Contract with America's Youth
Toward a National Youth Development Agenda
The tools required for young people to succeed academically, socially and economically in the 21st century have changed. Yet our nation lacks specific youth development goals to reflect these changing requirements. Without a comprehensive youth development strategy -- aimed directly at prevention, promotion, productivity and preparation -- our schools, youth-serving agencies and juvenile justice system will miss their target: improving the lives and prospects of America's youth.
So argues CONTRACT WITH AMERICA'S YOUTH: TOWARD A NATIONAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AGENDA, a new collection of essays by leading policy analysts, researchers and program practitioners. The essays consider both the important themes of youth policy and how they can be put into effective practice. They are wide-ranging in focus, from "A New Model of Adolescent Health" to "The Central Role of ‘Age' in Youth Development Policy"; from "Thinking About Youth in Families and Communities" to "Apprenticeship Programs for the Youth Labor Market."
To provide a framework for such a rich and diverse collection, the editors' introductory essay addresses the three major themes of the report -- promoting youth development, building supportive communities and reforming systems/linking services. In addition, the editors' essay presents specific implications for policy and national youth development goals, providing both structure and substance to the critical debate over how best to achieve positive outcomes for youth.
The 22 essays that comprise CONTRACT WITH AMERICA'S YOUTH raise key questions that policy makers and program planners must answer to ensure that youth progress toward adulthood as successful workers, parents and citizens. The essays' insights, policy recommendations and suggestions for putting theory into practice will be invaluable to policy analysts and practitioners alike.
Essay authors include: Robert W. Blum, Gene Bottoms, Cynthia G. Brown, Michele Cahill, John A. Calhoun, George E. Capowich, James Colley, James P. Comer, Lynn A. Curtis, Kathleen Feely, Norm Fruchter, Julie Glover, Larry Good, Hubert E. Guest, Andrew Hahn, Jeff Howard, Della M. Hughes, Ron Jenkins, Vesta Kimble, David S. Liederman, Nexus Nichols, Paul Osterman, Hilary Pennington, Michael Timpane and Ellen Wahl.
CONTRACT WITH AMERICA'S YOUTH is a co-publication of the Center for Youth Development and Policy Research (Academy for Educational Development), National Assembly Of National Voluntary Health And Social Welfare Organizations, and American Youth Policy Forum and the Center For Workforce Development (Institute for Educational Leadership).
To order the 64-page report, please see our Order Form. The cost of the report is $5. For information on additional AYPF publications, please go back to our Publications List.