Youth mentoring can be an effective way of supporting troubled youth, helping them sustain positive mental health, cope with stress, and lead successful lives through adolescence and into adulthood. This book is a comprehensive guide to youth mentoring programmes, illustrating how, if managed well, they can increase the social support available to…

Review of the research on at-risk youth and resilient youth (successful youth despite adverse family and environmental situations) focuses on environmental protective factors such as positive relationships and youth participation. Application to park and recreation systems suggests leisure systems can provide such positive factors as a caring…

The emerging youth service movement has reinforced and built on the foundation of service in traditional organizations and focuses on tapping youth talent and energy. Youth service is a concept that has roots in pre-20th century American society. Service programs today increasingly include training, education, prevention, and employment…

This guide was developed to help concerned community members, groups, and organizations learn about major federal and state funds for employment-related youth programs and to direct them to additional funding resources. The guide discusses several types of employment-related activities that help young people become healthy and productive adults.…

Identifying the voluntary activities, programs, and services that children and families use during students' out-of-school time as primary supports, this self-study guide provides a framework for developing primary support programs that allow school-aged children and adolescents to develop physical, cognitive, social, and emotional skills. The…

This guide consists of suggestions, ideas, and tips intended to stimulate development of cooperative summer youth employment programs in local communities. Addressed in the individual sections of the guide are the following topics: tips on where to start, suggestions on how to get started, hints on securing resources, program resources, use of…

This report comprises papers that discuss how grassroots organizations, police involvement, and partnerships with local government and boards of education can prevent youth from criminal involvement through participation in productive and enjoyable work and activities. The following articles are included: (1) "Police Officers Can 'Prevent'…

This implementation guide is designed for community-based organizations interested in developing programs similar to Plain Talk, a neighborhood-based initiative aimed at helping adults, parents, and community leaders develop the skills and tools needed to communicate effectively with youth about reducing adolescent sexual risk taking. The guide is…

In 2006, more than 6 million individuals were victimized by violent crimes. Although violence is below levels of the early 1990s, it remains high. The extent of violence and its impact highlight a critical need to develop and implement effective programs to reduce violence and victimization. Communities have initiated a wide range of such…

This book offers interested organizations suggestions, tips, and ideas to stimulate thinking for developing summer jobs programs in the community. It is a collection of workable summer youth jobs programs that are drawn from the over 100 locations in which National Alliance of Business (NAB) regional services offices provided technical assistance…

This guide offers a practical approach for operating summer youth employment programs that involves cooperation among private businesses and local organizations. A timetable provides a month-by-month schedule. Seven sections discuss management responsibilities. Program Planning covers scope, goals, and coordination. Program Management addresses…

This monograph provides guidelines for agencies and community groups to develop individualized responses to local gang problems. The manual contains a foundation for understanding the diverse nature of gangs, the problems they pose, and the harm they cause. Two models are presented for addressing gang-related problems. The problem-solving model to…

This planning guide is designed to help communities answer important questions about programs to address youth violence, including finding out the types of programs that are effective and learning how to implement them. The guide is divided into four sections. Section 1, "Key Facts about Youth Violence," presents key facts about youth violence…

Issues relevant to juveniles in adult jails are discussed in this guide which is designed to aid concerned citizens who want to promote public interest and support for the removal of juveniles from adult jails and lockups. Statistics on the number of juveniles in adult jails, their ages, seriousness of offenses, and suicide rate are given. The…

This publication is part of a series of tools and resources on financing and sustaining youth programming. These tools and resources are intended to help policymakers, program developers, and community leaders develop innovative strategies for implementing, financing, and sustaining effective programs and policies. This strategy brief presents a…