Community-based prevention efforts to curb substance abuse problems in the United States have led to significant reductions in substance use and abuse. Many of these efforts have been carried out under the leadership of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) as well as…

This guide features programs and initiatives that foster community development, while improving the health of individuals, or provide services to improve the health of individuals as well as fostering community economic development. The guide was developed to provide examples of successful programs and workable strategies to assist the…

The growth of the Children, Youth and Families At Risk National Initiative into a base program was charted through a survey documenting changes in 22 participating states' ability to develop and sustain programs. Data from 1997-1998 and 2000-2001 reveal gains in four of six components: statewide commitment, individuals' understanding of states'…

Compared the effectiveness of home- and community-based physical activity interventions that targeted mothers and daughters to increase physical activity and improve health- related fitness. Data on dyads from community- and home-based programs indicated that mothers and daughters responded positively to both types of programs. Home-based physical…

Describes the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation National Program in Self-Determination, a program facilitating change through the support of "learning community" grants to self-advocacy organizations and others. Local implementation is demonstrating creativity in establishing new tools of self-directed management of resources, listening to…

Trilhos Alternativos (Alternative Paths) is a community-based program that aims to integrate African-Portuguese urban youth from low-income families into Portuguese society. This article describes the first year of the program and presents formative data about effectiveness of the program. The motivation system seems to be an indirect variable…

The Stage Life was a participatory arts programme for people attending a day services provision in Nottinghamshire. The uniqueness of this programme was that it was provided in a local disused cinema acquired by the local authority for community-based activities amongst disadvantaged groups. The Stage Life aimed to build the community arts…

University researchers, teacher candidates, language and technology instructors, student learners, and families from diverse backgrounds partnered in an invitational teaching/learning experience--middle school student learners teaching their VIPs (very important persons) how to create stories and construct digital movies with reference to their…

This article describes the planning of a multi-agency and multi-stakeholder evaluation of the implementation of supportive housing. The Ottawa Housing"Plus" Collaborative Communities project is a collaboration between university-based evaluators and members of a local network of supportive housing providers. The objectives of the…

Community coalitions (CCs) have labored with some difficulty to demonstrate empirical evidence of effectiveness in preventing a wide range of adolescent problem behaviors. Training and technical assistance (TA) have been identified as important elements in promoting improved functioning of CCs. A reliable, valid, and inexpensive method to assess…

This article discusses national, state, and local youth service, noting the initiatives of 1984-5, the association of national youth services with the military draft, some keys to deriving maximum value from youth service initiatives, and the outcomes that can be anticipated from a youth service program. (DCS)

A community-based day treatment program for adjudicated youth is described. Participants report improved school attendance and fewer incidences of running away, acting out, talking back, and other problems. (BL)

This report is the product of a 2-year project during which the Committee on Community-Level Programs for Youth, a 15-member panel, evaluated and integrated the current science on adolescent health and development with research and findings regarding program design, implementation, and evaluation of community programs for youth. It highlights…

In early 1994, Central Falls, Rhode Island's Kids First, a collaborative partnership between the Central Falls School Department and local community leaders, launched a pilot universally-free school breakfast program (UF-SBP) called "Operation Breakfast." One of the goals of Operation Breakfast was to improve SBP participation; school…

The epidemiology of adolescent suicide is summarized with particular emphasis on temporal trends by age and gender. "First-generation" prevention programs are examined, followed by a description of selective, targeted, "second generation" prevention efforts, which are focused toward targets of individual predisposition, the…