This document examines the supports communities provide to adolescents and the contributions adolescents in turn make to communities. In the first section of the document, the capacities adolescents need to function in adult roles are discussed and the supports for developing these capacities available from public policy are described. The traditional sources for supporting the development of youth, including family and school, are reviewed. The nature of communities as contexts for strengthening the capacities of youth is examined. In the second section, the availability, use, and impact of these community supports are assessed: (1) opportunities to participate in organized, ongoing groups; (2) avenues for contributing to the well-being of others; (3) sources of personal support; and (4) access to community facilities and events including museums, libraries, parks, civic events, and celebrations. In the final section, policy issues raised by the review of community supports are discussed, noting that establishing a deliberately drawn policy for generating and sustaining community supports depends on answering questions for which there is not sufficient information yet to answer. The document concludes with an agenda for research and experimentation to provide that information and to lay the groundwork for strengthening the reciprocal relationships between adolescents and communities. (ABL)