The stories of gang members and former gang members show that positive solutions can be found to the crisis of American urban youth. Personal experiences and challenges similar to those faced by young black students are used to indicate that there is hope. It is evident that poor black youth cannot survive or become part of the mainstream in…

Minority gangs of the 1980s are examined as groups of juveniles and young adults and as a fraction of the forming underclass. Gangs today no longer disappear as their ethnic groups rises socially. Instead, gangs are becoming institutionalized in the central cities. This discussion of prior research in Los Angeles (California) and more recent…

This book is concerned with the impact of poverty on health, focusing on families with young children in the United Kingdom. It draws together information from a wide range of disciplines to provide workers in the health and welfare fields with a better understanding of the complex interconnections between living conditions, lifestyles, and health…

As part of a series of studies on the concerns and aspirations of American teachers, this report illustrates the concerns of teachers, students, and law enforcement officers about the increasing violence and fears of violence in U.S. schools. The survey is based on interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 teachers from grades 3…

This autobiographical narrative describes the early life of Luis J. Rodriguez, a journalist and poet who was immersed in the youth gang culture of Los Angeles (California). Framed by the story of the pull of the gang life for the poet's son, it recounts his experiences from his childhood on the United States-Mexico border through his family's…

Between 1986 and 1991 the teen birth rate rose by nearly one-fourth, although very small declines were evident in 1992 and 1993. This decline was concentrated among older teens; the number of births to adolescents aged 17 and younger continued to rise. The percentage of teen births that occurred outside of marriage rose to 72%. In 1991, the most…

This handbook provides assistance for tutors in Operation Success, a program to provide limited-income and first-generation college students with academic support services to enable them to persist and graduate from Wichita State University (Kansas). The program provides an interconnected series of academic support services; peer tutoring is…

This guide was designed to help policy makers, administrators, program planners, and managers find answers to their questions about improving the quality of their services and addressing the changing needs of young people in their communities. Information is provided on more than 100 nonprofit organizations, government agencies, research centers,…

In response to the escalation of violent crime among youth in Knoxville, Tennessee, two partnerships have been developed by Pellissippi State Technical Community College (PSTCC), a university and the K-12 system in the Greater Knoxville area, and community leaders to provide non-violent alternatives for youth. The first effort, the annual Greater…

The research reported in this book develops a theme introduced in a previous work published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, "Our Children at Risk" (1995), which noted the integration of services as a way to provide more effective services for families and children at risk of school failure. Part 1 of this…

The Foothills City Youth Club (Colorado) is a nonprofit organization in an urban community at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Most of the children it serves are disadvantaged, and the club's membership is racially and ethnically diverse. The present youth club was formed when two youth organizations, viewed as similar in mission and practice, but…

This report presents findings and recommendations resulting from the evaluation of programs implemented in 15 cities by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. These programs were implemented to distribute variations on the "Weed and Seed" program and its provision of crime and drug prevention programs. The overall goal of Weed and Seed was…

Teachers know more than anyone about what the schools are like, and public school teachers know best of all whether it is wise to send one's children to a public school. Data from the U.S. Census and other sources make it clear that, in the largest urban areas, public school teachers are more likely than the public at large to enroll their…

Findings from the Beginning School Study, conducted in Baltimore (Maryland) are used to show how differences in family circumstances translate into beliefs and activities that help or hinder children's development. The Beginning School Study started in 1982 and has followed 790 randomly selected Baltimore students from first-grade in 1982 through…

The 12 chapters of this volume offer a comprehensive portrait of today's children and their challenging urban environments. The opportunities and obstacles that confront children are examined in detail, and key social problems are discussed in the following contributions: (1) "Growing Up in the Urban Environment: Opportunities and Obstacles for…