A team of six students in social work, psychology, and criminal justice are fanning out through the neighborhoods surrounding the UALR campus in a new University District-AmeriCorps program aimed at identifying idle teens and engage them in school, job training, work, and recreation programs.

The three-year program, funded through a $197,000 grant from AmeriCorps, began in August and offers UALR students the opportunity to earn the stipend while serving the community around the campus and learning valuable skills.

The grant will also supports 30 students serving in Children International programs this year. New students may apply for the 36 total AmeriCorps-funded positions for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 academic years.

“Providing outreach to youth in University District neighborhoods is key for educational attainment, which we know leads to more people in the workforce and less crime, hence stronger economic stability in our community,” said Ron Copeland, director of the University District Partnership, an initiative encompassing a community and economic development program aimed at improving the quality of life for residents in neighborhoods close to the UALR campus.

The students receive an AmeriCorps living allowance and education stipend and meet with service agencies in the area to learn about targeted youth living in the district. The area encompasses approximately 3.2 square miles in midtown Little Rock with a population of about 10,000 people.

The students will develop and implement a youth development program, which will entail community outreach, case management and referral services concentrating on engaging adolescents in school, work, and constructive play. The process will include learning about the community, identifying and communicating with families with adolescent children, assessing the needs for youth development programs and services in the area, informing the families about resources that can serve youth in the area, and developing model approaches for improving access to services for the youth.

The University District has lower median family incomes and higher poverty rates than Little Rock as a whole. District neighborhoods have a higher rates of single-parent families (14.8 percent compared to 12 percent for the state), a higher proportion of children in poverty (58 percent compared to 52 percent of the state), and higher drop out and truancy rates (4.4 percent compared to 3.2 percent of the state). The statistics result in higher rates of idle teenagers with lower levels of academic achievement, higher juvenile delinquency and crime rates, and higher unemployment.

The grant supporting youth advocates with the University District Partnership provides for one 900-hour and five 450-hour AmeriCorps members to conduct a community needs assessment for youth development programs and services in the University District. Members will work under the guidance of a new youth services advisory council to be made up of representatives from nonprofit agencies and churches that provide youth services within the area, and other community representatives.

The students will develop and implement a youth development program, which will entail community outreach, case management and referral services concentrating on engaging adolescents in school, work, and constructive play. The process will include learning about the community, identifying and communicating with families with adolescent children, assessing the needs for youth development programs and services in the area, informing the families about resources that can serve youth in the area, and developing model approaches for improving access to services for the youth.

Across the nation more than 70,000 AmeriCorps members serve their community through education, environment, public safety, and other programs.