NCJ Number
79493
Date Published
1979
Length
350 pages
Annotation
This study, conducted over a 19-month period, was designed to determine the extent to which a sample of projects funded under the Runaway Youth Act (RYA) have operationalized the act's goals and to perform a cost analysis profiling the projects' costs and expenditures and their allocation of these resources to specific services and activities.
Abstract
The 20 projects selected for the study were representative of those projects funded under the RYA and were located throughout the Nation. Week-long site visits were conducted, at which time interviews were held with project staff who also completed self-administered questionnaires. Written materials from the projects were also reviewed. Findings indicate that these programs have successfully met the goals of the RYA, have developed a number of goals in addition to those mandated in the RYA, are extremely diverse both in terms of structures and their client populations, and exhibited a growing professionalism. The most serious service limitations within these programs are the provision of the follwoup and aftercare services, although the National Runaway Youth Program is achieving substantial positive client impact levels. In general, RYA-funded projects achieve similar success with a wide variety of clients, and a positive relationship was found between goal operationalization and positive client impact. In addition, these projects are expanding their fiscal capacities by generating new funding sources and developing volunteer programs. New service models are also emerging, such as the use of a volunteer network of foster homes. The implications of this expanded service focus and new organizational form has been that projects have become more professional and mainstream in their working relationships and have formalized their management structures and internal service delivery systems. Appendixes include brief descriptions of seven studies on runaway youth and youth service programs, construction variables and guidelines used in the study, and a summary of each project's goal operationalization. Numerous tables and footnotes are provided. (Author summary modified)