This article illustrates simultaneous household participation in the lives of undocumented, unaccompanied Mexican teenage minors in New York City and its impact on their school attendance. Emigrating without parents, some Mexican youths arrive to enter into the labor market, not school. Unable to assume monetary dependence, these youths' absences…

The modern juvenile justice system is failing our society. A literature review reveals resounding criticism of the system at all points--arrest, court processing, and incarceration. The current system does not effectively reduce recidivism, is wrought with racial disparities, operates with a minimal degree of cultural competence, violates human…

This qualitative study examined the meanings ascribed to the construct "home" by 208 youths defined by mainstream society as "homeless". Youth narratives on the topic of home ranged across a continuum with home as state at one end (i.e., home is a state of mind, comprised of one's friends) and home as place at the other (i.e.,…

In Fall 2007, Hudson Guild--a settlement house that provides services to hundreds of adults, teens and children in two housing developments in New York City--embarked on a study to assess the needs of youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who were residing in the community and were disconnected (i.e., those youth who were not in school or not…

In the wake of a U.S. Justice Department investigation that found widespread use of excessive force by staff at upstate psychiatric care facilities for mentally ill children, this new edition of Child Welfare Watch identifies shortcomings in mental health services and explores possible solutions, including the expansion of alternatives to…

ROLE-PLAYING, THE FLEXIBLE ACTING OUT OF VARIOUS TYPES OF PROBLEMS IN A PERMISSIVE GROUP ATMOSPHERE, WAS AIMED AT DEVELOPING A FULL, INNER FEELING ABOUT A SITUATION FROM ACTING OUT HOW OTHER PEOPLE ACTUALLY FELT IN THE SITUATION. ROLE-PLAYING WAS ESPECIALLY USEFUL FOR LOW-INCOME GROUPS BECAUSE THEY EXPRESS THEMSELVES MORE READILY WHEN REACTING TO…

Presents young women's story of growing up in the New York group home system. Recounts how the friendship of one young woman helped transform her from an angry youth to one with direction and purpose. (Author/JDM)

This manual is designed for human service providers--including social workers, counselors, teachers, child care workers, probation officers, nurses and physicians--to help them with questions about the legal rights and responsibilities of young people in New York State. The document is directed at human service providers because they are seen as…

Rap Room is a peer counseling service which combines self-help, peer help, and professional guidance to develop supportive relations in the midst of a generally depersonalizing and growth-stifling institution. (Author/AM)

Evaluated effectiveness of LYFE (Living for the Young Family through Education), which helps teenage mothers continue schooling while learning to take care of their babies. Found that two-thirds of pilot participants graduated high school, there was greater likelihood of graduating the longer one was in the program, and women without a repeat…

To assess the educational and employment experiences of youths after exposure to New York's Division for Youth (DFY) rehabilitation services, the incidence of criminal recidivism, and the extent to which program exposure (secure/noncommunity, or community-based) affects youths' post-program, criminal, educational, and employment experiences, 771…

This paper describes a New York State program developed to serve violent juvenile delinquents in need of mental health intervention. Since two separate state agencies had to be involved in the design and operation of this project (the Department of Mental Hygiene, which traditionally excludes "anti-social" youths from its psychiatric…

In New York State, the antisocial behavior of some youths causes them to be removed from their homes and placed with the state's Division for Youth. At Division facilities, youths are required to receive counseling/treatment services until they can be released into the community. An audit was conducted to determine whether the Division was…

In the winter of 1989-1990, the Bureau of Applied Studies of the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) conducted a major survey of alcohol and other drug use among students in public and private schools throughout the state. In addition to students in grades 7 through 12, who historically constitute the survey…