NCJ Number
165432
Date Published
1992
Length
322 pages
Annotation
This review of the literature on at-risk youth and programs that serve them indicates that a comprehensive approach has the best chance of helping youth avoid negative behaviors and outcomes.
Abstract
The first chapter introduces the study and its objectives, followed by a chapter that reviews the literature on youth at risk. It examines definitions and the prevalence of risk, describes current approaches to service delivery, explores the definition of and motivation behind service integration (SI), and examines the barriers programs face in the implementation of SI. A third chapter delineates the evaluation issues regarding programs that serve youth at risk, followed by a chapter that introduces the objectives of the site visits and describes the procedures used. Two chapters describe each of the nine programs visited and identify and discuss issues common to all the programs. Project findings and implications are summarized in the final chapter. The report concludes the a comprehensive approach has the best chance of helping youth to avoid delinquent behaviors, and SI is one way to increase the comprehensiveness of program offerings by facilitating access to services available in the community. The most striking implication of the project's findings is the need to conceptualize service integration more broadly. 8 exhibits and 104 references