This report refers to a generation under challenge, meaning the 18-to-24-year-olds who have recently come of age in the United States. A significant part of this generation has fallen victim to a neglected past and may be overwhelmed by its future. The report argues for an integrated and comprehensive service delivery system that can make a…

In the San Francisco Bay Area (California), community agencies and organizations routinely use teenagers as mentors and teachers of peers and younger children. Despite the literature indicating that teens should derive many benefits from these roles, agency staff have observed teen teachers who appear frustrated, bored, or disengaged, or who have…

This paper describes the services and activities of the Orion Center, a drop-in day-use facility for homeless and runaway youth in Seattle (Washington). Orion Center uses experiential therapy and adventure-based activities to develop trust, promote fun and relationship building, and facilitate growth and healing among this homeless population. A…

This curriculum guide is intended for educators who want to help young people become wise stewards of the environment and who believe that education about energy is an opportunity to achieve that goal. This guide aims to help educators in the curriculum planning process. This guide furnishes a visual overview of resources in chart format.…

This Technical Assistance Bulletin addresses the youth summit component of the Youth for Justice program. The Youth for Justice program of the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is a national law-related education (LRE) initiative designed to give young people a better understanding of the law and equip them with…

Youth field days expose children to outdoor activities, land use ethics, and habitat conservation and encourage adults to be mentors in these areas. A typical youth field day could have programs in archery, fishing, boating, shooting, or safety. The event requires a diverse steering committee that usually includes sporting clubs and state…

This report examines the transition of youth development in the United States from a social movement to an emerging profession, charting achievements the field has made in developing core competencies and skill standards, training and education programs, career ladders, evaluations, and public awareness. Section 1 describes youth development as…

This report describes family centered employment strategies. It begins with a look at the economics of families in poverty and provides a brief outline of the many ways in which employment and training programs have begun to work with families. The report then examines the work of four employment programs now offering employment services to…

For every librarian who seeks to better serve the new and unique young adult market, this completely revised edition presents 30 library programs as examples of this service. By studying the examples set by award-winning initiatives around the country, librarians should be able to answer these questions for their young adult programs: What is the…

For decades, camps have served as outdoor learning laboratories for leadership development. Camps provide adolescents the opportunity to practice leadership skills through activities perceived as worthwhile and in environments that differ profoundly from everyday experience. A survey examined the self-perceived development of leadership skills at…

A conceptual model for understanding youth development is provided and the processes that enhance the adolescent experience and promote successful transition from childhood to adulthood are identified. Intended as a guide for professionals constructing and implementing policies and programs, the model is based on the proposition that development…

This activity pack is designed to help youth workers raise young people's awareness of the world by looking beyond stereotypes and assumptions to examine global issues. Eight activities are suggested: (1) "Complete the sentence," an exploration of what the youth group already knows about global concerns; (2) "Match the…

This study investigated the ways in which youth organizations support families, highlighting the role of youth organizations in strengthening youth and their families; what youth organizations need to know and do to enhance their prospects for successfully supporting/strengthening youth and their families; and the type of external supports and…

This study investigated parents' attitudes toward the summer vacation period and their children's summer experiences. Participants were a nationally representative sample of approximately 400 parents of children age 5-14 years who completed telephone interviews as part of two subsequent omnibus surveys. Most parents ranged in age from 35-54 years.…

Civic engagement that is, community service, political activism, environmentalism, and other volunteer activities provide needed services to community residents and psychological, social, and intellectual benefits to participants. A small but growing body of research suggests the likelihood that active involvement leads to healthy, active…