In recent years, the number of children with a diagnosis of autism has substantially increased (Baio, 2012). There is a growing interest, therefore, in knowing more about their transition to employment as they reach adulthood. To address this question, the authors examined the national and state data from the vocational rehabilitation (VR) program…

The prevention of drug abuse is an especially salient topic for school psychologists and other educational professionals. Schools are the primary setting for providing education and information aimed at the prevention of drug abuse. Previous meta-analyses (Ennett, et al., 1994; West & O'Neal, 2004) indicate that one of the nation's most popular…

Advances in prevention science in the past 25 years provide important direction for neighborhood and community efforts to improve the lives of youth. Prevention scientists have applied a public health approach to youth problems such as drug use and delinquency, and have shown that these problems can be prevented. The identification of risk and…

Describes Urban Home program, a short but successful program for troubled youths, which, although successful in treatment goals, was, a result of administrative changes and bureaucratic needs, so restructured it became something totally different and unrecognizable. Concludes this example of change for its own sake, of constant redeployment of…

Twenty young people with a history of incarceration, substance abuse and disconnection provided Whitelion with insight into "what worked" in changing their at-risk behaviours. The answer was obvious--state support beyond 18 years of age, perhaps until the mid-twenties. These young people require specialised intervention, and help…

How has our society typically responded to the challenging problems facing youths? Communities have, more often than not, focused resources on prevention programs that have attempted to stop youths from taking drugs, joining gangs, getting pregnant, and dropping out of school, among other things. A problem is identified, and the response is to…

This case study documents reform policies and practices for handling juveniles, and the development of complete monitoring of child welfare and juvenile facilities. Due to the work of citizen and child advocacy groups, ways have been developed in Pennsylvania to determine whether state and federal laws regarding institutionalized children are…

Discusses challenges to adolescent mothers, adolescent fathers, and the young children of teenage parents. Describes recommended practices used in the Summer Training and Education Program, a life skills program; Between Us Sisters Starting To Operate Efficiently, a residential program; and the Developmental Training and Support Program, a staff…

The efforts of the Colorado Division of Youth Services to develop a program that would reduce the inappropriate use of secure detention of juveniles by providing intake/screening units and various nonsecure alternative detention services are described. Program goals are discussed and criteria on which detention decisions were based for the…

This paper describes the evaluative research of the Palm Beach County, Florida School Districts Youth Court Trial Program. Youth or teen courts have been implemented as an alternative measure to juvenile courts for handling adolescents who committed delinquent acts, usually for the first time. The purpose of the applied research was to identify…

Describes one county's approach to juvenile justice education. The program's goal is to develop and maintain an efficient, effective education for troubled youth based on the concepts of dignity, respect, and self-esteem. Discusses the target population, program methods, staff requirements and training, obstacles, and success indicators. (RJM)

Describes group therapy approach used by team of school psychologists to treat delinquent behavior of adolescents (n=82). Notes cooperative arrangement with the juvenile court made it possible for adjudicated delinquent youth to be referred directly to after-school sessions. Results from one-year follow-up study found no further arrests for 59.8…

Describes the Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority (YFA) program designed to help eliminate problems of urban youth, and analyzes the YFA with a focus on problems associated with female-headed, urban, black families. A summary of research is provided followed by a discussion of the conceptual model used as a basis for the program and an…

A description and evaluation of the Baltimore Youth Advocate Project (YAP) is provided in this report. This project attempted to find out whether, to what extent, and with what results certain children could actually be diverted from the juvenile justice system. The project provided coaching and counseling services to pre-delinquent and…

Youth work is a field that has moved from a sole focus on the treatment of youth problems to their prevention, and more recently, the promotion of normal, healthy development. Concurrent with this trend to a more comprehensive approach to youth services (one that serves a continuum from promotion to prevention to short- and long-term treatment)…