Based on program evaluations, what approaches enhanced youth outcomes?  What program approaches are effective in meeting the needs of youth?  Child Trends' What Works: Programs for Teens series summarizes the best available program evaluations to determine what works, what doesn't work and what are some "best bets" (or promising practices) for anyone who designs, administers, or funds services for youth.  Our interactive What Works tables identify youth outcomes that either have, or have not, been positively affected through youth programs using various approaches.  For even more information, the findings in the tables are linked to summary statements and detailed descriptions of the studies.  If you are a service provider, policy maker, reporter, funder, researcher, or an educator, these tables will help you find the best research available to inform and support your work.  We have completed reports on four program approaches and one report on programs serving a specific subgroup of teens (see below).

To purchase hard copies of these publications click here and enter "a synthesis" as the keyword.

Each full report (PDF versions) includes:

·    Characteristics of Programs.  This section answers questions such as: Who are the program participants?  How often do youth attend the programs?  How long do programs last?  What type of staffing do programs have?  What activities do the programs offer?

·    Characteristics Associated with Effective and Ineffective Programs.  This section identifies specific program practices that are associated with positive youth outcomes.  For instance, does the length or frequency of the program influence the effectiveness of the program?  Where available, this section also identifies participant characteristics associated with positive outcomes.  For example, did evaluations suggest that a particular program was effective in influencing outcomes for males but not females? 

·    Unanswered Questions.  This section provides a list of questions that can not yet be answered by current research.  Many of these questions can be considered as “next steps” for research.

Want to know the criteria we used to determine what works (and what doesn't)? Definitions used in this series are detailed here. 

To return to the Research Tools to Improve Youth Development page click here.