Research article (not copyrighted)

The Creativity Conundrum in Educational Leadership discusses the decline of creativity in the American education system due to its emphasis on standardized test scores and how local education funds (LEFs) and public education funds (PEFs) may be able to fill the void.

Drawing on a larger evaluation of the Sierra Health Foundation's REACH youth program, this issue brief examines best practices for using youth-produced media as part of a community change effort.

Public health and education policy makers, practitioners, researchers, and educators need to know as much as they can about the factors that lead youth to manifest behaviors stemming from group defined values, beliefs, attitudes, and interests. Such understanding is basic to promoting healthy development, preventing problems, intervening as soon as problems arise, and enhancing intervention impact on severe and chronic problems.

Few schools escape dynamics and behaviors that are associated with gangs. Think, for example, about bullying, disruptive intergroup conflicts, drug sales and abuse, and vandalism such as theft, graffiti, and other forms of property damage. From both a policy and practice perspective, it is essential for schools to understand and address gang-related problems that interfere with productive schooling. Fortunately, there are many useful resources on the topic

A Center-developed Clearinghouse with a variety of resources on adolescent transitioning. 

Drawing on a larger evaluation of the Sierra Health Foundation's REACH youth program, this issue brief describes how a summer camp experience can be used as a strategy to support a community change initiative.

Global Youth Justice resources support local communities to reduce juvenile crime through programs utilizing positive peer pressure which can be harnessed and redirected to become a positive force and lead other youth to adhere to the rule of law and become more productive citizens.   These "youth court" and "teen court" voluntary diversion programs harness positive peer pressure and utilize it in a peer judgment setting to help address the anti-social and delinquent behavior of youth.

In this report, we describe youth reentry and its policy relevance to communities nationwide. Drawing liberally from the insights and comments of the authors and participants in the Youth Reentry Roundtable, we identify critical facts about youth reentry, including the specific programming and policy challenges that must be addressed. We then provide recommendations for next steps in research and practice.

Drawing on a larger evaluation of the Sierra Health Foundation's REACH youth program, this issue brief examines ways to engage underrepresented youth populations in community youth development. A set of key principles is developed based on lessons from field research. 

This introductory packet provides basic references, internet resources, model programs, a few names from our Consultation Cadre, and other resources related to the topic.