Youth Challenge Program
Encyclopedia
The Youth Challenge Program is a program run by the National Guard of the United States whose stated mission is "to intervene in and reclaim the lives of at-risk youth to produce program graduates with the values, skills, education and self-discipline necessary to succeed as adults." The program accepts 16-18 year old male and female high school
dropout
s who are drug-free and not in trouble with the law. The program lasts for 17½ months. The first 5½ months are part of the quasi-military Residential Phase. The last 12 months are part of the Post-Residential Phase. Most participants will earn their GED
by the end of the Residential Phase.
The program is one of many programs administered by the National Guard Bureau that address leadership, life skills, and physical training.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
dropout
Dropping out
Dropping out means leaving a group for either practical reasons, necessities or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves....
s who are drug-free and not in trouble with the law. The program lasts for 17½ months. The first 5½ months are part of the quasi-military Residential Phase. The last 12 months are part of the Post-Residential Phase. Most participants will earn their GED
GED
General Educational Development tests are a group of five subject tests which, when passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills...
by the end of the Residential Phase.
The program is one of many programs administered by the National Guard Bureau that address leadership, life skills, and physical training.
Core Components
- CitizenshipCitizenshipCitizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
- Academic excellence (GEDGEDGeneral Educational Development tests are a group of five subject tests which, when passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills...
/high school diploma attainment) - Life-coping skills
- Service to community
- Health and hygiene
- Job skills training
- Leadership/followership
- Physical training
Participating States and Territories
- AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
- Montana
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
- South Carolina
- TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming