Presents initial findings in a study of language use by preadolescent African-American male participants in a neighborhood sponsored Youth Basketball Association. Using data collected over a 30-month period in Chicago (Illinois), the study takes an ethnographic approach for exploring communicative competencies in oral and written language. (JB)

Tennessee's Three-Star Program for Community Economic Preparedness helps rural communities sell themselves as desirable locations for industry. The program emphasizes community planning and improved quality of life; features include adult leadership programs, community action projects, after-school and extracurricular programs for children and…

This study examined perceptions and experiences of youth and adults engaged in various types of community-based youth-adult relationships. Involvement and interaction rating scales were completed by 108 participants involved in community groups from 12 communities in 10 states. The rating scale measured three constructs: youth involvement, adult…

Educational researchers have paid little attention to "critique"--an activity young artists routinely use to assess and advance their creative projects. It is an activity from which they have a lot to learn, particularly in the context of community-based arts collaboratives. In school classrooms where teachers emphasize group projects…

The Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development is a Washington, D.C.-based organization engaged in programming, research, and policy development related to youth civic engagement. Its mission is to unleash the potential of youth, adults, organizations, and communities to engage together in creating a just and equitable society. Strong…

Law enforcement officials know the devastation that drinking can cause among the immature and the inexperienced. This guide is intended to be used by law enforcement agencies in cooperation with other segments of the community. It provides an overview of the problem of youth access to alcohol, a discussion of the legal and policy issues relating…

Although the facts about underage drinking are widely known, the issues that surround this problem vary from one community to the next. Such issues include where and how underage drinking shows itself, how it is viewed by the community, and what residents think is a reasonable way to address underage drinking in their community. This guide is…

To support community efforts to reach out to African American youth confronted with high-risk environments in the cities, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention has launched the Urban Youth Public Education Campaign. This campaign targets 9- to 13-year-old African American youth in high-risk inner-city environments. The campaign is designed to…

This essay discusses the roots, current shapes, and social and operational implications of mentoring young people in poverty. After an introductory first section on mentoring and the new voluntarism, Section II, "Recurring Fervor," notes recent increased interest in mentoring and traces the early manifestations of mentoring to 19th…

Based in rural northern Orange County (North Carolina), the Adolescents-in-Need Project began in 1981 as a joint effort of the school district, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, and community agencies. Project goals focused on preventing untimely events in the lives of teenagers, and included helping adolescents…

Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics show a 183% increase in female juvenile prostitution and a 245% increase in male juvenile prostitution between the years 1969 and 1978. Most of these juveniles were runaways who shared a common childhood background of physical and sexual abuse. In 1981, a city task force was created to examine the problem…

This report provides basic facts about The Door, a multifaceted youth center in New York City, which serves 300-400 young people each day. The origins, early stages, guiding philosophy, activities, and organizational structure are described. Recommendations for initiating and operating multiservice youth projects based on the experience of The…

A result of efforts to initiate dialogue between representatives of the Community Education Program in the United States Office of Education and the Department of Justice, this conference took place in March of 1978. Professionals from many youth-oriented fields attended. Conference objectives included initiating dialogue among those concerned…

Recent findings show that children and teens are most vulnerable either to committing or being a victim of crime between 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Community organizations with afterschool programs are particularly well positioned to counter some of the hazards that threaten children, especially urban adolescents: drug abuse, gang activity, and…

This handbook provides AmeriCorps Promise Fellows with important information about their participation in this special initiative of AmeriCorps and America's Promise--The Alliance for Youth. Section 1 is an overview of AmeriCorps, including its mission, the mission of America's Promise--The Alliance for Youth, and the role of AmeriCorps Promise…