Almost any youth program has the potential to be hollow busywork or a vibrant learning experience. Research has documented important features of supportive environments, choice and flexibility, balancing youth and adult-driven stances, and the centrality of relationships. The challenge for practitioners is to construct and carry out youth…

Four innovative educational and three criminal justice programs were studied to determine whether dissemination/implementation with close fidelity to the original model or implementation according to local needs was more effective. Well-operationalized programs were usually adopted and implemented with fidelity acceptable to program developers.…

This introductory article in a special issue on mentoring as a means to prevent school failure looks at the beginnings of mentoring in the United States, recent growth of mentoring programs, similarities and differences in mentoring programs, sources of funding for mentoring programs, what works and what does not, and the future of mentoring…

The Bob Steele Reading Center was established in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1986 under board and staff leadership of the Literacy Volunteers of America-Connecticut (LVA-CT). The center has been under the management of Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford (LVGH) since 1989. Located in an alternative high school in a predominantly Hispanic…

Youth development lies at the heart of the Workforce Investment Act and the Youth Opportunity Movement. Like employment training programs for adults, employment training programs for youth should focus on acquisition of skills, gainful employment, and productive citizenship. Beyond these three characteristics, it is essential that programs for…