Voluntary Youth Organizations

Abstract

America has a tradition of voluntary associations developed to pro vide constructive informal educational and recreation opportunities for youth in leisure time. A common goal of these organizations has been the person- centered programs to develop independent, self-directed, self-reliant, self- controlled, and socially responsible citizens. Recent decades have seen a growth in the number of organizations and of young participants and changes in prac tices. At a time when the nation's population outlook swells the number of potential members and decreases the age group from which leaders are drawn, circumstances require a reconsideration of goals and programs.