Extension educators often seek new strategies for engaging minority youths in 4-H programs, especially young Black males. These strategies require programming developed in response to the context of this population. We offer insights into the social context of Black males and offer suggestions that will help educators develop identity and…

This article focuses on how 4-H youth participants are building social capital, or connections among individuals and community members, through their 4-H experiences. These experiences can be seen through the lens of such 4-H delivery modes as the traditional 4-H club, after-school programs, and school enrichment programs. In addition, other…

With 55 percent of the 53,400 students on free and reduced lunch programs, a 78 percent mobility rate, and a diverse population, Columbus City Schools (CCS) in Ohio faces the challenges common to other urban districts. In spite of the challenges, CCS has made a long-term commitment to engage students in high-quality physical education and physical…

This paper takes a descriptive look at Community Science Workshops (CSWs). This paper discusses what CSW is, how it arose and spread, how local CSWs are structured and led, and what programs and experiences they offer to youth. (Contains 2 footnotes.)

The designated leaders of maternal and child health (MCH) in more than 70 major urban city and county health departments submitted profiles of urban MCH efforts as a requirement for federally subsidized attendance. When these profiles were reviewed, eight broad themes were apparent as lessons from MCH practice. The lessons are: (1) drawing in…

Describes an under-recognized target population for adolescent pregnancy prevention: the younger sisters of childbearing teens. Data from several studies highlight several potential prepregnancy-risk characteristics that are particularly present in this group. These young women have disproportionately higher rates of early pregnancy and…

Strategies to enhance prosecution of gang-related crimes are presented, with a focus on enforcement and prosecution targeting urban street gangs. The model programs introduced offer strategies largely based on the practical experiences of agencies that participated in a demonstration program, the Urban Street Gang Drug Trafficking Enforcement…

This booklet presents the youth development approach to supporting adolescents in dealing with all the issues they face, including preventing unintended pregnancies. The Department of Health and Human Services promotes five principles that research and experience suggest are key to community efforts to prevent teen pregnancy: (1) parental and…

This is the third in a series of reports summarizing the investment of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in community-based health programming. It addresses the health issues confronting young people in U.S. society by profiling eight different community-based approaches to adolescent health. The programs described, all sponsored by the Kellogg…

Plain Talk is a neighborhood-based initiative aimed at helping adults, parents, and community leaders develop the skills and tools they need to communicate effectively with young people about reducing adolescent sexual risk-taking. Plain Talk was implemented in five urban neighborhoods in: Atlanta (Georgia); San Diego (California): Seattle…

Describes a bookstore established for and run by students at an elementary school in New York City. Students are paid for work as cashiers and store personnel with certificates for free books. An editor's note describes the growth of the program, which now buys in volume and supplies many schools around the country. (SLD)

This book is a comprehensive guide to the philosophy, organization, and management of a mentoring program for African American girls. It is based on a program sponsored by the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston (Texas). This program matches between 25 and 50 young women with Christian women mentors. The program emphasizes Christian values,…

Stresses the importance of developing camp programs that serve the needs of economically disadvantaged, inner-city youth. Suggests strategies for recruiting and working with inner-city youth and parents. Suggestions based on programing at Camp Rosenthal (Dowagiac, Michigan), a residential camp that hosts more than 800 inner-city Chicago youth each…

To support community efforts to reach out to African American youth confronted with high-risk environments in the cities, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention has launched the Urban Youth Public Education Campaign. This campaign targets 9- to 13-year-old African American youth in high-risk inner-city environments. The campaign is designed to…

Urban conservation and service corps units, which provide jobs to disadvantaged youth and engage them in activities beneficial to the wider society, such as building or restoring city facilities, are discussed in this document, which contains two separate reports. Report 1 describes the origin and basic features of urban corps programs in New York…