Dan Bloom of MDRC examines policies and programs designed to help high school dropouts improve their educational attainment and labor market outcomes. So called "second-chance" programs, he says, have long provided some combination of education, training, employment, counseling, and social services. But the research record on their effectiveness…

This report summarizes the findings of a national conference on mentoring. Mentoring involves a structured relationship between two people, with the first imparting support, insight, and experience to the second. The following varieties of mentoring are discussed: (1) mentoring from the business community; (2) career mentoring within specific…

This monograph (in both English and French) examines the impact of poverty on children, with particular reference to the situation of poor children in Canadian elementary and secondary schools. Section 1 briefly introduces the topics of education and poverty. The link between poverty and children's physical and mental health and educational…

Many youth face the following educational and economic barriers to success: (1) increased high school dropout rates; (2) adolescent pregnancy; (3) chronic unemployment; (4) poverty; (5) drug abuse; (6) suicide; and (7) crime and delinquency. The Atlantic Community College (New Jersey) Youth Corps Program, a successful conservation and service…

This guide contains advice for staff in colleges that are offering elements of the Youth Opportunities Program (YOP). Designed to enhance the employability of 16-18 year olds who have left school, have not enrolled in further education classes, and who are unemployed, the YOP provides work experience, knowledge and skills relevant to local labor…

While minority youth and adults have traditionally experienced high rates of unemployment, recent demographic, educational, and technological changes have all combined to cause a sharp increase in the numbers of unemployed and displaced minority group workers. A review of past employment and training programs such as the Comprehensive Employment…

A study compared the Career Intern Program (CIP) with five other alternative youth programs. (The CIP is an alternative high school designed to enable disadvantaged dropouts or potential dropouts to earn regular high school diplomas, to prepare them for meaningful employment or postsecondary education, and to facilitate their transition from…

This document consists of descriptions of 43 effective youth employment initiatives that were identified by the Promising and Effective Practices Network (PEPNet), a project of the National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC). The document begins with an explanation of the five broad categories of criteria used to select the programs (purpose and…