Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience challenges with social skill interactions that may affect their quality of life. Given that parents are often the most frequent and constant presence in their child's life, parents serve a vital role in their child's social and behavioral development. For this reason, children may…

Background: The literature has shown that the way active labour market policies (ALMP) aimed at youth are designed and implemented can influence the labour and educational prospects of youngsters. The evaluation of the Catalan PQPIs (initial vocational qualification programmes) presented here seeks to provide new evidence on the effectiveness of…

This article chronicles the search for and development of an outcome measurement tool for teen parents receiving community-based wraparound services. The criteria for selecting functional assessment tools available in the literature is presented along with the barriers experienced in using two of these well-cited tools. The rationale for in-house…

The objectives of this systematic review were to summarize the available evidence on the effects of prevention and intervention programs aimed at primary and secondary students for increasing school completion or reducing school dropout. The primary focus of the meta-analysis was to examine the comparative effectiveness of different programs and…

High school dropouts face daunting odds of success in a labor market that increasingly rewards education and skills. This report presents very early results from a rigorous, independent evaluation of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, an intensive residential program that aims to "reclaim the lives" of young people ages 16 to 18…

The mentoring of youth by adults has been identified as one of the more promising program approaches to promoting positive youth outcomes. This synthesis examines the role that mentoring plays in helping youth develop a broad array of strengths and capacities related to: (1) education and cognitive attainment; (2) health and safety; (3) social and…

This paper discusses the results of a study that investigated the need for services across the continuum of child/adolescent mental health services in Virginia. Specific objectives of the study were to: (1) describe the youth receiving services; (2) determine where and to what extent gaps in services exist; (3) determine the reasons why youth do…

Project Citywork was a demonstration project to provide employment for disadvantaged youth, and at the same time to determine which kinds of programs tend to work, and which do not. The program included work experience in nonprofit agencies; on-the-job training in the private sector; supportive services including counseling and classroom training,…

This paper presents preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of a model of care designed to provide safe and effective services in both short-term shelter and short-term staff secure detention programs. Boys Town short-term crisis shelter programs were designed to provide a safe and therapeutic environment for homeless and runaway youth in need…

This report deals with the effect of the new federalism on family planning programs and considers the impact of a shift from federal categorical funding to block grants. Testimony from Department of Health and Human Services officials outlines the experience and insights gained through administrations of the Title X program. The materials deal…

This commentary summarizes findings from previous articles on system-of-care mental health programs for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders. It addresses characteristics of participating children and families, system measurement system development, costs and sustainability, and family participation in program…

This report synthesizes first-phase evaluation results of the Teenage Parent Demonstration program. This program, whose cornerstone is case management, responded to three concerns: (1) rising welfare caseloads; (2) persistently high rates of teenage pregnancies and births; and (3) the high probability that teenage parents will go onto welfare and…

This guide was developed to help Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) prime sponsors to meet their responsibility for assessing the effectiveness of their efforts by examining the extent to which CETA participation has enhanced the longer-term income and employability status of former enrollees. As part 1 of a series, this document…

This paper analyzes policy initiatives undertaken to address the problem of youth unemployment. There are six main sections. Section I provides a general overview of the study, and Section II reviews the problems of differing groups of youth. Differences in the severity and long-run implications of youth labor market difficulties when…

This paper discusses the finding of two studies that assessed the need for children' mental health services in the Mott Haven community of the South Bronx, and investigated the cultural, personal, and service utilization characteristics of Mott Haven children who are recipients of existing mental health services. Results from a one-week period in…