Several recently commissioned Department of Labor reports and other publications examining youth employment and training (E&T) programs were reviewed, and the findings were synthesized into a proposed framework for reviewing current and recommended directions for youth E&T programs with consideration for available research on youth development. It was discovered that the most effective youth E&T programs have been those designed with consideration for the findings of research on youth development. It was therefore recommended that program designers/providers take the following actions: (1) shift their focus from defining success primarily in terms of short-term changes in knowledge or behavior to defining success in terms of changes in perception and processing that can have more lasting implications; (2) improve their understanding of adolescent development and adolescent thinking, their commitment to providing not only services but also supports, and their ability to tailor program times and offerings to the needs of their youth; (3) realize that young people targeted for second-change youth E&T programs should not be expected to benefit from programs modeled after adult programs; (4) remember that young people are influenced not just by programs but also by their larger environment; and (5) give noncollege-bound youth the same time for "floundering" that is provided for college-bound youth. (MN)