Profiles programs of two youth centers that are successfully bridging cultural differences through the development of cultural competence. Both centers acknowledge that actualizing cross-cultural competency means providing a way for their ethnic groups to interact with the larger population without losing their cultural heritage. Programs include…

Youth-adult partnerships (Y-APs) for organizational and community change represent an innovative practice in the United States. Innovations are typically a challenge to implement, so it is not surprising that youth organizations are seeking guidance on how to adopt and sustain Y-APs. This article brings contemporary scholarship to bear on the…

A Michigan study of children's agencies found that very few had any former youth in care either in leadership or board roles. The author, himself a product of the child welfare system, suggests that quality services will require perspectives of these former consumers of care. Exciting new practices have emerged in the field of youth development…

The Teaching Family program is one of the most extensively researched models for residential care. A major meta-analysis found that the Teaching Family Model (TFM) was one of the five most consistently effective treatments for delinquents. However, two recent publications imply that behaviorally based and/or group treatments might be harmful.…

As First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush is leading the Helping America's Youth initiative of the federal government. She articulates the goal of enlisting public and volunteer resources to foster healthy growth by early intervention and mentoring of youngsters at risk. Helping America's Youth will benefit children and teenagers by…

In 1996, the Youth Leadership Institute (a youth development institute) and California Friday Night Live Partnership (a statewide prevention program serving over 800,000 young people) undertook a major challenge: to come together as partners in an effort to bridge youth development research and practice. With guidance and strategic support from…

A focus on youth development is the strongest means of prevention of problems faced by Latino youths. Latino youths are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population and have high rates of developmental deficits. However, youth development researchers have not attended to the inclusion and reporting of results for Latino youths. This study…

This article will provide information about two worthwhile programs that deal with education of high school athletes about use and abuse of steroids and other areas. Based on rationale and expressed need, program descriptions will be provided including summaries of relevant program results. Guidelines for what practitioners need to consider when…

This review summarizes end-of-program quit rates from 6 controlled and 10 field-based Not on Tobacco (NOT) evaluations. Approximately 6,130 youth from 5 states and 489 schools participated. Intent-to-treat and compliant quit rates were calculated at 3 months postbaseline (end-of-program). Results from controlled evaluations revealed an aggregate…

Based on questions submitted by our readers, this Q&A covers such issues as the correct language to use when working with lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth; what to do when a youth first "comes out"; how to present yourself as an ally for LGB youth and make sure that your youth program is a safe place for them; and increasing non-LGB youths'…

Whereas most evaluations of youth empowerment focus on individual outcomes (i.e., were individual youths empowered?), this article focuses on the program as the unit of analysis and seeks to explain how organizational structures, program design features, and processes lead to organizational empowerment (OE). OE is defined as organizational efforts…

Today there are 14 million girls ages 11-17 in the United States. The growing population of girls clearly represents a new opportunity for youth development organizations to reach out and engage them. In its continuing commitment to develop program options to meet the needs of girls today, in 2001 the Girl Scout Research Institute conducted one of…

This brief provides highlights from "Advancing Achievement: Findings from an Independent Evaluation of a Major After-School Initiative." The brief underscores the potential of after-school programs in the ongoing drive to advance children's academic achievement. It shines a light on some of the issues that matter most for programs striving to…

Community schools are organized around two common goals: helping students learn and succeed and strengthening families and communities. Full-service community schools extend these guiding principles. They are centers of their communities, providing high-quality after-school opportunities, comprehensive early childhood education, real-world…

The present study examines the effects of a culturally relevant school-based intervention in promoting cultural assets (i.e., ethnic identity, collectivist orientation, racism awareness, and liberatory youth activism) among a group of African American adolescent girls. The overall goal of the intervention was to promote cultural factors that can…