Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Our Hope for the Future

The authors note in their Introduction to this book that "children have been a challenge to their elders since the beginning of time, so perhaps there are few totally novel ideas about how to deal with them." Nevertheless, they seek to navigate those waters in new ways, and apply advances in behavioral psychology and philosophy to reclaim those younger members of society who are most at risk of becoming society's victims.

Larry K. Brendtro, Ph.D., is president of Reclaiming Youth International, a nonprofit organization networking those serving children who are in conflict with family, school, and community. Dr. Brendtro has had broad experience as a psychologist, educator, and youth worker and is past president of Starr Commonwealth in Michigan and Ohio. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. The Reverend Canon Martin Brokenleg, Ph.D., is professor of Native American Studies at Augustana College and dean of the Black Hills Seminars on youth at risk. He holds a doctorate in psychology and is a graduate of the Episcopal Divinity School. He has been a director of The Neighborhood Youth Corps, chaplain in a correctional setting, and has extensive experience as an alcohol counselor. He is an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe practicing the culture of his Lakota people. Steve Van Bockern, Ph.D., is professor of Education at Augustana College and dean of the Reclaiming Youth Institute, which conducts research on strength-based prevention and intervention. He has directed grants for the National Science Foundation and the Kellogg Foundation. Dr. Van Bockern serves as a co-director for the Black Hills Seminars and is a senior trainer for the Life Space Crisis Intervention Institute of Hagerstown, Maryland.