NCJ Number
213214
Date Published
2003
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This paper presents the ideas discussed and suggestions offered in nine forums that addressed issues regarding how to increase the involvement of youth in actions to improve their schools and communities.
Abstract
At one forum, youth with disabilities and adults who work with them identified the obstacles that restrict the full participation of disabled youth in efforts to improve communities. At another forum, panelists discussed efforts to bring a successful youth community service project to a national level. A third forum described a project that provides grants to schools that commit to teaching the meaning of the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution by creating opportunities for students to practice democracy in their schools. In another forum, two national leaders envisioned the possibilities and benefits of providing service opportunities to all citizens. A fifth forum reported on a recent study of the political and civic attitudes and behaviors of youth ages 15-25. A forum also addressed recent efforts in Missouri and San Francisco to engage youth in the development of public policies by offering their perspectives on issues being confronted by policymakers. Another group of panelists focused on efforts in New York and Philadelphia to recruit and organize youth to become involved in educational reforms that affect their schooling. In another forum, participants in a field trip learned about youth courts, where youth become jurors in deciding accountability and intervention issues regarding minor delinquent and problem behaviors by peers who come before the court. The final forum considered also involved a field trip. Participants visited a charter school that gives priority to students' knowledge about and participation in public policy debates.