Plain Talk is a community-based initiative designed to assist neighborhood groups and residents in creating and implementing locally acceptable and effective strategies to protect sexually active youth from pregnancy. Plain Talk aims to affect individual, neighborhood, and community behavior through a process that focuses on helping adults develop…

Reflects on the study of literary themes in a reform to develop "thinking based curricula" for lower income urban youth. Mentions the need to broaden students' worlds and discusses implications for middle grades teacher education. Suggests the need for preservice teachers to have plenty of ongoing workshop practice in shaping and critiquing…

Young people can be, and must be, partners in community drug prevention efforts. This book discusses teen successes in drug prevention, telling how and where it is happening and how to make it happen in the community. Teens are shown forging vital partnerships with schools, law enforcement, community agencies, and others. The focus is on…

This guide to coping with street gangs is aimed at the young person who may be considering gang membership or who is afraid of gang violence. Understanding gangs leads to the ability to cope with the problems they pose. Part I explores "What Gangs Are," explaining characteristics of gangs and why young people join them. It is essential that…

This book describes a project, the Bede Detached Youth Work Project, that was designed to combat racism in a community in London (England). It also presents information that should be useful to community workers and activists, teachers, and others involved in antiracist work with young people. An introduction provides an overview of the project…

This guide to the Internet is designed to help parents, especially urban parents, find information they will need to participate in school leadership and in their children's education. The following sections explain the Internet for parents: (1) "How To Use the Internet"; (2) "General Sites"; (3) "Education Related Sites for Parents"; (4)…

This guide lays out a detailed six-step strategy for promoting father involvement, especially among low-income, unwed men. Each of the six steps includes a menu of policy options from which policymakers can choose. Each step also includes detailed examples of what states, communities, and nonprofits nationwide are doing to promote responsible…

This guide is designed to help social workers, social activists, members of religious organizations, police officers, urban planners, and anyone interested in working with disadvantaged people. Case studies and examples from the experiences of real people are given to make the discussion practical. Each chapter contains a series of questions and…

Mediation is a process that enables two or more persons in a dispute to find mutually agreeable solutions to their differences with the aid of a mediator. The mediator does not take sides, but helps the disputants consider their options. Mediation is voluntary, and disputing parties must agree to participate. Furthermore, the mediator does not…

This collection of handouts from a workshop on meeting the needs of at-risk urban students stresses the necessity of empathy and involvement in working with disadvantaged youth. The first handouts, "I Remember When I Was a Teenager," and "Teens Need To Have Adults That...," remind the adult youth worker of adolescent…

To support community efforts to reach out to African American youth confronted with high-risk environments in the cities, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention has launched the Urban Youth Public Education Campaign. This campaign targets 9- to 13-year-old African American youth in high-risk inner-city environments. The campaign is designed to…

Asian American and Pacific Islander (A&PI) populations are seriously affected by substance abuse related problems. Culturally appropriate prevention resources for A&PI audiences on substance abuse issues remain a critical need. This resource guide provides information and referrals to help prevention specialists, educators, and community leaders…

There is an urgent need not only to attract more people into the teaching profession but also to build a more diverse, highly qualified, and culturally sensitive teaching force that can meet the needs of a rapidly changing school-age population. This Toolkit takes best practices from high school teacher academies around the United States and…

The presence of young people in public spaces and the types of activities in which they engage have generated considerable debate and discussion in Australia in recent years. This guide provides brief descriptions of a range of public space projects that have been undertaken in Australia. The aim is to outline the key elements of a youth-friendly…

This booklet is a guide to setting up a formal mentor program in the community. Mentor programs can take many shapes, whether sponsored through the schools, by businesses, or by churches and volunteer agencies. Like any operation, a volunteer mentor program has various management functions. The planning function sets a mission statement, goals,…