This document reports on Congressional hearings on issues relating to the 1989 youth services bill to create a nationwide Youth Service Corps. The hearings focused on the successes of local youth programs. Testimony includes statements and prepared statements, letters, and supplemental materials from the mayors of San Francisco and Los Angeles,…

Discusses development and implementation of service programs for adolescents. Offers five suggestions to facilitate programs: (1) have clearly stated educational objectives, (2) introduce and promote the program, (3) direct activity toward school and community, (4) make activity more than career preparation, and (5) allow students to react to…

The authors discuss the concept of a good community service program and argue that such a program challenges students to think about the meaning of their volunteer experiences. Several examples are presented from students' reactions to their volunteer experiences to illustrate this point. (CH)

Discusses the Early Adolescent Helper program, which was designed to provide a safe and positive after-school environment for young people. In this program, 10- to 15-year-olds serve in day care, Head Start, latchkey programs, and at senior centers. (RJC)

Describes the development of service learning in a special school for students with learning, emotional, and behavioral challenges. Discusses the poor self-image that many troubled youth possess and suggest ways to help students refocus on their good qualities through service work. Outlines service partnerships and a service culture. (RJM)

Students from an Albany (New York) free school spent a week repairing storm damage in a Puerto Rican village with a rich history of community solidarity. The students learned how good it feels to help others and the power of cooperation. They also encountered another culture, discovered they could cope with challenge, and experienced appreciation…

This booklet is the first in a series designed to assist parents who are home-schooling their adolescent children and focuses on the socialization of home-schooled adolescents. The booklet advances the view that pivotal social experiences plus daily age-peer contact are not needed to produce socially competent individuals, that real world…

Analyzes the development and implementation of a teen hotline that utilizes skilled student volunteers. A comprehensive and meaningful training program combined with a high level of acceptance among the general youth population resulted in a valuable service for both the client callers and the student volunteers. (RJM)

This annotated bibliography is a selected listing of resource material for three specific areas of 4-H volunteerism: (1) volunteers serving as middle managers; (2) volunteers serving on a board, advisory group, or committee; and (3) youth volunteers. The bibliography is divided into these three categories. The material is subdivided under each…

This study examined English teenagers' community involvement. Participants were all 14-16-year-old students in 3 large public schools (rural, urban, and suburban), none of which had service learning as part of the curriculum. Over 1,000 students completed questionnaires that examined regular and one-time involvement in community service activities…

The specific effects of the Young Volunteers in ACTION (YVA) Program were examined through onsite interviews with project directors, workstation supervisors, and volunteers at 18 YVA projects in their second year of ACTION funding. Principal topics were accomplishment of YVA's poverty goals; effects of YVA on the workstation, volunteerism, and the…

Information on 12 exemplary volunteer programs is gathered in this manual for school officials, teachers, and volunteer coordinators. An introductory chapter discusses the place of volunteerism in middle and secondary schools, covering categories of volunteers; the services volunteers can provide; the benefits of volunteer programs to students,…

Examined benefits/risks of participation in five types of extracurricular activities (prosocial, team sports, school involvement, performing arts, academic clubs). Data for 1,259 adolescents were drawn from the Michigan Study of Adolescent Life Transitions. Found that prosocial involvement was linked to positive educational trajectories and low…

An evaluative study was done of the Teen Outreach Program, a national, multi-site effort to reduce teenage pregnancy, school failure, and dropout. The study sought to identify the critical "active ingredients" of the program responsible for its success. The study was based on analyses of data collected at 114 different sites nationally,…

This guide to more than 1,000 summer programs for teenagers encompasses recreational and academic programs sponsored by colleges, universities, independent schools, foundations, museums, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit businesses. Every program listed accepts students age 13-18; some programs also accept participants older or younger.…