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,…

Afterschool programs provide many opportunities to engage youth in community service activities, which can teach youth valuable skills, help them realize their potential to meet community needs and foster a sense of civic responsibility. Afterschool programs also successfully recruit, train and utilize volunteers to work with youth in afterschool…

Describes a program in which high school students from St. Paul, Minnesota volunteer at the local Red Cross. Cites examples of students who entered the volunteer program with personal problems and were able to overcome them through meaningful work experience at the Red Cross. (Author/GC)

Presents three papers addressing the topic of using youth volunteers in public libraries: "Teen Corps Reaches Out with Pride" (Yvonne K. Coleman); "Whose Teen Advisory Board is this, Anyway?" (Leila J. Sprince); and "It All Started in the Summer..." (Liz Baldwin). (AEF)

A study explored the effects of participation in two kinds of volunteer activities--community service and child care--on adolescents' attitudes toward social and personal responsibility skill development and knowledge acquisition. It was part of an evaluation of the New York State 4-H Youth Volunteers Program. Written questionnaires, interviews…

Describes a teen volunteer program sponsored by the Clearwater Public Library System. The discussion covers promotional activities, job responsibilities and training, program evaluation, staffing, and funding. The volunteer application and guidelines are appended. A sidebar reports the results of a national survey of the public library resources…

Two national in-home interview surveys conducted by the Gallup Organization and information from a national workshop conference attended by 70 teen volunteers from 28 states and 200 teachers and adult leaders indicate that about three-fifths of youth aged 12 to 17 volunteer an average of just over 3 hours a week. The most frequent volunteer…

This report presents the findings of an evaluation of goal accomplishment at Young Volunteers in Action (YVA) projects at three sites: ALexander City, Alabama; Gainesville, Florida; and New Orleans, Louisiana. First, a brief introduction describes the YVA program and discusses the evaluation approach. The next three sections present case studies…

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 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…

Nine programs chosen for the ways in which they involved adolescents in significant pursuits, either in solving their own problems or in helping adults solve theirs, are described. The programs serve as models for other attempts to aid adolescents toward feeling that they can make a difference in the world around them. Obstacles for youth enroute…

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…

Children aged 10-14 need to assume responsible and challenging roles as part of their adolescent development. Based on the physical, social, moral and ethical, and emotional developmental characteristics of this age, adolescents need to discover and test new skills; develop a sense of competence; socialize to develop close friendships; take part…

This paper describes the work of Youth Service California, a state-wide collaboration of public and private organizations that since 1990 has brought the voice of the local youth service field to state level policy and program development. Youth Service California's purpose is the further development of a diverse state movement to increase and…

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,…