This case study documents the experiences of a Peace Corps volunteer who worked as a Youth Development volunteer with disadvantaged institutionalized youth in Honduras. Youth Development volunteers provide direct services in the areas of vocational education, recreational programming, informal education, and counseling. Many are assigned to residential youth centers for homeless, abused, or abandoned children, where they work closely with host-country counterparts. Each volunteer should develop a deliberate and well-informed practice theory based on both research in the field of child development and personal experience. Most residential programs for homeless youth are total institutions where children are isolated from family and peers. Such institutions often aggravate the problems of the youth they were designed to help. Public education could provide needed social interaction, but most disadvantaged youth require special assessment and remedial support to overcome learning disabilities. Vocational education programs should be a major part of the residential program; however, income-generating projects that use student labor must be approached with caution. Recreation and leisure skills are also important to healthy child development. The following special programs are described: (1) gardens and small animal projects; (2) youth empowerment projects; (3) libraries; (4) reading programs; (5) fund raising; (6) environmental education; (7) clubhouses; and (8) sibling care. Three illustrations are included. A 44-item bibliography is appended. (FMW)