Background: Teen pregnancy continues to burden families, communities, and society. Programs continue to educate and impower youth and young adults to make positive behavioral decisions. Methods: We evaluated a program aimed at high-risk youth in after-school programs. The goal of the program was to instill a sense of community and empathy, as well…

The University of Wollongong's (UOW) Outreach program was established in 2011. In 2017, through a National Priority Pool Grant, UOW piloted the regional and rural outreach program, "Rural In2Uni." The "Rural In2Uni" program enabled university students to "pay it forward" through a pedagogical model which places rural…

Research increasingly points to the importance of parental engagement in children's education. Yet, little research has investigated whether prompting parents to be more involved in college processes improves student outcomes. We investigate experimentally whether providing both students and their parents with personalized outreach about tasks…

This evaluation reviews efforts made by Illinois Action for Children (IAFC), with guidance from the Illinois Governor's Office for Early Childhood Development, to spur experimentation with new systemic change strategies to increase the number of children from priority populations--those considered to be the most vulnerable, with multiple risk…

This report is an evaluation of efforts made by Illinois Action for Children (IAFC), with oversight from the Illinois Governor's Office for Early Childhood Development (OECD), to test, support, and facilitate innovations in the early childhood system in 11 communities across the state. The Early Childhood Innovation Zones (IZ) initiative, funded…

The Early Childhood Innovation Zones initiative was established by Illinois Action for Children (IAFC), with guidance from the Illinois Governor's Office for Early Childhood Development. Funded by a Race to the Top--Early Learning Challenge grant, this initiative supported capacity building efforts for organizations working with young children in…

Summer outreach programs provide pre-college participants an introduction to college life and exposure to engineering in an effort to raise the level of interest and bring more students into engineering fields. The Junior Engineering, Mathematics, and Science (JEMS) program is a project-based summer workshop in which teams of high school students…

The authors provide examples of sports-based youth development programs and offer information about program mission and vision, program design and content, evaluation results, and program sustainability. The four sports-based youth development programs presented are Harlem RBI, Tenacity, Snowsports Outreach Society, and Hoops & Leaders…

Until recently, teen pregnancy and birth rates had declined steadily in the United States in recent years. Despite these declines, the United States has the highest teen birth rate and one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among all industrialized nations. To help young people reduce their risk for pregnancy and STIs,…

Until recently, teen pregnancy and birth rates had declined in the United States. Despite these declines, U.S. teen birth and sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates remain among the highest in the industrialized world. Given the need to focus limited prevention resources on effective programs, Advocates for Youth undertook exhaustive reviews…

Using natural resources data from a system developed by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, an Extension program to educate public officials who make land use decisions was conducted in a series of workshops over three years. Program effectiveness is evaluated and positive and negative results are noted. (MF)

This final report describes a 16-state project designed to enhance the coping effectiveness of young children with special needs and to support their families through training and technical assistance. The project had validated models, products, and training procedures to expand the adaptive behavior and resilience of children with limited coping…