In 1963, the National Commission on Community Health Services appointed the Task Force on Health Manpower to assess community health needs, to evaluate methods of recruiting, educating, developing, motivating and utilizing manpower, and to recommend ways to assure availability and optimal utilization of manpower based upon community health needs. Twenty-three recommendations of the task force include: (1) governmental initiative in cooperative planning among governmental and voluntary agencies, (2) innovations to increase productivity of highly skilled personnel, (3) assumption of responsibility by the Public Health Service for collecting and reporting manpower data on a nationwide basis, (4) increasing the numbers of existing and new kinds of allied and auxiliary personnel and expanding and developing their roles, (5) establishing national minimum requirements for the licensure of health personnel, (6) recruiting from groups which have not been fully tapped such as minority groups and technologically displaced workers, (7) expanding health occupations programs in 2-year colleges, (8) emphasizing the preparation of personnel qualified in administration in schools of public health, and (9) augmenting federal support to stimulate funding from other sources, including the private sector. (JK)