Research supports the value of youth service, but indicates concerns about the diminishing interest of young people in giving of themselves. New justifications for community service include the following: (1) documentation of the educational value of service; (2) greater understanding of environmental and human needs; and (3) greater understanding…

A study was conducted to determine the Los Angeles Community College District's (LACCD's) role in meeting the educational needs of disadvantaged youth, i.e., individuals aged 16 to 21 who are basic skills deficient, financially disadvantaged, or socially or personally deprived. The study was based on a review of the literature on disadvantaged…

The 1981 Project Leadership-Service Conference, focusing on serving the community as the training ground for leadership, was conducted for 53 Indianapolis seniors who arrived in early August for 4 days preparatory training and 137 Indianapolis inner city sixth graders who arrived in mid-August. Ten teachers from the sixth graders' schools…

This technical report details the employment problems of inner-city youth and describes some programs that have successfully met these problems. The first of its three parts describes inner-city youth and enumerates the major employment barriers facing them. (It was found that while inner-city youth tend to be disadvantaged, a subgroup of them…

Developed by a study concerned with urban youth unemployment, this report provides descriptions of sixteen pilot projects intended to find or create unsubsidized jobs for youth, help them prepare for these jobs, and bring youth and jobs together. Based on the theme that unemployment results not from lack of will to work but from lack of…

The International Learning Group on Youth and Community Development (ILG) was formed to examine the convergence of youth development and community development. In 1999, ILG commissioned a set of papers from young people involved in national efforts to engage youth in the political processes of their countries and brought ILG members together for a…

This publication combines three papers on rural and urban youth issues. "Key Issues Facing Rural Youth" (Daniel F. Perkins) notes that rural adolescents share the same concerns and exhibit the same problem behaviors as their urban counterparts. But in addition, geographic isolation presents problems unique to rural areas. A framework is proposed…

This report, 10th in a series, presents data for 1997 on high school dropout rates, and examines high school completion and graduation rates. The report is based on the best and most current national data available, using data from the Current Population Survey of the Bureau of the Census. Data show that about 5 out of every 100 young adults…

Describes the Hilltop Emergent Literacy Project (HELP) in Toledo (Ohio), an afterschool educational program for poor, mostly African American, students in kindergarten through grade 3, and evaluates its effects on 12 kindergartners in comparison with a control group of 12 kindergartners. Program effectiveness is supported. (SLD)

This book is a compilation of information about youth service in the State of Washington, a summary of the benefits and challenges to increasing youth service, and a summary of strategic options for supporting and enhancing youth service statewide. The report is divided into five sections. The first part describes many examples of youth…

This paper reports on a study of the Houston (Texas) Independent School District's Lighted Schoolhouse Program, which is designed to serve as an intermediary between homeless children and community service agencies, to provide a range of after-school activities for unattended children, and to provide opportunities for participation of families and…

The Chicago Youth Development Project was an action-research program jointly undertaken by the Chicago Boys Club and the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research to test whether a program of aggressive street work and community organization in the core of a city could reduce delinquency among youth living there. The report presents a…

This report, 11th in a series, reports on high school dropout and completion rates. It presents data on rates in 1998 and includes time series data on high school dropout and completion rates for the period 1972 through 1998. The report also examines the characteristics of high school dropouts and high school completers in 1998. About 5 of every…

Describes the PRIDE Program, a partnership between the Harrisburg School District (Pennsylvania) and Bloomsburg University to provide urban, poverty-level sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students at risk of dropping out with an opportunity to spend a week on campus each summer. Program evaluation shows improved student attitudes and…

Research suggests that use of a child's native language in initial literacy instruction is beneficial. The Descubriendo la Lectura (DLL) Spanish-language application of the English Reading Recovery Program is described as implemented for one Spanish-speaking first grade boy. The DLL program capitalizes on strengths children demonstrate in reading.…