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Helping At-Risk Youth: Lessons From Community-Based Initiatives

NCJ Number
182470
Author(s)
Elaine Morley; Shelli B. Rossman
Date Published
1997
Length
96 pages
Annotation
This report is designed to assist communities engaged in or contemplating initiatives focused on at-risk youth.
Abstract
The report addresses five main topics: services integration and case management; parental involvement; using volunteers for tutoring and mentoring; fund-raising and marketing; and monitoring program outcomes. It provides brief descriptions of experiences or practices of various community programs. In some cases it presents several examples to demonstrate diversity in approaches. The report includes overviews of three initiatives as context for the major discussions. Communities in Schools, Inc., is a national, nonprofit organization that encourages coordination of youth-oriented services in local communities and schools. SafeFutures, a 5-year demonstration program in six communities, links research findings about risk and protective factors with state-of-the-art knowledge about “what works” in juvenile delinquency prevention and control. Children at Risk is an intensive 2-year intervention for high-risk youth in high-risk neighborhoods. The initiative sought to better coordinate service delivery among human services and justice system agencies. Tables, figures, resources, references