Seeks to implement all constructive recommendations of surveys, studies, and reports on juvenile programs and problems in the community.

Promotes coordination and cooperation between the courts, police, schools, health, welfare, and recreation agencies and other civic and religious organizations which have programs serving youth.

Cooperates with organizations promoting the development or expansion of needed new services for youth.

Advises executive and legislative branches of city and county government and other organizations concerned with delinquency in all of its aspects.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Participated in the National Probation and Parole Association study of the juvenile court, detention care, and juvenile police services, city of St. Louis. With the help of the commission, the NPPA enlarged the scope of its study to include consideration of court-related services through public and voluntary family and child welfare agencies and child guidance clinics.

Enlisted the aid of outstanding laymen and professionals in committees studying specific problems and making appropriate recommendations. More than 60 individuals have worked with the commission in the following areas:

Parental responsibility legislation

Youth and the automobile

Central registry for juvenile offenders (St. Louis County)

Preservation of parks, playgrounds, and recreational areas

Youth group projects (city of St. Louis)

Provided consultation to the juvenile judges and director of court services, St. Louis County, in expansion of the court's program through new facilities for detention care, employment of personnel, and planning for new intermediate treatment facility for selected delinquent offenders.

Provided staff services to

Citizen's Advisory Committee to the Juvenile Court in their review and action upon the NPPA study and in their regular work with the Judge. Examining board of the juvenile court in the recruitment and examination of court personnel.

Judge of the juvenile court in preparing budget data, in developing child guidance clinical services, in planning for new juvenile court and children's center.

Furnished information and consultation to numerous individuals, civil organizations, and community action groups concerned with aspects of delinquency and community measures for improving services to children and youth.

Maintained public interpretation and education programs on delinquency and the needs and problems in the metropolitan area.

PRESENT ACTIVITIES

Continuing consultation to the juvenile courts of the city and the county in enrichment and extension of court services.

Initiation of youth group project in the city of St. Louis with special funds made available from the mayor's budget. This project is designed to explore, develop, and demonstrate new ways of helping delinquent youth groups who are not affiliated with organized recreation and character building agencies. A part-time director has completed the survey of delinquency areas and groups. A technical advisory committee has been jointly appointed by the Metropolitan Youth Commission and the group work and recreation division, Health and Welfare Council.

A study of special problems of juvenile offenders in relation to use of social agencies by the juvenile division, city police department.

In cooperation with the board of education, a study of selected youths presenting school disciplinary problems.

FUTURE PLANS

Appointment of a citizen's committee to review laws affecting juvenile conduct and preparation of a pamphlet for information of parents, agencies, and interested organizations.

Appointment of a citizen's committee to concern itself with problems of youth employment, with special reference to the need for information on job opportu

nities for youth, work programs for school dropouts, and employment for delinquent youth.

Development of an institute or series of workshops for juvenile police officers in the metropolitan area.

METROPOLITAN YOUTH COMMISSION OF ST. LOUIS AND ST. LOUIS COUNTY

PROPOSAL FOR THE METROPOLITAN YOUTH COMMISSION TO ESTABLISH A SURVEY AND DEMONSTRATION PROJECT OF SERVICES NECESSARY FOR EFFECTIVE WORK WITH DELINQUENT AND POTENTIALLY DELINQUENT YOUTH NOT AFFILIATED WITH RECREATION AND CHARACTER BUILDING ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COM

MUNITY

"The Metropolitan Youth Commission should encourage and assist in securing funds for the development of a detached worker program to work with hard-to-reach potentially delinquent groups or gangs of youngsters not affiliated with constituted recreational and character building agencies. Such a program is now in effect in a number of metropolitan communities. Among these are

New York City's Youth Board which operates a program with street gangs and clubs, and Cleveland where by means of foundation funds special workers are made available to the recreational agencies to reach out to groups of youth who won't participate in the programs of those agencies and seek to draw them gradually into the agencies' activities.

"Consideration should be given in St. Louis to the securing of funds from voluntary and/or tax source for the conduct of demonstration detached worker programs in some of the areas with high delinquency rates."-Report of the juvenile delinquency review committee, Social Planning Council, St. Louis and St. Louis County, March 8, 1955.

BACKGROUND OF PROPOSED PROJECT

Leaders of youth activities in community centers, YMCA's, scouting, and other recreational and character building agencies across the country have become increasingly concerned about the inability of conventional programs to reach or effectively serve the growing numbers of youngsters whose nonconformity and disruptive or delinquent behavior disturbs the community. Special programs have been devised in a number of large metropolitan areas whereby youth workers have pressed assertively toward antisocial youth groups and have engaged their interest in activities of the type and nature which has distinct youth appeal. At the same time these youth workers have been providing mature adult leadership, acceptance, and understanding to these groups which

1 To take over duties as of May 1, 1959.

41569-59- -2

has resulted in successful redirection of such groups into constructive, socially approved behavior. The high degree of success of these special programs attests to the validity of this work and the readiness of many such groups to respond to approved community values with the patient understanding and support of a youth worker.

A number of similar antisocial or antagonistic youth groups exist in the Metropolitan St. Louis area. While most of such groups of teenagers are not organized in the traditional predatory type of gang familiar to New York, Chicago, and large eastern communities, there are some individuals who believe that fighting gangs and more serious antisocial group activity will be developing in this community. Reports from the community organization department of the local Urban League indicate an increase in groups of unorganized youth roaming the streets. Newspaper accounts of groups of youth making assaults on citizens gives indication of the threat of such groups to the personal safety of the citizens. Within recent days, the eruption of fights at a dance conducted under the auspices of the local YWCA branch suggest that this type of problem may become more serious in the months and years ahead. The inability of existing group work and recreational programs to meet the needs of such antisocial groups is due in part to lack of adequate funds to engage special personnel for activities outside of their existing building-centered programs. There is, however, an even greater problem-lack of understanding on the part of the community of the need for and value of concentrated work with such groups to redirect their behavior. It is this latter problem with which the proposed project will attempt to deal; namely, to discover appropriate ways and means for reaching these disruptive and delinquent groups, to find the kinds of programs which are sufficiently attractive to hold their interest, and to demonstrate that such activities can be productive of better behavior and attitudes.

It is generally consensus of the many youth workers in this community that now is the time to get the basic facts on this problem and to devise a plan of action which will lead to modification and improvements in existing youth programs as well as extension of such programs in areas which are becoming increasingly more critical.

PURPOSE OF PROJECT

The project is designed to accomplish two major purposes:

1. Study

Many facts are needed about the community services necessary to be of more benefit to the hard-to-reach youth and the services that will attract them and aid in modification of their behavior. We need to know the kinds of individuals that compose street-corner or neighborhood groups whose behavior is troublesome, disruptive, and/or delinquent; how these delinquents or potential delinquents view the community; and what misconceptions must be modified to help them change attitudes and improve behavior. We need to know what is the community's perception of and reaction to delinquent youth groups; how the schools, churches, police, social agencies, group work, and recreational programs can be utilized more effectively for constructive work with disruptive or delinquent youth groups. When can antisocial youth groups use organized agencies and when are they (organized agencies) resisted? What changes are necessary in agency programs so that they can be more effective in socializing delinquents? 2. Demonstration

Actual work with selected antisocial youth groups will be undertaken by qualified personnel for the purpose of modifying individual and group forces resulting in delinquent and antisocial conduct. Major consideration will be given to groups whose membership have been involved in difficulties with the police, school, community agencies, and others in the neighborhood. Efforts will be made to redirect the interests and activities of these disruptive and troublesome groups into community-approved and supported behavior. The resources within the community including police, schools, churches, health, welfare, and youthserving agencies, and recreational programs will be utilized wherever possible to meet individual problems presented by members of these groups. Methods and techniques of effective work with such groups will be identified and described. The two phases of the project-study and demonstration-have been planned to take place simultaneously. In other words, the surveying operations will go along with the demonstration activities. Recognizing that the acceptance of the detached worker by the street-corner groups or neighborhood nusiances will

proosed slowlyyoth workers3wiu-hellizè mè initial phases of their worTin bendining arciquadfted with a Hur community, hearing the problems, the resources, and developing the essentiali con facts necessary for effective fastianal and group work with these youngsters.453 vulbulcoi 89809979 VIDR30994 T300 overall ads ad ha imen ad grated li

INTENTIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE PROJECT ·

The knowledge and experience obtained from working with such groups will be used in a variety of ways:

(a) To provide youth-serving and character-building agencies of the community with guides for possible development or enrichment of their programs;

(b) To help focus community attention on practical methods for dealing with disruptive or antisocial groups of young people; and

(c) To develop plans for involving the police, schools, churches, and health and welfare and youth-serving agencies in meeting the individual problems of the youth in such groups for effective prevention of more serious delinquent behavior.

In short, it is excepted that out of such a project will come increased community knowledge and concern about antisocial groups of youngsters and more effective planning by youth-service agencies and the community which supports their activities.

By the very nature of the project it will not be in competition with established youth-service organizations and will not duplicate existing programs. Wherever possible, the resources and services of existing youth-service programs will be utilized on behalf of these youth groups and gangs.

The project will be limited to a period approximating 2 years. The Metropolitan Youth Commission cannot and does not intend to operate a direct service program on behalf of children and youth in this area. It is undertaking this time-limited activity solely for purposes of fact gathering and demonstration of professional skills known to be effective in working with antisocial youth groups.

HOW TO BE ADMINISTERED

The Metropolitan Youth Commission will be the employing agent of the detached workers and the part-time director of the project. These individuals will be identified as staff of the special project.

With the cooperation of youth-serving agencies and planning organizations in the city, an advisory committee has been appointed to provide functional supervision to the project. Membership on this committee consists of representatives of agencies and organizations most nearly related to this type of project. To date, the committee has assisted in reviewing qualifications for personnel and selecting the areas in which the demonstration project will be conducted. When the project is begun, the committee will review regularly the progress of the work performed, and will provide necessary advisory and consultation services to the director of the project and other staff.

ESTIMATE OF COST

It is estimated that the total cost of the 2-year project will be $25,000. Of this amount, $20,000 represents additional funds which will be necessary for the salaries of several-possibly five-part-time youth workers, their transportation, expenses, and a small amount of money for special activities on behalf of youth groups, etc. A tentative budget for a 1-year period of time is as follows:

5 part-time workers (averaging 50 hours per month per worker) to be paid at the rate of $2.50 per hour---

Transportation costs, including use of their personal car to visit neighborhoods, to transport groups, $25 per month per worker---

A total per worker per month of----

12 months total___

$625

125

750

9, 000

1,000

--- 10,000

Program expenditures for the year, including small expenditures for athletic equipment, special events, group transportation, etc...---

Grand total_____

The salary of the part-time director of the project will be met out of the annual allocation of $20,000 which the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County contribute toward the regular budget of the Metropolitan Youth Commission.

Other necessary expenses including preparation of written reports, office supplies, postage, etc., will likewise be handled by the Metropolitan Youth Commission out of its regular budget.

INTERIM PROGRESS REPORT TO THE METROPOLITAN YOUTH COMMISSION ON THE EXPLORATORY PHASE OF THE YOUTH GROUP PROJECT

Introduction

(Given orally on July 24, 1958)

THE YOUTH GROUP PROJECT

In March 1955, the juvenile delinquency review committee of the Social Planning Council urged the establishment of a program "to work with hard-to-reach potentially delinquent groups or gangs of youngsters not affiliated with constituted recreational and character-building agencies." By October 1957, the Metropolitan Youth Commission had ready a proposal for a two-phase youth group project to study groups of delinquent youth and to demonstrate methods for modifying their behavior. This proposal was translated into specific plans and commitments by May 1958. The early weeks of the project have been spent in a careful review of the experience in other cities, a preliminary survey of areas with high delinquency rates, and the development of criteria for selecting areas and groups.

Assumptions underlying the project

A program of the nature envisioned in the commission's proposal carries embedded within it a number of assumptions. These assumptions may be made by tacit agreement-that is, without being exposed to formal consideration and/or vote or they may represent the careful and planned attempt to understand the assumptive basis for the program or a mixture of both.

Following are the assumptions identified and affirmed by the staff as underlying the youth group project:

(a) The group members live almost exclusively within the orbit of their groups. Its value system and behavior pattern is dominant in their lives and they are nearly impervious to outside influences.

(b) The standards and goals of these groups conflict with those of the community in which they exist.

(c) Membership in such a group is a principal element of a member's inaccessibility. (There are other elements and other inaccessible persons.)

(d) These groups are accessible under certain conditions.

(e) The standards and goals of these groups can be modified through the use of appropriate methods.

(f) Such groups cannot be destroyed without substitutes being available. If such subsitutes are not available they will develop. Whether or not the destruction is beneficial will depend on the nature of the substitutes.

(g) The standards and behavior of a group are in part determined by its environment-the neighbors, community leaders, peer groups, and significant institutions. This means that the attitudes and behavior of these elements of the community toward the group must be considered and dealt with simultaneously with efforts aimed at modifying the group's behavior and its attitude toward the community.

Initial tasks

Four tasks have been identified as necessary in the exploratory phase of the project. They are as follows:

(a) To locate appropriate starting points.

1. Determine and apply criteria in the selection of areas in which to work. 2. Determine and apply criteria in the selection of groups with which to work.

(b) Prepare for gathering information re

1. The nature of the groups.

2. Characteristics of the members.

3. Attitudes and behavior of the groups toward the community.

4. Attitudes and behavior of the groups toward the existing services.