Youth Environmental Service in Action: Program Summary

• NCJ Number: 159762
• Author(s): R C Cronin
• Date Published: June 1996
• Length: 48 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description

Annotation

The Youth Environmental Service (YES) is an initiative of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) that enhances youth skills through work and education programs on Federal land.

Abstract

The YES initiative aims to increase the capacity of States and communities to correct, treat, and rehabilitate adjudicated delinquents and to prevent at-risk youth from entering the juvenile justice system. Partnerships are formed among Federal, State, local, and private agencies to develop these environmental work programs. States and localities have broad flexibility to design programs suitable to the specific needs of their communities. States and localities provide funding; DOJ and DOI work with them to identify Federal land and facilities that can support the program. DOJ and DOI recruited three jurisdictions (District of Columbia, Florida, and Utah) to try the approach through two programs each. The six programs are diverse in style and target population and range from weekend volunteer activities for at-risk adolescents to a long-term residential program for serious juvenile offenders. Descriptions of each program and its results during its first 6 months, contact information for each program, and form on which to order technical assistance materials