Faith and Action: Implementation of the National Faith-Based Initiative for High Risk Youth

Public/ Private Ventures' long-standing interest in whether faith-based institutions could serve as vehicles for the delivery of social programming for youth who have committed juvenile or criminal offenses led to the development of the National Faith-Based Initiative for High-Risk Youth. Faith and Action documents the efforts of the 15 faith-based organizations that participated in this initiative. These organizations entered into partnership with the justice community in order to recruit high-risk youth and provide them with services such as education, employment and mentoring. The report also documents the role that faith plays in the delivery of these services, and makes observations about the capacity of these organizations to implement programs for youth

College Students as Mentors for At-Risk Youth: A Study of Six Campus Partners in Learning Programs

In this study of the effects of college-student mentoring on elementary, junior-high and high-school students, P/PV examined six Campus Partners in Learning (CPIL) programs that implemented a common programmatic core in different ways, such as by varying the size of classes, the age of students served and the location of the mentoring sessions. The report concludes such mentoring can be an effective tool in improving academic and social outcomes but cautions that involving college students as mentors presents special challenges that require administrative structure and substantive support beyond that typically provided

Summer Training and Education Program (STEP): Report on the Pilot Experience

Each year, large numbers of disadvantaged youth enter the labor force without adequate preparation: Their basic academic and job skills are unequal to the tasks that they will soon face as young adults. To address this dilemma, P/PVs launched the Summer Training and Education Program (STEP) during the summer of 1984; STEP sought to improve school retention rates and, ultimately, labor market outcomes for disadvantaged youth ages 14 and 15. STEP aspired to address two serious obstacles to high school graduationnegative academic experiences and adolescent parenthoodby providing participants with both academic remediation and instruction in life planning skills, in addition to the work experience traditionally available to them in summer jobs programs, during two consecutive and intensive summer programs. This report shares preliminary findings, which suggest that although a few program elements should be strengthened, the program offers promising results as STEP participants significantly increased their basic skills and understanding of sexual responsibility

I Have a Dream in Washington, D.C.: Initial Report

This report documents the experience of three schools that were beginning to implement the IHAD model which combines mentoring with a guarantee of financial support during postsecondary education. They were observed for one year in the first independent evaluation of this approach. Although the study was too short-term to assess impacts, the study found the model promising

Big Brothers/Big Sisters: A Study of Program Practices

The first of four studies of the effectiveness of the BBBS model, Big Brothers/Big Sisters: A Study of Program Practices documents the implementation of the BBBS program model. The study examines the model by analyzing variation in program practice among eight BBBS agencies, which were selected, in part, to reflect differences in recruitment, screening, training, matching and supervision