Evaluated an inner-city science enrichment program for elementary school students using an evaluation team of staff, board members, students, parents, and representatives of the agency's major funder, for 12 participants in all. Data show high satisfaction with the program and provide validation of the hands-on teaching model. The highly…

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…

This study examined the extent to which wages received by graduates of the Chicago Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) youth programs are more closely correlated with the program in which the client participated or the client's personal history. Results found that program type was a particularly critical factor for the wages of African American…

The present study evaluated the impact of Urban Improv (UI), a theater-based youth violence prevention (YVP) program developed for inner-city youth, on three behavioral and psychological outcome domains: aggressive behaviors, prosocial behaviors, and scholastic attention and engagement. This study compared outcomes for 77 elementary school…

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 project assumes that a youngster's problems with the law rarely occur in isolation. More often, they are part of a constellation of problems--family conflict, school failure, unemployment, emotional difficulties and, in urban ghettos, inadequate housing and health care. The Neighborhood Youth Resources Center (NYRC) of Philadelphia provides a…

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…

Project Choice began with a simple goal: to increase the number of inner-city students who graduate from high school on time and become productive members of society. To that end, Ewing M. Kauffman, his Foundation, and associates designed and implemented a program that promised postsecondary education or training to some students in the Kansas…

Conducted a cost-benefit analysis of a federally financed comprehensive early childhood program, the Title I Chicago Child-Parent Centers. Used data for 1,539 program and comparison group children. Findings show that an established public program can provide benefits that far exceed costs. Outlines key elements of program effectiveness. (SLD)

The Urban Corps Expansion Project (UCEP) enrolls youth aged 18 to 23 who have been unsuccessful in the labor market. They are paid a combination of wages, stipends, and incentives that is at least equal to the minimum wage for at least 25 hours of work and 9 hours of basic education and life skills instruction each week. The program incorporates…

School choice for poor children is likely to be an issue in many state and congressional races. Lawmakers and parents need to pay close attention to the quality of academic evaluations of school choice programs. Evaluations of the program in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) provide a case in point. In 1990, Milwaukee instituted the nation's first publicly…

The greatest support offered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for youth mentoring has been through the Juvenile Mentoring Program (JUMP), which provides one-to-one mentoring for youth at risk of delinquency, gang involvement, educational failure, or dropping out of school. Information on JUMP has been collected through…

To help guide family literacy program developers in shaping their curriculum, and educators and community leaders in creating independent parenting programs, this digest describes the parenting education component of successful urban programs. In general, family literacy programs have three basic components: adult education, parenting education,…

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 is a report of a forty-four month investigation in which three curricular approaches to rehabilitating school dropouts were evaluated under experimental conditions. Program participants were school dropouts between the ages of 17 and 22, and the program was conducted in a large urban high school. The findings of the study were: (1)…