Volunteer program empowers youths.

What we have been doing in corrections for and about our youth population traditionally has not been working well. We need to try new approaches and see what happens. No one approach will work, but some are very successful and help us move toward a healthier youth population. Youth as Resources (YAR) is such a program, and one which we have successfully implemented in Indiana with remarkable results for the youth, the facilities and the staff.

- Chris DeBruyn, commissioner, Indiana Department of Corrections

For the past five years, a unique program in the Indiana Department of Corrections has made a dramatic impact on the lives of young people and the perspectives of correctional system administrators working with youths in the state's correctional institutions. Known as Youth as Resources (YAR), the program is proving to be an effective tool in giving juveniles something that many in the nation's correctional systems agree is lacking in the lives of numerous adjudicated youths - a sense of belonging, self-worth, responsibility and community connection.

Created by the National Crime Prevention Council in 1986 with funding from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., YAR is based on the premise that youths are resources, and when treated as such, they can make a difference in their communities. The typical YAR program awards modest grants to a variety of youth-serving organizations to enable youths to address community problems that are of particular interest to them. Assisted by adult leaders, youths help plan, implement and manage community service projects.

Implementation in Indiana's Correctional System

In 1991, a partnership formed between the National Crime Prevention Council and the Indiana Department of Corrections to test the notion that YAR could be equally successful with youths in correctional facilities as it had proven in other settings. Time and time again YAR has proven itself to be cost effective and capable of fitting into the culture of the correctional institution.

More than 1,500 young people in state and regional Indiana youth correctional facilities have designed and implemented a variety of projects, ranging from violence prevention projects and projects educating children about the harmful effects of drugs and gangs, to those which involve building a playground for neighborhood children or assisting AIDS patients. At the Indiana Girls' School, for example, more than 150 girls volunteering in a project known as the Voices From the Heart Choir have visited senior centers, children's hospitals, cerebral palsy centers and shelters to share their songs and activities, and to bring handmade gifts to residents. "I never realized those people were there before, I was so concentrated on myself," one Voices from the Heart participant says.

Paula Schmidt-Lewis of PSL Associates, Inc. completed an independent four-year evaluation of YAR in youth correctional settings in 1995. In her evaluation, Schmidt-Lewis noted several areas which speak to the program's impact upon participants' lives:

* Many of the participants grew excited about the possibility of building their communities.

* Adult leaders surveyed for the evaluation noted that 78 percent of youth participants in the program learned about working together.

* Many of the young people in correctional settings stated that YAR gave them a sense of belonging.

Effects Upon Institutions

Adults working with YAR in the juvenile system also have noted a new appreciation of the benefits of programming geared toward the development of youth instead of the more frequently accepted deficit-driven programmatic approaches. "Most of these young people do not feel they have anything society wants or needs. They feel worthless and behave that way. YAR says to them, 'You've got skills that someone needs, and the results have been astounding," observes Jack Calhoun, executive director of the National Crime Prevention Council.

Dave Uberto, superintendent of the Indiana Girls School, which has incorporated YAR into its institutional culture, encourages staff to participate as adult leaders. "I was touched by the girls' capacity to love others," one member of Uberto's staff says, commenting on the experience of watching YAR participants interact with the sick and the elderly.

Several staff members working with YAR have noted that the program has brought about many changes in the correctional environment: It makes working with youths easier, it enhances treatment goals, it prepares youths for reintegration and, equally important, it is an inexpensive fit with program priorities.

Many of the adults working with YAR in the juvenile system have begun to see young people in a new light. "YAR helps staff recognize that young people are more capable than they realized - it helps raise staff expectations for the youth," says Pam Cline, director of juvenile services for the Indiana Department of Corrections who was one of the administrators initially willing to test the YAR model in the Indiana Juvenile Corrections system.

As a result, several staff members currently are looking for ways to further incorporate YAR strategies into other treatment methods. Some have begun to conclude that YAR enhances treatment strategies. "YAR is the easiest way to penetrate through the kids' shells. It makes my job easier," noted one staff member at one of the facilities.

Expansion of YAR Begins

Due to the success of Youth as Resources in the Indiana corrections system, the Center for Youth as Resources (CYAR), which provides technical assistance, training and support to communities and organizations trying to implement YAR, is embarking on a campaign to encourage other correctional administrators to recognize the program's benefits.

Much of this campaign is focused on promoting several themes which have surfaced in various evaluations and observations of YAR's work in Indiana corrections: It has a dramatic impact on the lives and perceptions of juveniles in the corrections system; it helps generate positive public relations with the community, and it helps the correctional system develop new approaches to reintegrating youth.

In addition to technical assistance, the Center for Youth as Resources currently is working on a document that highlights the work of the Youth as Resources program in the Indiana corrections system. This document will provide a basic framework for how YAR can operate in any correctional setting nationwide. For more information, contact the Center for Youth as Resources at [phone], ext. 123.

Maria Nagorski is the executive director of the Center for Youth as Resources.