A service period for youth is a reasonable idea, considering decreasing employment opportunities, increasing political and social alienation, widespread social pathologies, and the continued expansion of adolescence beyond its physiological and psychological parameters. Youth service has evolved from a federal "Great Society" concept to a more decentralized state or community version bridging the gap between high school and college. A school-based youth service would require some kind of regulation. Many educators believe that alterations in school structure will take place once the realities of our postindustrial society are widely recognized. At present, integrating a national youth service into the existing educational establishment would be extremely difficult. The service would be handicapped by bureaucracy. A better approach might be to present national or community service not as educational reform but as a social obligation with educational merit that dampens the effects of structural unemployment. Recognizing the cloudy future for national service in this country, this paper focuses on historical context, probable obstacles (subversion by educational and business bureaucracies) and the current status of the concept. Included are 1 diagram and 19 references. (MLH)