At-risk Youth Resources


See also the At-risk youth topic in our Encyclopedia.

 

Al-Anon and Alateen

Support for families and friends of alcoholics.

 

ARISE Life-Skills

Since 1986, ARISE, a not-for-profit foundation, has trained over 4,000 life-skills instructors nationwide who have gone on to teach more than 3,000,000 (three million) hours of award-winning, statistically proven lessons to over 500,000 at-risk youth nationwide, who now have a better chance of reaching their full potential and becoming law-abiding citizens, making neighborhoods safer for our families.


Books Not Bars                                                                                                                                                                      
An organization founded to fight the over-incarceration of youth. 

 

Boston Urban Youth Foundation
Mission: “helping at-risk youth develop spiritually, emotionally, academically, and economically. Their truancy program has been noted by city and national officials. Each year they take urban youth on college tours.

 

Boston Youth Network
A great model for a localized online resource that offers networking, job bank, calendar, needs assessment studies and other information for those working with at-risk youth in Boston. Be sure to check out their "youth at-risk assessment."

 

Breakaway Outreach                                                                                                                                                            |
A Christ-centered, national organization providing outreach to at-risk youth and juvenile offenders. They provide services in juvenile facilities, sports outreaches in juvenile centers and community-wide, aftercare programs for released youth offenders, juvenile justice ministry training workshops, video curriculum geared toward at-risk youth, and a nation network of resources for those working with troubled youth.

Child & Welfare Family WebGuide                                                                                                                                   
Huge
clearinghouse of news and research relating to child development and wellbeing—along with other parental concerns. Issues such as bullying, anger management, depression, drinking, drug abuse, and eating disorders.

Covenant House

Serving (in Canada, U.S., and Latin America) more than 76,000 abused and runaway young people a year. Providing food, shelter, clothing, and crisis care.

 

Denver Street School
The Denver Street School is dedicated to the belief that a quality education is the most effective means of transforming many disenfranchised members of our society into productive citizens. The school is founded on a commitment to Jesus Christ as Creator and Lord and is driven by His example of compassion for the poor and forgotten people among us.

 

Healthy Futures
Promoting sexual health through abstinence. Be sure to check out their teen website: http://www.doinitright.org/ 

 

International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP)                                                                                       Comprehensive website on the practices of restorative justice with individuals and communities.

 

KidsCount Data Book Online (2004) 

10 key measures comprise an index of child well-being used to rank states and supplemental data on education, health, and economic conditions for each state. (Annie E. Casey Foundation)

 

KidsCount Census Data Online

KIDS COUNT has compiled indicators of child well-being released by the 2000 U.S. Census. View data on Age and Sex, Race, Hispanic Origin, Living Arrangements, Income and Poverty, Employment, Education, Language, and Disability Status.
 

Kids Hope USA Ministry

Mission: “to bring about emotional and spiritual healing in the lives of children who live in single-parent families; in cooperation with the local church; through the use of seminars for kids, retreats for families, and workshops for adults.”

 

Lifelines Family Services

Representatives for at-risk youth programs; consultant for parents.

 

National Chaplains Association for Youth at Risk
c/o Holy Cross Children's Services, 8759 Clinton-Macon Rd., Clinton, MI 49236

 

The National Youth Network

Offers a comprehensive resource for parents and those working with at-risk and troubled youth.

 

Straight Ahead Ministries

An international program serving juvenile offenders, in prisons and when they get out, boys and girls. Check different levels of programs.

 

Teen Options for Teen Problems

This site deals with all forms of defiance and risky behavior. Keep in mind it is a company and treatment usually involves significant fees.  Teen Options tries to match teens with schools or programs (such as boot camps) to help them deal with a variety of problems.

 

True Life Interactive 

“An In-depth Motivational Program that helps At-Risk Teens Discover the Consequences of their Choices.  Entirely web-based, personalized, self-guided, intuitive. 

 

Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System - Center for Disease Control
US National data on Tobacco, Alcohol and Drug use, suicidal thinking and behavior, violence-related behavior, sexual behavior and more.

 

ARTICLES

 

CDC (Centers for Disease Control) (1998). "Assessing Health Risk Behaviors Among Young People: Youth Risk Behavior Suveillance System." At a Glance. Demonstration of a system of gathering statistics through a collaboration of federal, state, and private sector partners including voluntary surveys done by state and local education agencies. Shows leading cause of death among the young (ages 5-24) to be motor vehicle, homicide, suicide, other injury, HIV infection, and other causes. (www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/yrbs/yrbsaag98.htm)

Watson, Jude Tiersma, Dr. "We have forgotten that we belong to eachother," Center for Youth and Family Ministry, Online article. Arguing against the individualism that has guided most work with kids labeled at-risk, Dr. Jude Tiersma Watson uses ecological development theory and a theological principle of belonging to offer insights into ministering with any kind of youth.

BOOKS

CDC (Centers for Disease Control) (1998). "Assessing Health Risk Behaviors Among Young People: Youth Risk Behavior Suveillance System." At a Glance. Demonstration of a system of gathering statistics through a collaboration of federal, state, and private sector partners including voluntary surveys done by state and local education agencies. Shows leading cause of death among the young (ages 5-24) to be motor vehicle, homicide, suicide, other injury, HIV infection, and other causes. (www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/yrbs/yrbsaag98.htm)

Ponton, L.E. (1997). The romance of risk: Why teenagers do the things they do. New York: Basic Books of Harper Collins. Through riveting case studies, a renowned psychiatrist explains the importance of risk-taking for adolescents. Looks at risk-taking as a positive testing process needing adult support and guidance.

Dean Borgman cCYS


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