NCJ Number
161412
Date Published
1992
Length
109 pages
Annotation
To identify factors that could aid in identifying effective efforts for planning service delivery improvements for youth, this study analyzed 10 effective community youth initiatives with respect to their origins, goals, strategies, impacts, structure, inclusiveness, funding, and implementation.
Abstract
The two criteria considered crucial to whether and initiative could foster this type of planning included the involvement of multiple actors and the promotion of multiple solutions. The initiatives' goals fell into three broad categories: improving or expaning services, improving service systems, and promoting a positive climate for youth. The main strategies to accomplish these goals were community planning, changing the service delivery system, increasing funding for systems and services, and increasing collaboration among agencies and sectors. Advocacy was one of the most commonly described functions of the initiatives' decisionmaking bodies. The analysis indicated that the voluntary sector had a critical role in the initial development of initiatives and was often influential in shaping their subsequent structure and direction. The research also revealed the crucial role of leadership and the need for broad community involvement. Three promising initiatives studied in depth were the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, Fla., the Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board, and the Chicago Cluster Initiative. Footnotes, charts profiling each initiative, and list of these and additional initiatives