This journal issue summarizes the main points of a two-volume guide to youth performance management: "Working It Out: An Anthology of State and Local Performance Management Strategies Designed to Increase Services to Youth at Risk of Chronic Unemployment." The guide draws on the experiences of state and local practitioners in identifying…

Some programs for helping at-risk youth achieve excellent results, while others do not. One reason for program success can be proper management. Mentoring is a promising strategy for helping at-risk youth. Planners who want to create effective mentoring programs should look at the implementation experiences of other youth programs. Evaluations…

Mentoring has a mystique that only good can come from it, that at the worst, mentoring programs will not accomplish all that they could, but the youth served will at least be better for the experience. Both impact and process evaluations are needed to answer questions about the real benefits and any potential adverse effects of mentoring. The…