Compares 220 adult male felons incarcerated in New York State's Sing Sing Correctional Facility (79 percent are dropouts and 84 percent are from urban settings) to dropouts in the literature. The dropouts have many similarities with nonincarcerated dropouts and have more in common with them than with fellow inmates. (SLD)

The magnitude of societal violence, issues surrounding organizational and scientific approaches to its control, emerging strategies that promise to advance knowledge of its causes, and the relationships between socioeconomic factors and interpersonal violence are reviewed. An agenda for public and science policy, professional practice, and basic…

"Do the Right Thing" leaves the viewer with contradictory and confused messages that suggest that the film has no clear view of racial relations in a city. The film is examined as an ideological statement. It deconstructs contemporary African-American ideologies but does not replace them with new visions. (SLD)

Children who grow up in violent communities are at risk for pathological development because growing up in a constant state of apprehension makes it difficult to establish trust, autonomy, and social competence. Child care professionals need to help at-risk children develop meaningful relationships with adults and peers. (MDM)

Describes problems faced by Americans Indians and Alaska Natives in U.S. urban centers with large Native populations. Describes social services, health and employment services, job training, and cultural events provided by nonprofit community groups to Native communities in Anchorage, Los Angeles, and New York City. (CDS)

This action research project investigated young urban adolescents' perceptions of violence in their school and community. The project involved gathering information about the community; engaging adolescents in creative, interactive activities; collaborating to develop a community photography project to help adolescents represent their perceptions…

Uses aggregate data on academic success rates (test performance) and socioeconomic characteristics to assess the contributions of social, economic, and schooling factors to the pattern of spatial disparity (location relative to the inner city) in Great Britain. Findings indicate a need for more attention to the social dimension of urban problems…

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…

Project Change was launched by the Levi Strauss Foundation in 1991 as an initiative to address racial prejudice and institutional racism in communities in which Levi Strauss & Co. had facilities. Working with multiracial coalitions in Albuquerque (New Mexico), El Paso (Texas), Valdosta (Georgia), and Knoxville (Tennessee), the Foundation and…

Pennsylvania's House Resolution 43 of 1995 directs the Joint State Government Commission to report to the General Assembly on the feasibility of creating a voluntary residential school program for disadvantaged children. The Commission assembled a Working Group to consider this issue, and the group focused on poor children living in high crime…

In February 1991 the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights began a long-term study of the factors contributing to increased racial and ethnic tensions in the United States. This document is a report on one aspect of this study, a hearing held to consider the factors underlying increased racial and ethnic tension in Chicago (Illinois). This hearing was…

Recent American educational research focuses on the differences between urban and nonurban schools. Ideas such as "inner city" are taken as self-evident and are imposed as a way to achieve a more just and equitable national system of schooling. The urban environment is singled out as violent. This essay takes the position that the…

In 1995, politicians from both parties proposed legislation to reduce funding for welfare programs and mandated a new block grant system designed to eliminate entitlement to assistance. This defense manual was written to help people who believe in democratic rights fight for a generous and effective safety net for the poor. It is recognized that…

Many jurisdictions have implemented curfews in reaction to increased juvenile delinquency and other social trends. This bulletin explores developments in curfew ordinances, legal issues related to curfews, how community based jurisdictions have responded to these issues, and the elements of sound curfew programs as illustrated in seven…