Reviews the youth unemployment problem and focuses on employment and training programs. Discusses, in separate sections, the causes of the youth employment problem; demand-related causes; supply-related causes; the effectiveness of strategies for assisting disadvantaged youth; linking young workers with employers; and implications for policy. (KH)

Surveyed 741 college students to examine the incidence of polydrug use. Results indicated 65 percent of the males and 30 percent of the females reported drinking four or more drinks at a sitting. Widespread use of drugs in combination with alcohol was found. (JAC)

Explores the potential causes of abusive use of alcohol among young blacks, focusing on the black family, with emphasis given to the children, their peers, their communities, and the conditions that influence their life styles and drinking patterns. The data includes interviews with 13 males, age 8-13 years, and 9 females, age 13-15 years, and…

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)

This paper examines the nonmarital teenage childbearing behavior of two cohorts of women from the National Longitudinal Surveys (born between 1957-1964, making them teenagers during the 1970s-80s, and between 1980-94, making them teenagers during the late 1990s-early 2000s). The two cohorts faced substantially different social and economic…

This report examines the experiences of homeless young parents with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which can be an important tool in helping them achieve long-term stability and economic self-sufficiency. The 1996 welfare reform act included special provisions that applied only to minor teen parents, requiring them to…

This book provides a detailed review of a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded, long-term clinical trial of the Family Empowerment Intervention (FEI). FEI is a systems-oriented, low-cost intervention delivered in the home by trained nontherapists for high-risk youths who have been arrested and their families. The subjects were a group of over…

This paper discusses school violence, examining pertinent research, media, and policy documents. Section 1 examines the evolution of terminologies related to youth violence. Section 2 explains that when reviewing researchers' conclusions on school violence, it is important to consider the role perception had in determining those views. Section 3…

This bulletin presents a summary and analysis of national and state juvenile arrest data for 1999. Data come from the FBI's annual "Crime in the United States" report, which offers the estimated number of crimes reported to law enforcement agencies. The 1999 murder rate was the lowest since 1966. Of the nearly 1,800 juveniles murdered in…

This bulletin describes the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's efforts to fight juvenile gun violence. The Office awarded four community demonstration grants to implement "Partnerships To Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence." Partnership goals include increasing the effectiveness of existing strategies by enhancing and…

This book is written for practitioners who work with or are considering working with challenging youth. It has a narrative style with limited use of psychological nomenclature so as to appeal to a variety of practitioners. The book describes the following six principles and beliefs as distinguishing effective counseling: (1) a therapeutic…

This report constitutes one of the first activities of the Forum on Adolescence, a cross-cutting activity of the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council of the National Academies. Established under the auspices of the Board on Children, Youth, and Families, the forum's overarching mission is to synthesize, analyze, and evaluate…

This report focuses on the critical needs and problems facing juvenile justice efforts nationwide, highlighting eight significant challenges: (1) reducing overreliance on incarceration for non-dangerous youthful offenders; (2) developing a continuum of community-based sanctions and interventions for delinquent but non-dangerous youth; (3)…

This monograph details the growing body of research showing the connection between child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency. In 2000, nearly 879,000 children were victims of child abuse and neglect. Although juvenile crime has declined recently, the level of crime committed by youth remains high. This monograph describes an array of program,…

This booklet contains conference presentations from the 1999 National Institute of Justice's research forum on preventing school violence. The theme of the conference was "Enhancing Policy and Practice through Research." Three researchers were asked to speak on topics of school violence since effective preventive policy and practices are…