This paper details the efforts of four organizations that have been able to negotiate their environments effectively, in the hopes that the analysis provides insights into how organizations are able to establish valuable learning environments for youth in nonschool hours. The negotiation, the process of dealing with various layers of environments…

This speech promotes student involvement in community service activities. The notions of traditional American volunteerism and community spirit support the idea of students devoting their afterschool talents and energy to helpful endeavors such as tutoring, visiting nursing homes, planting trees, cleaning up ocean shores and river banks, clearing…

This study examined characteristic attributes of non-formal education and the non-formal pedagogy directing its teaching and learning processes. Data were collected on organizational and pedagogical characteristics in several out-of-school organizations (youth movements, youth organizations, community centers, bypass educational systems, local…

Social studies education programs should help students acquire skills and knowledge related to good citizenship, ensure that students apply these skills and knowledge to active civic participation, and promote standards of behavior and values that are also nurtured and developed in non-school settings. Children learn these in school and non-school…

Although 60% of the children served by foster care programs are black, none of the child welfare agencies in New York City are black-controlled. Control of child and family agencies would enable knowledgeable black entrepreneurs to define the kind of services to be delivered and where they are to be placed. In this way, the issues underlying the…

The present definition of social services for young people should be extended beyond the provision of counseling and therapy to include the provision of help for those who do not have psychological problems. For example, the role of probation officers should include helping probationers find a job and keep it, return to school, or obtain other…

Fund raising should be considered a major part of the business of every voluntary organization, even if the organization has relatively small fund raising goals. Voluntary agencies concerned with children should keep in mind the following: (1) public fund raising campaigns can provide a substantial proportion of the funding requirements of many…

Reported on are a series of seminars held to examine statutory provision of services for minority youth in England. In addition, questionnaires on the subject, which were completed by local authorities and community relations councils (CRCs), are discussed. Questionnaire content includes organized assistance to minority groups, provision of…

Research results show a skepticism among Polish youth concerning the possibility of implementing the accepted socialist values in political practice and denote a steady erosion of socialism's image. Youth organizations are many and varied, but it appears that most join because of the opportunity to meet friends, not because of political…

This study investigates prevention and treatment programs that deal with rural child sexual abuse in the State of Washington. A survey of 61 rural service providers examined agencies, services provided, problems faced in service delivery, and innovative solutions to those problems. The study compares responses from three types of agencies (mental…

This paper describes an agency working with children, teenagers, and families in inner-city St. Louis neighborhoods. Its programs included all the social work specializations--casework, community development, and group work--which interacted in a holistic approach. Poverty was one common denominator among all the neighborhoods served. Youth clubs…

The recent conceptualization of organizations as "open" adaptive systems rather than "closed" systems has lead to increased interest in the relationship between the organization and its significant environmental influences. In order to study the perceived sources of internal (organizational) and external (environmental)…

This report presents the findings and recommendations of an Early Childhood Development Task Force established in 1974 by Governor Straub of Oregon. The Task Force was established to study the need for a centralized structure or agency to determine policies and plan programs in child development for Oregon. The Task Force was also requested to…

This paper traces the process of designing and administering a structured survey on dropping out of school to demonstrate the means by which working with organizations and their clients impacts research methodology. A dropout accounting system had been developed for the Ysleta Independent School District, a district with an enrollment of 50,000…

This paper describes the work of Youth Service California, a state-wide collaboration of public and private organizations that since 1990 has brought the voice of the local youth service field to state level policy and program development. Youth Service California's purpose is the further development of a diverse state movement to increase and…