Program quality is an important topic for improving out-of-school time youth development programs. High levels of program quality may contribute to enhanced positive youth development outcomes. This paper explores aspects of program quality in the California 4-H Youth Development Program and its relationship to positive youth development outcomes.…

This study describes an intervention developed to implement several best transition practices with a high risk/high need population. In all, 116 students with disabilities from a charter school for dropouts participated. All students were interviewed at different points in time to track their progress as they completed the program. Records of…

The extent to which service-learning exists in the field of kinesiology broadly, and more specifically related to the physical activity of youth, remains largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the service-learning literature in kinesiology, with a specific focus on youth physical activity settings.…

When The Goldman Sachs Foundation (GSF) made its first strategic social investment decision in 1999, it took note of one of Goldman Sachs' core corporate values: People are its greatest asset. The program's objective was--and is--clear and simple: to increase the number of high-potential young adults from historically underrepresented backgrounds…

Serve-America is a national program that was established under the 1990 National and Community Service Act to involve young people in community service and thereby build their understanding of their communities, sense of social responsibility, and commitment to community involvement. In 1992, a 3-year evaluation of Serve-America was initiated to…

The New Chance Demonstration, which operated at 16 locations in 10 states in 1989-1992, offered comprehensive education, training, and assistance to teenage mothers who had dropped out of high school. The demonstration, which was designed to increase the young mothers' well-being and long-term self-sufficiency, was subjected to an interim…

This report contains evaluations of various phases of the Vocational Exploration in the Private Sector Program (VEPS). (VEPS is designed to provide youth with exposure to jobs available in the private sector through observation of such jobs, instruction, and, if appropriate, limited practical experience so long as the participant does not…

Evaluation was part of the planning process for a Western 4-H Institute, an intensive, multi-state training for relatively new extension staff with 4-H responsibilities. Training content was diverse, but it focused on enhancing agents' professionalism and strengthening the 4-H club program. The evaluation measured training impacts on participants…

The Youth Work Skills (YWS) program was developed to help economically disadvantaged, out-of-school, high school-aged youth with reading abilities at or below the fifth-grade level become job ready. In 1992-93, YWS served 236 participants at 7 sites throughout New York (two sites each in Brooklyn and Buffalo and sites in the Bronx, Rochester, and…

This description and analysis of the lives of 32 young Comprehensive Employment and Training Act participants presents youth perspectives on the nature of the employment situation and the interacting factors which affect youth's employment chances, on the individual developmental process, on reasons for coming to and expectations of employment and…

The third biennial outcome evaluation of the state of Washington's workforce development system analyzed the results of nine of the state's largest workforce development programs plus employer-provided training for participants who left programs from July 1, 1997 to June 30, 1998. For reporting results, the nine programs were grouped into three…

This document reports on the conduct and findings of a 3-year evaluation of the 1995-96 school year of the Learn and Serve America School and Community-Based Programs, which were initiated to support school and community-based efforts to involve school-aged youth in community service. Well-designed, school-based service-learning programs have a…

The value of the output and services produced by students while enrolled in the Job Corps was estimated by analyzing data from a sample of 2 projects from each of 23 Job Corps centers. The projects were subjected to in-depth analysis based on independent-estimate and relative-productivity approaches. The following were among the key findings: (1)…

The performance of Alaska's State Training and Employment Program (STEP) in fiscal 2000 was evaluated by matching the records of participants of the following STEP subprograms with Alaska and Washington state unemployment insurance (UI) wage records and federal military and federal civilian payroll records. Data were collected for participants of…

The question of whether the Job Corps's impacts on students' employment and related outcomes differ according to the characteristics of the Job Corps center attended was examined. The study sample consisted of approximately 9,400 program group members and 6,000 control group members who were randomly selected from among the nearly 81,000…