The Youth Crisis Network (YCN) is an alliance of human service agencies and school systems located in northwestern Connecticut that share a mutual concern about suicidal youth and other youth in crisis. The YCN provides system networking, coordination, collaboration, and advocacy aimed at developing quality services for youth at risk and youth in…

For 3.5 years, North Carolina has conducted a randomized experimental program designed to provide intensive supervision services for undisciplined youths (status offenders) placed under the protective supervision of the juvenile courts. Updated results from an ongoing systematic evaluation of the project indicate that, for undisciplined youths…

Project About Face is a joint effort on the part of the Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court, Youth Services, Inc., the Naval Air Station at Millington, Correctional Counseling, Inc., and the Bureau of Educational Research Services at Memphis State University. The goals of the project were to implement a program of education and training that is…

The most comprehensive nationwide research ever conducted on the juvenile detention and corrections field was a study by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) assessing conditions of confinement for juveniles and determining the extent to which those conditions conform to recognized national professional standards. The…

This document uses data from 112 communities that have surveyed 9th- through 12th-grade students with "Search Institute Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes & Behaviors" to examine the way youth experience their community's strengths and how these factors contribute to youth development. A section on study highlights identifies six key findings:…

This report focuses on children who are at risk for abusing alcohol and other drugs. It notes that the concept of risk factors is only one component necessary to understanding the range of youth drug-related behaviors. A second component, protective factors, is identified and defined as those aspects of a person's biology, psychology, and…

This document consists of Part 1 of a book of readings on at-risk youth designed to provide information and strategies for counselors, teachers, parents, administrators, social workers, and others who work with youth at risk. The two chapters in Part 1 present information related to population identification, the issues and concepts involved, and…

For homeless children, assuming responsibility for their own survival is an act of self-empowerment. However, society tends to see these children as victims to be rescued, delinquents who need to be disciplined, or else they are ignored. These views deny the resourcefulness of children who survive under these conditions. A study was conducted of…

This document is a short summary of teenage suicide issues intended for use by teachers. Possible causes for teenage suicide are discussed, including: (1) chemical abuse; (2) unrealistic view of death; (3) the nuclear threat; (4) societal changes; (5) family changes; (6) lifestyle decisions; (7) academic pressures; and (8) the success code.…

This document is an instructional guide for use by local Boys Clubs of America in promoting delinquency prevention and in designing programs to address the problem of the inappropriate detention of juveniles. The problem of inappropriate youth detention and the need for Boys Clubs to provide alternatives to detention are discussed in the…

This document presents a report and supplemental views from the House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor concerning H.R. 4650, The Youth Suicide Prevention Act. An amendment to the bill is provided and a brief summary of the purpose of the Youth Suicide Prevention Act is given. Legislative background and consideration of the bill…

This document describes Minnesota statutes and cases that provide rights, responsibilities, and protections for young people different from those applicable to adults. It gives legislators an overview of all laws affecting young people, serving as a reference aid for current state policies toward youth. It is basically a state guide, including…

Although the organizational structure and activities of youth gangs have been studied, little research has focused on law enforcement strategies to handle youth gang behavior. To examine how police handle youth gangs and law violation and to identify effective prevention and control strategies, the police gang control and youth personnel…

This document describes a study of runaways (N=149) at a Toronto, Canada shelter which examined why urban adolescents run away from home; the role of sexual abuse in the life histories of runaways; and why runaways return home. The report begins with a discussion about adolescents at risk, with a definition of terms, numbers of runaways, and a new…

Nebraska's Omaha Magic Theatre (OMT) and playwright Megan Terry are concerned with producing socially relevant, issue-oriented musical plays, focusing on young people and the adults who influence their emotional lives. OMT's "Theatre of Process" focuses upon the performing artist to develop and test ways to make theater more meaningful,…