his report, which is based on interviews with more than seventy diverse youth-serving primary supports programs, is closely connected to policy, program design, and practice. Focusing on programs that support normative development rather than those designed to avoid or ameliorate such problems as delinquency, early childbearing, or school dropout, the report asserts the developmental importance of places and opportunities for youth beyond home and school.

The first section of the report describes the universe of primary supports, discusses their roles (particularly in economically disadvantaged communities), and explores commonalities among them. The next section explores program content, offering a program typology that includes performance and self-expression, recreation, self-enhancement, educational enrichment and career exploration, citizenship, and comprehensive services. The third section focuses on program benefits, the challenges facing primary supports programs, and recommendations for program designers and policy makers. It includes discussion of how benefits might be measured, of funding constraints and sustainability, of establishing reasonable expectations for the impact of these programs, of issues of community access, and of staffing.