This booklet discusses law-related education and its role in helping young people become better citizens. The booklet describes the "Youth for Justice" program, a unique national initiative that uses the power of active learning about the law to build upon the vitality of young people and to address the risks of being young today. Youth…

This bulletin describes the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's efforts to fight juvenile gun violence. The Office awarded four community demonstration grants to implement "Partnerships To Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence." Partnership goals include increasing the effectiveness of existing strategies by enhancing and…

This book presents lessons learned after 4 years of Promising and Effective Practices Network (PEPNet), a project of the National Youth Employment Coalition that identifies and promotes criteria of effective practice in youth employment and development. The book, which provides a cumulative summary of all PEPNet programs, is a resource that brings…

Law-related education is an educational program designed to educate citizens about the law, legal processes, and principles fundamental to a democracy. According to the Center for Prevention of School Violence, school resource officers fulfill essentially three roles in schools: (1) as law enforcement officers, (2) as law-related counselors, and…

Community Drama with Youth is an as yet marginalized practice in the larger drama education field. Yet Community Drama with Youth, and other community youth arts, are fueling a burgeoning after-school youth arts movement. This paper considers federal policies which have shaped youth arts in the last several decades, and the ways in which these…

This publication is part of a toolkit that examines systemic barriers to achieving economic self-sufficiency for court-involved adolescents. It introduces the issue of workforce and youth development for juvenile offenders, discussing exemplary programs and policy initiatives that help court-involved youth become economically self-sufficient. To…

This publication is part of a toolkit that examines systemic barriers to achieving economic self-sufficiency for court-involved youth. It highlights 19 exemplary policy initiatives that fall into the following five categories: innovative approaches, new ways to allocate funds and develop resources, ways to promote collaboration among various…

This publication is part of a toolkit that examines systemic barriers to achieving economic self-sufficiency for court-involved youth. It highlights 15 exemplary programs in the world of criminal justice for young people. The programs are all based on youth development principles and are guided by a comprehensive set of core principles that view…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Gang Prevention Through Targeted Outreach (GPTTO) and Gang Intervention Through Targeted Outreach (GITTO) initiatives of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The study examined whether the clubs were attracting youth at high risk of gang involvement, whether clubs could keep GPTTO and GITTO youth…

This guide was developed to help concerned community members, groups, and organizations learn about major federal and state funds for employment-related youth programs and to direct them to additional funding resources. The guide discusses several types of employment-related activities that help young people become healthy and productive adults.…

The youth summit, which engages adolescent students, public officials, and lawyers in discourse and deliberation about critical social problems and legal issues, is becoming a popular method of law-related education. This Digest discusses (1) the youth summit concept in law-related education; (2) examples of youth summits across the United States;…

This manual provides information and suggestions about supporting at-risk youth in Colorado and how to enhance their learning. It provides a framework for working with at-risk youth, but its objectives and strategies can be modified as conditions and needs change. The first section provides an overview of at-risk youth in the new millennium, and…

Building on a survey of the role of religious institutions in programs for high-risk youth and consultations with experts in the field, a field demonstration project was implemented to test strategies for using religious institutions to anchor local partnerships aimed at high-risk youth. The partnerships were designed to address the developmental…

This paper describes a tool-and-result methodological approach to the practice and evaluation of an urban community development and gardening project with homeless youth. Over 9 months, at least 40 homeless children and teenagers were involved in the program, and approximately 15 were core participants. The paper critically examines the role of…

Work experience for youth with disabilities is one of the most critical factors that sets the stage for their postsecondary employment success. Research and practice show that youth benefit from frequent and continuous exposure to real work environments throughout the secondary school years and beyond. These experiences, however, occur only when…