Wallerstein (1992) proposed that a lack of control of destiny promotes susceptibility to ill health for people who live in high demand or marginalized situations and lack resources and support. Empowerment is a strategy that addresses this lack of control over destiny. Through challenging social and physical risk factors in a collective setting, people gain a belief that they can succeed in controlling their community.

Empowerment education has been proposed as an effective health education and prevention model that promotes health and change in all personal and social areas. At the core of this approach is the suggestion that participation in group action and dialogue directed at community targets enhances control and youths' belief in their ability to change their own lives.

Kim, Crutchfield, Williams, and Hepler (1998) purported that the focus of the prevention field is turning from preventing something negative from happening to youth to an approach that emphasizes the need to promote positive youth development using youth empowerment. Kim et al. further assert that whereas the traditional prevention strategy is problem-free youth, the main object of youth development and empowerment is fully prepared youth. This approach builds on and adds a new dimension to the traditional approach of risk factor prevention. The youth development and empowerment approach promotes greater participation and involvement of youth in the socioeconomic and public affairs of the community. Youth are not viewed as community problems, but as community assets and resources. The organizing concept of this new approach is, "Social, economic, and public opportunity denied to youth is equal to social problems imposed on the youth by adults" (p. 6). Processes that build youth empowerment include adequate family support; adequate social support; high expectations placed on youth by significant others in the child's social network; ample opportunities to learn life skills with vocational implications; meaningful opportunities to assume responsibility; opportunity to participate in and contribute meaningfully to the social, cultural, economic, or public affairs of the school, community, or government; ample opportunity to demonstrate their abilities and successes; and achievement reinforcement by significant others in the schools, at home, and by other adults in the social network.

Kim et al. (1998) offers the following steps for developing youth empowerment organizations:

Formation of a task force and its role and responsibilities
The task force should consist of individuals representing a variety of youth-serving organizations, including the youth they serve. The task force provides leadership, expertise, and community resources to a youth team. The task force should obtain school and community support, share ideas regarding service projects, support team member recruitment, identify and access resources, identify service opportunities, and recognize team member accomplishments.

Initial training of youth leaders/adult advisors in core skills
Leaders should be trained in team building, communication, listening, problem solving, decision making, and interpersonal social skills. The role of the adult leader is to guide the project, facilitate the process, and serve as a consistent role model for youth.

Training in core-skills area for youth team members
Once adult advisors and youth leaders are trained, they should train team members. The team members should respect the ideas and contributions of other team members, share ideas and participate in workshops, determine steps to evaluate their efforts, and recognize other's achievements and successes.

Specialized skills-training needed for the service project to be launched by the youth team
Team members should identify special skills that are needed to meet their project goals. Team members are encouraged to seek help and identify people and resources in the community who can teach some of these needed specialized skills.

Implementation of the service project
Team members should apply their skills to address the social concerns in the school, community, or neighborhood. Wallerstein (1992) contended that empowerment theory impacts health promotion and health education in specific ways. She offered the following recommendations to health promotion programs wishing to incorporate the principles of empowerment:

• Programs must examine health promotion activities to determine whether they foster dependence and powerlessness-even in subtle forms.
• A health promotion curriculum should not be dictated, but should emanate from listening to participants.
• Health promotion facilitators should be effective problem-posers and questioners to incorporate the participant's personal experiences in an analysis of societal forces.
• The actions in a health promotion or health education activity should be determined by the participants as they gain a critical perspective of their personal and social health.

The Presidents' Summit for America's Future was held in Philadelphia, April 27-29, 1997, and was attended by more than 4,000 people representing organizations from private, public, and non-profit sectors. The summit meeting, led by General Colin Powell, was initiated by all of the living former U.S. presidents. It was attended by President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, former Presidents George Bush and Jimmy Carter, and Mrs. Nancy Reagan, representing former President Ronald Reagan. Summit meeting leaders recognized the need to find effective solutions to the problems facing America's youth. The Presidents' Summit resulted in the forming of America's Promise-The Alliance for Youth, a not-for-profit organization funded through private donations, grants, and contributions. According to General Powell, America's Promise is dedicated to the success of the nation's youth, and ultimately, that of the nation. Its primary aim is to lead in the achievement of that mandate, to ensure the future of the nation through a new investment in its youth. At the foundation of America's Promise is a set of five basic promises made to every child in America: (1) Mentor: An ongoing relationship with a caring adult-parent, mentor, tutor, or coach; (2) Protect: A safe place with structured activities during nonschool hours; (3) Nurture: A healthy start; (4) Prepare: A marketable skill through effective education; and (5) Serve: An opportunity to give back through community service.

A recent study revealed that America's Promise has 441 national partners, 427 state and local community partners, more than 4,000 state and local partners, and tens of thousands of individual volunteers. America's Promise and its partners have provided assistance to more than 10 million children and have contributed more than $285 million (America's Promise Report to the Nation Press Release, 1999). Corporations, not-for-profit organizations, institutions of faith, civic groups, and state and local communities have made significant progress over the last two years. For example, Boys and Girls Clubs of America opened a total of 470 new clubs nationwide, which served an additional 200,000 youth in 1998 (America's Promise, 1999). Current initiatives include working with the federal government to expand Medicaid coverage for uninsured children and recruiting Schools of Promise and Colleges and Universities of Promise.

Teen Court Programs
Teen court programs originated in the 1960s, but were not actively promoted until the early 1990s. Teen court programs "constitute an avenue for addressing illegal substance abuse, impaired driving, and other problem behaviors of youth. Teen courts emphasize concepts such as accountability, positive peer influence, competency development, and youth empowerment and involvement" (American Probation and Parole Association, p. 8). Specifically, teen courts help youth realize they will be held accountable for their behavior; educate youth on the impact of their actions on themselves and others, including victims and the community; build competencies in youth by providing instruction in how the legal system functions and how to communicate and resolve problems with peers more effectively; and provide a meaningful forum for youth to practice and enhance newly developed competencies.

Teen courts operate through a variety of agencies including juvenile courts, juvenile probation departments, law enforcement, private-nonprofit organizations, and schools. The number of teen court programs has increased as their benefits become more recognized. As of May 1998, 450 teen court programs existed in 44 states and the District of Columbia. The programs employ one of four designs: the Adult Judge Model, which uses youth volunteers to serve in the roles of attorneys (defense and prosecuting), jurors, court clerks, and bailiffs; the Youth Judge Model, which differs from the Adult Judge Model in that it also has youth serving in the role of Judge; the Youth Tribunal Model, which differs from the Youth Judge Model in that it has no youth jurors; and the Peer Jury Model, which differs from the other models in that it does not use youth in the attorney roles (American Probation and Parole Association, 1998).

This research paper was undertaken to examine the need for youth empowerment, present some contemporary views on empowerment, review the literature on youth empowerment research, discuss the impact on health education and promotion programming, and describe two youth advocacy and empowerment initiatives that address some of the major issues facing America's youth. The results confirm that America's youth engage in health-risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of morbidity, mortality, and social problems. However, as shown in this paper, research studies also suggest that youth empowerment and advocacy programs, potentially, are effective vehicles for reducing youth participation in high-risk behavior. Research suggests that the most effective risk-reduction programs are those programs that are theory-based, developmentally appropriate, culturally sensitive, and skills-based.

A major implication of the findings is the need for more youth empowerment and advocacy research. A second implication is the need for a consensus among researchers regarding a definition of empowerment and appropriate methods for evaluation. Finally, continued study should focus on the characteristics of youth empowerment programs and target specific activities that provide youth with the most efficient mechanism to facilitate the adoption of behaviors conducive to good health.