NCJ Number
177641
Date Published
1998
Length
109 pages
Annotation
This report provides a detailed portrait of how youth ages 12 to 20 in three American neighborhoods -- Austin, Tex.; St. Petersburg, Fla.; and Savannah, Ga. -- spend their nonschool time, as well as the amount and level of basic developmental resources they are provided by the adults and institutions with which they interact; the period covered is during mid-1996 to late 1996.
Abstract
An increasing body of research evidence indicates that children do much better in life if they have caring adult attention, effective schooling, opportunities during nonschool hours to engage in positive activities, and adult assistance in their postsecondary education and employment options. The Public/Private Venture's Community Change for Youth Development (CCYD) initiative is intended to increase the aforementioned resources in youth's lives by coordinating a better use of existing public, private, and volunteer resources for the enhancement of youth development. This report profiles the three CCYD neighborhood's before the program was launched. The three neighborhoods targeted are not the very poorest of American neighborhoods, and they have the basic community institutions of most neighborhoods. Still, the neighborhood assets do not come up to anyone's vision of a "normal" middle-class neighborhood. Incomes are low; unemployment and crime are higher than in the surrounding larger communities; and school performance is lower than in nearby communities. Younger adolescents, however, do benefit from a base of neighborhood assets, both individual and institutional. Along with this good news for younger adolescents comes discouraging news for older adolescents (15 years old and older). The supports available for younger adolescents begin to decline as they move into their older years. As youth enter their mid-teens, their opportunities for adult guidance, especially of an instrumental nature relating to education and work, and their participation in structured activities that provide opportunity for positive social engagement and service apparently drastically decline. Part of this is due to the lack of school involvement by older teens. These findings suggest that the public, private, and philanthropic sectors need to focus on new ways to engage the energy and commitment of older youth, as well as to support their desire for the guidance and opportunities necessary to shape a positive socioeconomic future. 17 tables, 12 figures, 69 references, and appended survey methodology and questionnaire items