The task of addressing the complex and deeply rooted problems faced by the nation's at-risk youth is one that largely falls outside the scope of traditional institutions. Investment in the development and operation of "second-chance" education and employment programs has historically been inadequate, haphazard, and uncertain. The gains in the area of providing second chances for employment and training to at-risk individuals that were made in the 1970s were largely negated by the mid-1980s, by which time financial support for second-chance programming had been relegated to the back burner. The research that has been conducted on second-chance programs indicates that no single program approach solves all youth unemployment problems. Longer-duration programs with several service elements are more likely to produce positive outcomes and have longer-lasting effects. Targeting program efforts on the neediest groups has strong and clear payoffs and is an essential element of a youth employment strategy. Dropout prevention should be a pivotal aim of youth programming. Four promising new directions that have begun in the 1980s are the education reform movement, state-level initiatives, teen parenting prevention programs, and dropout and pregnancy prevention efforts at the middle school level. New human service and dropout prevention approaches should be explored as America enters the next decade. Efforts should also be made to increase interventions at the middle school level and direct resources more effectively. (Appendixes include descriptions of illustrative programs and four commentaries on this paper, written by Gary Burtless, Jacqueline P. Danzberger, Morton H. Sklar, and Richard F. Elmore.) (MN)