men of color, white women, and foreign nationals. Workforce 2020, the sequel to Workforce 2000, further substantiates the changing demographics of the American workforce (Judy and D’Amico 1997). In a subsequent report, Futurework: Trends and Challenges for Work in the 21st Century, the U.S. Department of Labor reinforces the Hudson Institute’s predictions for a changing workforce. This report states:
These workplace changes will affect employees’ expectations about the implied contract between employees and employer, the numbers of dual career and nontraditional families, and the overall diversity of the workforce.
