Background and Purpose: Given the urgency to design programs to increase physical activity, especially to combat obesity in children, the primary purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions and opinions of a nature-based physical activity intervention designed for low-income urban adolescents. Methods: Four focus groups of adolescents,…

By providing in-depth descriptions of the 23 promising programs available from the Program Archive on Sexuality, Health and Adolescence (PASHA), the "PASHA Program Sourcebook" offers practitioners a detailed look at "what works" to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases/human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency…

Plain Talk is an approach to teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prevention that enlists a broad section of community adults in the effort to protect teens from pregnancy and disease. The Plain Talk design called for creation of community consensus around the needs of youth by focusing on adults, both as recipients of accurate…

Describes how Youth for Oakland United is working for positive alternatives to crime and incarceration. It argues for a critical need for safe common spaces for teens and cites preventive measures in cities across America. It documents how research on Oakland recreation centers resulted in a successful citizen ballot initiative for youth…

Break the Cycle is a private, nonprofit organization that seeks to end domestic violence by working proactively with youth. Founded in 1996, it includes a preventive education and outreach program, a legal services program, and a peer leadership program. All three programs focus exclusively on youth aged 12-22 years. In 2000, Centers for Disease…

This paper discribes a comprehensive juvenile delinquency diversion program serving a poverty community in a large urban center, and attempts to evaluate the problems and effects of the program. The target population was primarily minority-group truants, aged 10-15, who had been in trouble with the authorities. The program included recreational…

This study of youth development opportunities for youth aged 7 to 14 years in Minneapolis (Minnesota) involved three phases completed between 1994 and 1995. Planning and information gathering involved interviews with 60 program providers and key informants from youth programs. A written survey of 187 program providers assesses perceived barriers…

This report provides program funders and providers with an overview of what children and adolescents need to be successful and grow up healthy, and it examines the role of youth programs in healthy development. It presents a review of effective programming, the relevant literature on youth outcomes, and ideas and suggestions for evaluating…

Examines six mentoring programs conducted by fraternities and other organizations to ascertain the perceptions of participants of the effectiveness of their involvement. Results with 51 mentors and 54 African-American male adolescents support the positive impact of mentoring programs. Mentoring can be an important component of multifaceted…

The authors provide examples of sports-based youth development programs and offer information about program mission and vision, program design and content, evaluation results, and program sustainability. The four sports-based youth development programs presented are Harlem RBI, Tenacity, Snowsports Outreach Society, and Hoops & Leaders…

The Children-at-Risk program (CAR), a drug and delinquency prevention program, targets high-risk adolescents aged 11 to 13 who live in distressed neighborhoods. The program features integrated delivery of comprehensive services that are tailored to the community and involve close collaboration with other services providers. The Urban Institute is…

This report focuses on young mothers who had children as teenagers, who had dropped out of high school, and who were receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children. It was a voluntary demonstration project that provided comprehensive education, training, and other services intended to increase the long-term self-sufficiency and well-being of…

Two studies of drug abuse prevention programs that rely at least in part on the "school-as-community" concept were conducted in urban high schools with high-risk students. Both studies support the feasibility of formalized groups of high-risk youths to promote drug-free events. (SLD)

Research was conducted in Scotland to evaluate the effectiveness of youth work with vulnerable young people, primarily between the ages of 13 and 16. Four complementary methods were adopted: (1) a survey of secondary school students; (2) a series of focus group interviews with young people with experience of youth work; (3) interviews with…

Project Return, a dropout recovery program to assist pregnant and parenting teenagers and parents of elementary school children to return to school, was first implemented in 1989-90, and by 1993-94 had expanded to serve 19 sites in New York City. The Babygram Hospital Outreach program, an outgrowth of Project Return, operated in 12 hospitals and…