The Annie E. Casey Foundation's "Making Connections" initiative provides support to communities across the country to help improve outcomes for children and families in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The sites, together with local partners, are engaged in a range of strategies and activities, reflecting local conditions and priorities, to ensure…

The limited number of organized sport and exercise programs available in urban areas in comparison with more affluent communities, as well as the limited resources, the low pay of service providers who offer the programs (especially in youth work), and the besieged mentality of many professionals require our attention and assistance. Our field…

Intentional self-regulation is a core facet of human functioning, involving people's modulation of their thoughts, attention, emotions, and behaviors to react to environmental demands and to influence their own development. Using data from Grades 8, 9, and 10 of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (PYD), the structure of intentional…

The authors examined racial/ethnic disparities in mental health service use based on problem type (internalizing/externalizing). A diverse sample of youth in contact with public sectors of care and their families provided reports of youth's symptoms and functional impairment during an initial interview. Specialty and school-based mental health…

Kids of any age can learn the basics of good character and figure out what they stand for. This leader's guide is a companion to the children's book, "What Do You Stand For? For Kids". The 11 lessons on the CD-ROM provide a complete course for kids on caring, citizenship, cooperation, fairness, forgiveness, honesty, relationships, respect,…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Student Engagement and includes: (1) Supporting the Dream of Going to College Through Powerful Student Engagement (Hector Bojorquez);…

This issue of "The Link" newsletter contains the following articles: (1) CWLA National Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice Position Paper; (2) Director's Message; (3) Interview with Ed Kelley, NACJJ Chair; (4) Research on Pathways to Desistance; and (5) The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention "Model Programs Guide." Individual…

Background: The Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility Model (TPSR) has been used throughout the USA and in several other countries to integrate systematically life skill development within physical activity-based programs. While TPSR is widely used in practice and has a growing empirical base, few studies have examined the degree of…

The national conversation about how to better educate our children, particularly those who are economically disadvantaged, has shifted and is reaching a tipping point. The debate is no longer defined by the view that learning happens only in schools. Rather, reinforced by many years of research, it has advanced toward the realization that from…

This brief describes how administrators and policymakers can use the concepts of youth development and youth leadership in developing and administering programs that serve all youth and activities specifically geared toward youth with disabilities. The brief is based on a longer paper, Youth Development and Youth Leadership, A Background Paper,…

A special 4-H program in a poor, rural community demonstrated that learning can be fun, and that helping children learn can be satisfying. (AN)

Here I describe an action learning programme I ran for a youth offending team, with 15 of the 19 team members, over a six month period. The programme emerged from running a development session for the team, which highlighted a need for more ownership of the work of the team by workers and for them to be involved in setting the direction of the…

Contrary to popular hypothesis, recent research rejects the notion that most or even many children and youth are over-scheduled and are suffering as a result. In fact, less than one in ten could be described as over-scheduled. Moreover, research indicates that only six in ten children and youth participate in organized out-of-school activities at…

This article explores the professional issues of relationships within child and youth care practice. The concept of "relationship-based practice" is examined from conceptual, linguistic and power-based perspectives. It is argued that the power base of relationships amongst practitioners manifests itself along five specific contexts: institutional…

Some so-called "evidence-based" interventions are narrow methods which are justified by some quantitative research. This limited focus ignores broader qualitative studies showing that interpersonal relationships wield more impact than technique. Even a cursory review of youth-serving organizations demonstrates that the overwhelming majority of…