Public/Private Ventures (P/PV)

Legacy collection

Innovation. Research. Action.

After almost 35 years Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) has ceased operations. The organization leaves behind an incredible legacy of knowledge, including hundreds of research reports, case studies and evaluations about how best to improve programs and outcomes for children, youth and families. We are fortunate that P/PV has decided to archive its publications collection with the Foundation Center's IssueLab so that practitioners can benefit from this knowledge for years to come.

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Making the Most of Youth Mentoring: A Guide for Funders

July 1, 2012

How should funders decide what mentoring programs to support? The mentoring field has grown and diversified immensely in recent decades. There are now thousands of mentoring programs, as well as many multi-service initiatives that incorporate elements of mentoring, across the country. Some mentoring models have been rigorously evaluated, while others have yet to be tested at scale. There is, in fact, a rich research base to draw from to determine which types of mentoring make sense for which youth, and under which circumstances. But navigating that research is a challenge for even the most determined funder, policymaker or program leader.

Faith in their Futures: The Youth and Congregations in Partnership Program of the Kings County (Brooklyn, NY) District Attorney's Office

April 2, 2004

Why would a law-and-order district attorney in one of the toughest, most crime-prone areas in the nation develop a faith-based alternative to incarceration for youthful offenders? District Attorney Charles J. Hynes credits his faith and a strong conviction that society can't prison-build its way out of the crime problem. Hynes established Youth and Congregations in Partnership (YCP), an innovative local program operated by the Kings County (Brooklyn, New York) District Attorneys Office. Through mentoring and other services, the program aims to reduce criminal recidivism, subsequent adult criminality and self-destructive behaviors among young offenders. This report chronicles the YCP experience; we hope its insights inspire similar innovations throughout the nation.

Moving Beyond the Walls: Faith and Justice Partnerships Working for High-Risk Youth

January 13, 2003

This report examines the development of partnerships among faith-based institutions and juvenile justice agencies in a national demonstration intended to provide mentoring, education and employment services to young people at high risk of future criminal behavior. Given the range of servicesand the needs of the young peoplecollaborations are critical to the communities' efforts. The report addresses the following questions: Can small faith-based organizations work together effectively? Can they develop effective partnerships with juvenile justice institutions? What are the benefits and challenges of both types of partnerships?

Community Change for Youth Development: Ten Lessons from the CCYD Initiative

December 1, 2002

From 1995 through 2002, P/PV worked with six neighborhoods around the country to develop and institute a framework of "core concepts" to guide youth programming for the nonschool hours. The goal was to create programming that would involve a high proportion of each neighborhood's several thousand adolescents. This report summarizes the basic lessons that emerged from this Community Change for Youth Development (CCYD) initiative. The lessons address such topics as the usefulness of a "core concepts" approach; the dos and don'ts of involving neighborhood residents in change initiatives; the role of research; the role of youth; and the capacity of neighborhood-wide approaches to attract high-risk youth.

Faith and Action: Implementation of the National Faith-Based Initiative for High Risk Youth

July 30, 2002

Public/ Private Ventures' long-standing interest in whether faith-based institutions could serve as vehicles for the delivery of social programming for youth who have committed juvenile or criminal offenses led to the development of the National Faith-Based Initiative for High-Risk Youth. Faith and Action documents the efforts of the 15 faith-based organizations that participated in this initiative. These organizations entered into partnership with the justice community in order to recruit high-risk youth and provide them with services such as education, employment and mentoring. The report also documents the role that faith plays in the delivery of these services, and makes observations about the capacity of these organizations to implement programs for youth.

Targeted Outreach: Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Approach to Gang Prevention and Intervention

March 30, 2002

This report examines two initiatives developed by Boys & Girls Clubs of America, in cooperation with local clubs, to address the problem of youth gangs in their communities. One strategy is designed to help youth stay out of the gang lifestyle -- Gang Prevention through Targeted Outreach. The second helps youth get out of gangs and away from their associated behaviors and values -- Gang Intervention through Targeted Outreach. The findings indicate the initiatives are able to reach and retain hard-to-reach youth and have positive effects on those involved, including reduction in several delinquent and gang-associated behaviors and more positive school experiences.

Community Change for Youth Development in Kansas City

October 30, 2001

Kansas City, Missouri, is one of six sites in Community Change for Youth Development (CCYD), a national demonstration project aiming to increase basic supports and opportunities available to youth aged 12-20. The lead agency is the YMCA of Greater Kansas City; because of its considerable organizational capacity and relationship with funders, the YMCA was successful in operating and expanding CCYD. This report focuses on the benefits of working with the YMCA of Greater Kansas City and the challenges faced by the organization in leading a community-based initiative in three urban neighborhoods.

Faith-Based Institutions and High-Risk Youth

March 26, 2000

Many of the highest-risk youth in poor communities are not reached by traditional youth programs, but are served by churches and other faith-based institutions that are both well-established and seriously concerned about the welfare of these vulnerable youth and their families. This report, the first in a series from P/PV's National Faith-Based Initiative for High-Risk Youth, provides an initial overview of strategies employed by faith-based institutions in 11 cities, including lessons learned about the distinct contributions of faith-based institutions to the work of civil society, and the challenges of building partnerships between faith-based groups and other institutions -- law enforcement and juvenile justice agencies, foundations and philanthropy, local government and community organizations.

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