Community-Based Youth Services in International Perspective.

This essay examines the youth policies and programs of the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Sweden, and Norway in an effort to provide examples that may be of assistance in the development of such policies in the United States. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the topic, noting that the focus is on younger adolescents between the ages of 10 and 15, especially those in high risk or at-risk environments, and that the central themes are youth development, youth as participants, and the formation of "human capital." Chapter 2 summarizes youth policies and services in the five nations considered, examining historical contexts, goals, structures, policies, funding, and youth workers. Chapter 3 examines the dimensions of youth services on a supranational and thematic basis, considering: (1) purposes and goals; (2) policies and programs; (3) structure and finance; (4) youth workers and training; and (5) information and research. Chapter 4 makes recommendations relevant to youth policies and programs in the United States in these five categories. It is noted that policies and programs in the five countries studied tend to be developmental, broadly based, inclusive, and participative, whereas U.S. youth policy is more oriented toward remediation of individual difficulties than broad development and socialization. (Contains 116 references.) (MDM)