"Art Saves Lives" states the bumper sticker. YouthARTS Development Project, a consortium of arts agencies in Portland, Oregon, San Antonio, Texas, Atlanta, Georgia, and Americans for the Arts, wanted to test the validity of that statement. So several years ago YouthARTS developed a research project concerning arts programs for youth at risk. The project had seven goals:

1. to define the critical elements and best practices of arts programs for at-risk youth populations;
2. to design and test program evaluation methodologies;
3. to conduct a rigorous evaluation at three pilot sites of the impact of arts programs on adolescent behavior and the risk and protective factors associated with behavioral problems and delinquency;
4. to design and test models of professional development and training that prepare artists to work with at-risk youth populations and that prepare artists, social service staff, juvenile justice professionals, and educators to work collaboratively in developing and implementing arts programs for youth at risk;
5. to strengthen collaborative relationships among local and federal partners;
6. to disseminate best practice models to arts, social service, and juvenile justice program providers nationwide; and
7. to leverage increased funding for at-risk youth programs

The YouthARTS Toolkit comprises a handbook, two videos, and a diskette and represents much of the work done by the project.  Organizations that are considering an arts program for at-risk youth — whether art agencies, juvenile justice agencies, social service or another type of community-based group — will find this toolkit invaluable as it gives guidance on establishing, maintaining, and evaluating this type of program.

The shorter video (ten minutes) may even inspire you to consider an at-risk youth arts program in the first place. In compelling fashion, youth, artists, arts administrators, and juvenile justice administrators talk about why arts programs are a good thing for young people. To view this tape, go to http://www.artsusa.org/av/. The longer video (twenty-five minutes) provides details on the lessons learned by the artists and administrators while starting and running an arts program. This video is more suited to the actual participants involved with the program.

The handbook elaborates on the main tasks of implementing youth programs. Divided into four main chapters: Program Planning; Team Training; Evaluation; and Costs, Resources, and Advocacy, the handbook provides clear-cut explanations for the topics discussed. Each chapter begins with a checklist that gives a quick access to the information covered in that chapter. Scattered throughout and marked with a key symbol are "lessons learned" by one of the project participants. For example from page 46: "[I]n Portland it was discovered that the earlier and more actively the probation officers were involved in decisions about the art form, the greater the success of the project." In addition, each chapter ends with a list of "Best Practices from the Field," and a list of additional references under "Other Resources."

Included on the diskette are thirty examples of helpful documents, such as the terms of agreement between the San Antonio school district and the arts department and the curriculum used for the Youth Arts Public Arts video project in Portland. Overall the YouthARTS Toolkit certainly fulfills its title. If you already have an arts program for at-risk youth or are contemplating starting one, the YouthARTS Toolkit gives you the resources you need for a successful endeavor.

To locate materials on this topic, refer to the Literature of the Nonprofit Sector Online, using the subject headings "Youth" or "Arts."