CUED
Center
for Urban Economic Development
University of Illinois at Chicago
A
Preliminary Feasibility Assessment of the MANOS Project
(for Travelers and
Immigrants Aid)
Project Number: 357
Report Date: August 1992
Author(s): William Howard
The Chicago Institute on Urban Poverty requested that the Center for Urban Economic Development complete a preliminary assessment of the market feasibility of a proposed job referral collective called MANOS. Job services that might be provided in Cook County by members of the collective include house cleaning, house painting, gardening, minor home repairs, child care, and elder care. For purposes of this study, these services were grouped under three categories: "house maintenance worker," "child care worker," and "elder care worker."
As part of the Center for Urban Economic Development's preliminary feasibility assessment, a total of 1,352 Cook County census tracts were analyzed for 11 "indicators of need" and "capacity to pay" for house maintenance and child care services, and five such indicators were analyzed in relation to elder care services. Each of the 1,352 census tracts was scored and ranked in relation to its indicated need for each of the three proposed MANOS services and its ability to pay for such services.
Most of the top potential markets for MANOS services were found to be in census tracts located in Palatine, Schaumburg, Orland Park, and on Chicago's Northside. In Cook County, demand for child care and elder care workers during the period 1988 to the year 2000 is expected to grow. Demand for most house maintenance services during the period is not expected to grow in Cook County.
The Center for Urban Economic Development recommends that CIUP undertake a second-phase feasibility study of the MANOS proposal. This more-detailed study should include a market demand analysis, a financial feasibility study, and a business plan.
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