College student mentors are increasingly mentoring at-risk youth, yet little is known about the benefits that college students derive from their experience mentoring within the context of a service-learning course. This qualitative study used focus groups to examine college students' experiences as participants in a unique program, Campus Corps:…

The Santa Clara County Pre-Delinquent Diversion Program is an attempt to develop and coordinate community based alternatives to the juvenile justice system. The concept of diversion is implemented at the police level by 12 law enforcement jurisdictions, each of which has shaped a distinctive approach to the problem in consonance with the nature of…

The report describes Aunt Martha's Youth Service Center (IL), a multipurpose agency which focuses on the needs of adolescents. Founded in 1968, the agency now (1978) has a staff of 40, a 21 member board of directors, 199 volunteers, 28 foster parents, and serves a 15 township region. The goals of the program are to increase opportunities for young…

Runaways have become a concern to Congress, law enforcement agencies, courts, and parents. Since running away is a juvenile offense, it has serious legal consequences for the young people involved. This publication describes one community's successful effort to divert runaways from the juvenile justice system and to strengthen services to troubled…

Presents a national profile of youth problems and a literature review that focuses on the causes of each of the problem areas. Reviews what is known about preventive measures and the effectiveness of existing intervention strategies. Details the status of youth, teen pregnancy, school dropouts, substance abuse, and delinquency. (RJM)

This book makes extensive use of photographs to document successful community-based family support programs that enable families and their children to overcome cycles of poverty, drugs, and violence. The book begins with an essay by Roger Rosenblatt discussing the history of childhood in America and the growth of community-based programs; the…

The conference proceedings of the First National Symposium on Youth Violence are presented in terms of the program objectives, i.e., to identify successful youth involvement programs and to develop positive strategies for decreasing violence. This monograph provides the program schedule and texts and summaries of various speeches on the topics of…

The booklet describes how three American communities (Orange County, California; San Antonio, Texas; and St. Joseph County, Indiana) are using grant assistance from the Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention Administration to implement Youth Services Systems, which are designed to divert youth from encounters with the juvenile justice system…

Truancy is the first sign that a youngster is giving up and losing his or her way. Research shows that students who become truant and eventually drop out of school put themselves at a long-term disadvantage in becoming productive citizens. Dropouts are more likely to be on welfare or unemployed than high school graduates. High truancy rates are…

A cooperative community-school district counseling program to reduce truancy and juvenile delinquency in Inglewood, California is described. Material, in the form of official memos, is divided into four sections. Section 1 describes project funding and target students. Section 2 contains statistics related to the numbers of students served, put on…

Demonstrates the role of a school counselor in establishing a substance abuse prevention effort and describes specific steps taken in a rural community to deal with adolescent drug problems. School and local mental health counselors were crucial to development of the program. (JAC)

This report provides basic facts about The Door, a multifaceted youth center in New York City, which serves 300-400 young people each day. The origins, early stages, guiding philosophy, activities, and organizational structure are described. Recommendations for initiating and operating multiservice youth projects based on the experience of The…

This examines an exemplary project of community arbitration, a juvenile justice alternative. Essential elements of this project are described and include: (1) prompt case processing, (2) court-like setting, (3) involvement of victims, (4) assurance of due process, (5) use of community resources, and (6) constructive dispositions. Facets of CAP…

This collection of essays provides an overview of runaways and runaway centers and describes specific short- and long-term services. The sections on direct services provide a basis for understanding the preventative services offered by runaway centers and the kinds of training necessary for center workers. The materials also consider the hazards…

Truancy is the first sign that a youngster is in trouble and that he or she may need the help of parents, teachers, and community members to get back on track. Research shows that students who become truant and eventually drop out of school put themselves at a long-term disadvantage in becoming productive citizens. Dropouts are more likely to be…