Building a Youth Program

When a community listens to the voice of its youth, everyone benefits

Reduce teen pregnancy. Lower the truancy rate. Improve test scores. Decrease crime. Diminish gang violence. These are just a few of the messages that, in 1996, the Champaign Park District staff conveyed to its board about the benefits of youth programs. The board listened and voted to convert several grant-supported youth pilot projects into a formalized tax-based youth program. Read on to learn how Champaign built a successful youth program.

Responding to a Community Need
In 1996, the Champaign Park District staff lobbied its board for a tax-based youth program, based on the community response and data reported in the annual Champaign County Community Report Card. This publication uses the most recent available data to track the physical, social, education and economic condition of children in the county.

The report card assesses the conditions faced by children and youth from birth to age 18. Key indicators of children's well-being are compared to the previous year's report. Progress is measured the following areas: economic security, maternal/child health, family stability, family violence, early childhood, education, juvenile crime, and youth drug use.

This report card is published by Project 18, a consortium of community leaders and concerned citizens working to improve children's lives. Membership of Project of 18 includes the mayors of the twin cities of Champaign-Urbana; the superintendent of the regional office of education; the presidents or directors of the Mental Health Board, the YMCA, and the local Human Services Council; student affairs directors from the University of Illinois; the president of Parkland College; the chief of police; the local park district directors and clergymen.

In the years since publication of that 1996 Community Report Card, the Champaign Park District's youth program has evolved into three components: Risk Takers Prevention Theatre Troupe, Teen Advisory Committee and the Drop-in Site.

Risk Takers Prevention Theatre Troupe
Founded in the spring of 1995 at Edison Middle School by parent volunteer and drama specialist Jennifer Goran, the Risk Takers Prevention Theatre Troupe was adopted by the Champaign Park District and co-sponsored by Champaign Safe and Drug Free Schools later that fall. The Risk Takers Prevention Theatre Troupe consists of 15 middle school youth from Champaign's Unit School District No.4. Participants write their own scenes through improvisational drama based on actual or imagined situations from everyday life. The goal of the program is to help the performers and their audience better understand the social challenges that youth face on a daily basis. Each year the Risk Takers perform for approximately