Report: Investing In Teens Through Program Would Be Smart Spend for Government

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 6, 2007 — The Brookings Institution has issued a report endorsing a Wyman teen development program that started in the old Darst-Webbe public housing complex here in St. Louis. Today the program benefits thousands across the country, as well as the United Kingdom and Virgin Islands. The report, “Cost-Effective Investments in Children,” written by Brookings Child and Family Policy Fellow Julia B. Isaacs, recommends a federal budget of $1.5 billion in 2008 “and a total of $7.7 billion over five years to provide teens with the opportunity to participate” in Wyman Teen Outreach Program. The prescribed measure is part of a comprehensive recommendation from Brookings to balance the federal budget.

Wyman Teen Outreach Program (TOP) is one of the teen development programs Wyman, of the Wildwood/Eureka area, delivers locally and replicates nationally. Wyman TOP is a best practices program that has been used by schools, communities, and other youth practitioners for more than 25 years to empower teens to prepare for successful adulthood and avoid problem behavior. Leading researchers recognize TOP as a program that delivers real results for teens in the area of school improvement and the avoidance of teen pregnancy.

“We’re pleased that an organization as influential as the Brookings Institution recognizes that this program delivers results that strengthen our communities and our nation, but just as important, helps teens discover and develop their potential,” said Wyman President and CEO Dave Hilliard.

Wyman has received more good news: The St. Louis Healthy Marriages Coalition has awarded a grant to Wyman to train six additional St. Louis organizations so they can deliver TOP to an additional 180 St. Louis teens this fall. The organizations, which will be trained this Wednesday through Friday at Wyman’s campus in Eureka, are Lutheran Children and Family Services, YWCA, Catholic Charities Southside Center, Steppingstones to Success, Success Academy LLC, and Herbert Hoover Boys’ and Girls’ Club.

More than 14 years of rigorous experimental and comparison evaluation have consistently demonstrated real results. Teens nationwide who participate in Wyman’s TOP experience a 60% lower school dropout rate; have a 33% lower rate of pregnancy; demonstrate a 14% lower rate of school suspension; and have an 11% lower rate of school course failure.

Wyman TOP combines classroom or group discussion with community service and currently reaches over 12,000 teens. Wyman TOP generally operates on a school-year cycle, with weekly group meetings during or after school for teens with support from Wyman-trained facilitators. Facilitators focus on group support and positive dialogue around the topics of values, relationships and peer pressure, communication skills, influence, goal-setting, decision-making, service learning and adolescent human development with emphasis on emotional well-being and sexuality.

Youth apply learned skills and develop a sense of purpose through community service, a crucial element in the success of the program. Participants perform a minimum of 20 hours per year of community-based volunteer service as an exercise in taking on adult roles to build personal responsibility.

“One of the most striking features of the Teen Outreach Program is that it does not explicitly focus upon the problem behaviors it seeks to prevent but rather seeks to enhance participants’ competence in decision making, in interacting with peers and adults, and in recognizing and handling their own emotions,” writes Isaacs. “Particularly in the field of teen pregnancy prevention, this focus has important practical implications, as it means the program may be politically acceptable in communities where programs that explicitly focus upon sexual behavior may not be feasible to implement.”

The Brookings Institution report can be found online: http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/200701isaacs.pdf.

Wyman TOP has also been nationally recognized by First Lady Laura Bush’s Helping America’s Youth Initiative, the Rand Corporation’s Promising Practices Network, the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine, and The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Wyman, a United Way of St. Louis member agency, is a nationally recognized teen development organization that is preparing teens from disadvantaged circumstances to lead successful lives and build strong communities. Its innovative programs are powerful and effective, and the staff is highly acclaimed and committed to preparing today’s youth. Wyman’s approach is comprehensive — drawing together many influences on a young person’s life and engaging them in their development. Results are evident by the achievements and bright future of teens in Wyman programs and the communities in which they live. Wyman Center, Inc., is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization sponsored by corporate, foundation, and individual contributors. For more information, please contact Wyman at (636) 938-5245 or by E-mail at info@wymancenter.org.