NCJ Number
147546
Date Published
1993
Length
396 pages
Annotation
This sourcebook examines programs, policies, research, and evaluations of the Federal Government that respond to the needs of youth and discusses the youth-serving activities and initiatives of nine Federal agencies.
Abstract
While the Federal Government devotes substantial resources to youth and young adolescents, the results to date are not encouraging. One in five children lives in poverty; some 68 percent of those arrested, 79 percent of welfare dependents, 85 percent of school dropouts, and 72 percent of the unemployed are functionally illiterate. Half of sixth graders and almost 60 percent of junior and senior high school students spend 2 or more hours a day at home without adult supervision. Homicide is the leading cause of death for black males and females between 15 and 24 years of age, teenagers give birth to 1,336 babies daily, and suicide is the second leading cause of death amoung white males between 15 and 24 years of age. In 1990, 1 million juveniles were taken into custody. The United States has the highest rate of teenage alcohol and drug abuse of any industrialized nation, and an estimated 1,261 children died from child abuse in 1992. Federal policies and programs that respond to youth are arranged in order of program magnitude rather than in alphabetical order. Each chapter describes youth programs offered by Federal agencies and is organized to reflect the agency's internal organization. Program overview charts highlight major youth-serving programs. The nine Federal agencies included in the sourcebook are the departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Labor, Justice, Agriculture, Interior, Housing and Urban Development, Defense, and Commerce. Appendixes contain information on State funding allocations of Federal agencies, Federal clearinghouses and resource centers, and national organizations serving youth, along with a bibliography, a list of sourcebook funders and sponsors, and an index. References, tables, and figures