Age range

Website: www.nyyouthatrisk.org

Mission/Goals: The mission of New York Youth At Risk, Inc. is to eliminate the at-risk behavior of youth and to enhance the effectiveness of the adults who live and work with them.

Sources: www.guidestar.org; www.nyyouthatrisk.org

Notes: Youth-serving programs include Warrior's Way (mentoring program for boys), Woman to Woman (teen pregnancy intervention and prevention program), and The Next Step Academy (9 month youth leadership program).

STUDY 1:

Type of Evaluation: Outcomes Monitoring

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of the intervention on students' self concept, identity, sense of control, hostility management, personal management skills, and relationships, and to determine whether these areas are correlated with maladaptive behaviors.

Impact/Outcome Findings: The most frequent problems that lead students to come to NYYAR were family difficulties, behavior problems, school-related problems, and gang membership. All students provided positive feedback about NYYAR, and there were no consistent complaints about the program. Of the 19 students, roughly 42% said that NYYAR helped them to become more goal-directed, 21% said they were more confident than they were before NYYAR, and 37% said that the strongest influence of Committed Partners was with behavior change. Roughly 32% said that the Committed Partners taught them to relate to people. Students who did not have close relationships with other adults were the
most receptive to the intervention.

STUDY 2:
Type of Evaluation: Pre-Post Test; Outcomes monitoring

Objective: The objective of the evaluation was to define and quantify the effectiveness of the program and to test the consistency of quantitative outcomes with qualitative narrative reports of success by participants and community recognition.

Impact/Outcome Findings: When participants were asked to describe how NYYAR had influenced them, 42% said NYYAR helped them to become more goal-directed, 21% reported that NYYAR helped them to have confidence, 16% said NYYAR helped them to better express themselves, 16% were better able to trust people, and 5% said they stopped smoking and drinking.