Strength-based programs that incorporate technology have gained increasing popularity as an approach to improve outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite this, the core elements of strength-based technology programs remain poorly described. This study aimed to identify the core elements of strength-based technology…

A literature review was conducted using the key words relating to Native American Youth and 4-H to assess the current state of 4-H youth programming serving First Nation/ Indigenous populations to inform future Extension initiatives. A systematic and qualitative review determined what level of focus the conducted programming efforts placed on…

MENTOR's newest resource takes the cornerstone best-practice guide for mentoring, the "Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™," and offers research-backed and practice-based tips specifically for STEM mentoring programs. "The STEM Supplement to the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™" provides additional…

Purpose: Despite the strong belief in sports programs as a setting in which socially vulnerable youth can develop life skills, no overview exists of life skill development in sports programs serving this youth group. Therefore, the present systematic review provides an overview of the evidence on life skill development in sports programs serving…

Positive development models shift focus for intervention from avoiding problems, deficits, or psychopathology to promoting skills, assets, and psychological well-being as the critical interests in development and intervention. The field can be characterized as multiple parallel lines of empirical inquiry from four frameworks: Social Competence,…

Presents a process for defining high-quality adventure for all young people. Expands "progression" in outdoor adventure to include application of what is learned to other aspects of life. Emphasizes the importance to adventure education of nonadventurous dimensions such as group experience, and stresses that adventure is both medium and a message.…

Research suggests eight universal features that should be present in all youth development programs. Each feature is named and described, opposite poles are noted, and camp-specific actions to incorporate the feature are listed. A flow chart presents a series of questions to help camp administrators determine whether these features are present in…

Compares rationales and outcome research for five areas of programming for maltreated and other at-risk adolescents: adolescent competence and skills development programs, family- and parent-focused programs, social integration programs, multiple component programs, and neighborhood transformation programs. Finds that several program models have…

Suggests strategies for assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation of substance abuse prevention programs with American Indian youth. Illustrates use of each strategy with examples from drug abuse prevention activities in Northwest Indian communities. (JHZ)

The National Service (NS) program links financial assistance for education to community service. Four issues of primary concern arise as policymakers and program planners move from the program's concept to the fine points of its design and implementation: (1) achieving balance among the program's conflicting goals; (2) expanding educational…

Research concerning the roles that race, ethnicity, and culture play in youth development is reviewed; and the implications of this research for the design of youth development programs are analyzed, with recommendations for program planners. The analysis focuses on the various assumptions that have been used with respect to minority youth, the…

Prepared as a basic background document for an interagency task force on youth employment, this report analyzes youth employment policies and programs for the 1980s. The main body of the report consists of three sections. Section 1, entitled "Policy Perspectives on the Youth Employment Problem," contains a discussion of pathways to…

This series of fifteen reports reviews available information on youth employment program experience. (It constitutes the third of a three-volume compendium; other volumes examine the causes and dimensions of youth employment problems and cover special needs and problems of youth employment policy--see note.) The youth employment delivery system,…

For many youths, the early years in the labor market are characterized not by an absence of jobs but rather by a "churning" process that often delays the benefits of high school educational experiences for several years. Youth apprenticeship programs should be designed to serve as a strategy/vehicle of school reform, function as a labor market…

The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), a bill designed to replace the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), enlarges the role of state governments and private industry in federal job training programs, imposes sanctions based on performance standards, limits stipends and supportive services, creates a new program of retraining for…