Introduction and Summary
Staff at the 218 programs that met these criteria were interviewed at length, providing the basis for the program profiles in Chapter Six. The interviews collected the following information:
The arts and the humanities programs examined in this study were identified by a broad range of organizations and agencies: the Federation of State Humanities Councils, the American Association of Museums, Project Co-Arts at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Recreation and Parks Association, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum Services and approximately 90 other public and private agencies that work with youth. These agencies include arts organizations; national arts and humanities service groups; national networks of community institutions such as Boys and Girls Clubs, libraries, museums and parks; national youth and social service agencies; foundations and government agencies. Each of the 600 identified programs was screened to select those working primarily with at-risk children, offering sustained arts and humanities programs outside of the school curriculum. In addition, the selected programs focus on youth development through the arts and the humanities as one of their expressed goals.
The conclusions about what makes programs effective are based on these interviews and on visits to nine sites:
These programs have existed from 2 to 26 years and accumulated 99 years of experience. Seven of the nine have received or currently receive support from the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Hu-manities or the Institute of Museum Services. They operate in both urban and rural areas, serving youth as demographically diverse as the U.S. population. Some focus their programs on specific disciplines, such as graphic design or literature; others offer a variety of disciplines. The humanities represent the core of one program and are integrated into several others, especially those that focus on a specific culture in American society.