This study profiles tutoring programs that empower urban youth within the Regional Institute of Tutorial Education (RITE), a community collaborative of universities, youth agencies, community service organizations, and school districts. Representative members of RITE detail how they address shared urban problems of academic deficits, school…

This Monthly Action Kit introduces some approaches to defining local substance abuse indicators and provides ideas on how to measure them. The kit also contains examples of what some communities are doing to measure their local progress. A few indicators worth considering are outlined with suggestions about what to measure, where to find the data,…

For several decades, the relative importance of process as opposed to task has been an issue in the literature. This study of the Model Cities program examines the relationship between program outcomes and the process and task orientations of program planners. (Author)

The Program of Continuing Education in Urban Affairs of the University of Minnesota's General Extension Division acts as a clearinghouse and consultant service, provides clerical and administrative services for the Minneapolis Council of Community Councils and the Association of St. Paul Communities, and runs lecture series and one day…

More than 6,021 groups have been identified that work to bring peace to urban streets in constructive ways. Approaches that can help bring these groups together as exemplified by the Youth Peace Movement are discussed. The transcommunal approach of the Youth Peace Movement brings together many allies at the grass roots level. (SLD)

This annual report for 1990 details initiatives by a select group of New York City (New York) agencies on matters of particular concern to Latinos. New York City's mayor, David Dinkins, originally presented these initiatives in August of 1990 to a meeting of Latino leaders representing diverse agencies and community organization. Highlights of…

This book provides a framework for developing community-based family support initiatives in public housing. After describing the historical and present contexts of this approach, the book details principles and key elements. Profiles are presented for eight organizations, all working in public housing, but with different strategies and emphases:…

The Hartford project, an experimental effort to reduce residential burglary, street robberies, and fear of those crimes in an urban residential neighborhood, is described. Its most distinctive feature is its integrative approach in which police, community organization, and physical design changes were used to increase the willingness and ability…

This report contains an inventory of urban programs and courses offered by 11 institutions of higher education in the Washington area. Many of the programs focus on the education and cultural enrichment of the poor and provide basic education for inner-city children, and social, recreational and rehabilitation programs as well as higher education,…

In 1982, the Boston Compact attempted to tackle student dropout employment problems. This paper reviews the process of this agreement made by local leaders, traces the creation of a communitywide plan to respond to Boston's school dropout problem, and summarizes Boston's Draft Dropout Prevention Reentry plan. (Author/LHW)

As the official position statement of a committee of the National Mental Health Association, this paper advocates a national mindset that finds violence simply unacceptable and supports social, health care, and community support policies that promote healthy and secure communities that will ultimately prevent violence. (SLD)

Social capital is the glue that holds a community together. It is the network of relationships among persons that can be used to get things done. Social capital is a necessary, but not sufficient, ingredient of community building. A community must mobilize its social capital and the mechanisms of its infrastructure to face and resolve collective…

More than 4,000 people responded to a survey about community efforts to reduce substance abuse and gun violence. Six major findings were identified from the responses of 1,608 people who identified themselves as leaders of community efforts in these areas. Community leaders want significant changes in long-standing public policies and a change in…

City Year is a community-service program based in Boston (Massachusetts) that has frequently been praised as a model for other service programs. In City Year, young people of all races and from differing backgrounds work together for 9 months on public service programs ranging from physical labor to tutoring. Volunteers receive a small stipend and…

Young people can be, and must be, partners in community drug prevention efforts. This book discusses teen successes in drug prevention, telling how and where it is happening and how to make it happen in the community. Teens are shown forging vital partnerships with schools, law enforcement, community agencies, and others. The focus is on…