National Consortium on Recreation for At-Risk Youth Papers

National Consortium on Recreation and Youth Development
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*Structure and Purpose of the Consortium
Since 1993 a group of universities and park and recreation departments (PARDs) have worked together to improve processes for evaluating outcomes of PARD sponsored recreation programs for at-risk youth. The effort has been to move beyond counting participants, collecting testimonials, and measuring participant or other stakeholder satisfaction with services. Most of these studies have been part of a National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) sponsored project, which was funded through the National Recreation Foundation (NRF). An initial three year grant to Texas A&M University (1993-96) was leveraged by involving partners at three other universities: Arizona State University West, Clemson University, and The Pennsylvania State University. Each of the universities has completed at least one study of outcomes associated with a local park and recreation program. In addition to the NRPA/NRF funding, each of the projects has received either direct or in-kind support from the PARDs with which they have worked and in some cases additional support from foundation sources. During the first three years, considerable effort was invested in resolving difficult methodological issues and developing instruments to measure outcome changes. This resulted in studies which have shown positive outcomes, although the number of studies is still relatively small, since much investment had to be made in the basic methodological and instrument development process.

From 1996-99, additional NRPA/NRF funding was received. The consortium was expanded to include San Francisco State University, University of Georgia, University of Illinois, and University of North Carolina. The immediate challenge over this time period has been to multiply the number of studies completed. The credibility of the park and recreation field depends on reporting findings from a threshold number of studies -- say 20-30 -- which show positive outcomes.

Recently the decision was made to further expand the consortium. Thus, University of Minnesota, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, University of Utah, and West Virginia University have joined the effort..

Further information about the consortium can be obtained from the consortium manager, Dr. Peter Witt, Elda K. Bradberry Chair of At-Risk Youth Programming, Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-2261. Phone: 409-845-7325; E-mail: pwitt@rtps.tamu.edu

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*Listing of Consortium Publications

***NOTE*** Some articles listed below are in Adobe portable document format (PDF). You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader software to view and print these documents. Visit the Adobe web site to download your free Acrobat Reader software.

Arizona State Universtiy (Contact Dwayne Baker): Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix Summer Program and ArtWeb Evaluation; Thunderbirds Teen Center Program Evaluation (Adobe Acrobat format)

Clemson University (Contact Larry Allen)

Penn State University (Contact Linda Caldwell)

Increasing Youth Voice Through Participation in a Recreation-based Teen Center (Adobe Acrobat format)

Evaluation of an After-School Program Affiliated with the Central Blair County Recreation and Park Commission (Adobe Acrobat format)

San Francisco State University (Contact: Rene Dahl)

The Challenges of Measuring the Impact of Recreation Programs on Youth Resiliency

Texas A&M University (Contact Peter Witt)

Got to Peter Witt's homepage and click on publications


University of Georgia (Contact Doug Kleiber): Grad Slam Evaluation Project Final Report (Adobe Acrobat format)

University of Illinois (Contact Kim Shinew)

The Academic Cultural Enrichment Mentorship Program: An Innovative Approach to Serving African American Youth (Adobe Acrobat format)

University of Minnesota (Contact Corliss Outley)

University of Nevada at Las Vegas (Contact Jim Busser or Cynthia P. Carruthers)
A Qualitative Outcome Study of Boys and Girls Club Program Leaders, Club Members, and Parents

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Contact Karla Henderson): Recreation Programming for Adolescent Girls: Rationale and Foundations; Youth Spaces and Places: Case Studies of Two Teen Clubs
Evaluation of Walnut Terrace After-School Program

West Virginia University (Contact Dennis Floyd Jones)

Other Contributors:: A Youth Development Strategy: Principles to Practice in Re-creation for the 21st Century (Reco Bembry)

*Contact List:

Dwayne Baker, Assistant Professor Dept. Recreation Management & Tourism Arizona State University Tempe, AZ 85287-4905 dbaker20@asu.edu	Dennis Floyd Jones, Associate Professor West Virginia University P.O. Box 6116 Morgantown, WV 26506 djones2@wvu.edu
Cheryl Baldwin, Assistant Professor University of Iowa Dept. of Leisure Studies 420 Field House Iowa City, IA 55242 cheryl-baldwin@uiowa.edu	Beth Kivel, Assistant Professor and Director Cur. in Leisure Studies & Rec. Admin. The University of North Carolina CB#3185 Evergreen House Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3185 bkivel@email.unc.edu
Dr. James Busser, Professor Leisure Studies Program University of Nevada, Las Vegas 4505 Maryland Parkway, Box 453035 Las Vegas, NV 89154-3035 busser@nevada.edu	Douglas A. Kleiber, Professor and Head Dept. Recreation and Leisure Studies 300 River Road University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602-3655 dkleiber@arches.uga.edu
Linda Caldwell, Associate Professor Hotel, Restaurant & Recreation Mgmt. The Pennsylvania State University 201 Mateer Building University Park, PA 16802-1307 LindaC@psu.edu	Corliss Outley, Teaching Specialist University of Minnesota Dept. of Recreation, Park & Leisure Services 1900 University Avenue, SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 coutley@tc.umn.edu
Cynthia P. Carruthers Leisure Studies Program University of Nevada, Las Vegas 4505 Maryland Parkway, Box 453035 Las Vegas, NV 89154-3035 cynny@nevada.edu	Laura L. Payne Assistant Professor Kent State University School of Exercise, Leisure and Sport P.O. Box 5190 Kent, OH 44242 Lpayne1@kent.edu
Dave Compton, Professor University of Utah Dept. of Parks, Recreation & Tourism 1901 E. South Campus Avenue Salt Lake City, UT 84112 david.compton@health.utah.edu	James Petrick, Assistant Professor Department of Recreation, Park & Tourism Texas A&M University 2261 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-2261 jpetrick@rpts.tamu.edu
David Scott, Associate Prof. & Extension Specialist Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Texas A&M University 2261 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-2261 dscott@rpts.tamu.edu
Kimberly Shinew, Assistant Professor Department of Leisure Studies University of Illinois 104 Huff Hall, 1206 South Fourth Street Champaign, IL 61820 k-shine@uiuc.edu
Rene Dahl, Professor & Assoc. Head Dept. Recreation and Leisure Studies San Francisco State University 1600 Holloway Ave. San Francisco, CA 94132 rdahl@sfsu.edu	John Webster Special Assistant for Youth Services National Recreation and Park Association 22377 Belmont Ridge Road Ashburn, VA 20148 jwebster@nrpa.org
Karla Henderson, Professor and Chair Cur. in Leisure Studies & Rec. Admin. The University of North Carolina CB#3185 Evergreen House Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3185 Karla@email.unc.edu	Ellen Weissinger, Professor University of Nebraska 146 Mabel Lee Hall Lincoln, NE 65588-0229 eweissinger1@unl.edu
John Hultsman, Professor Dept. Recreation and Tourism Management Arizona State University West 4701 W. Thunderbird Road, P.O. Box 37100 Phoenix, AZ 85069-7100 jhultsman@asu.edu	Peter A. Witt, Professor and Head Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Texas A&M University 2261 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-2261 pwitt@rpts.tamu.edu
Karen Hurtes, Assistant Professor University of Utah Dept. of Parks, Recreation & Tourism 1901 E. South Campus Drive Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9357 karen.hurtes@health.utah.edu

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