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• <br /> 6. <br /> Land, 1994). Recreation programs can also provide the initial contact for other <br /> social services, including training and education programs, counseling services, and <br /> drug and alcohol abuse programs. <br /> Role of Recreational Programming. Constructive recreational programming is <br /> not a panacea, however. According to Mendel, <br /> "The most successful of prevention programs do not fit neatly into a <br /> single program category. In fact, many experts believe that the greatest <br /> potential for prevention lies not in any single program, multidimensional or <br /> otherwise, but in a comprehensive, community-driven continuum of programs." <br /> • (Mendel, 1995, p. 17). <br /> Constructive recreational programming will not succeed in preventing juvenile crime if <br /> it works alone. Particularly when working with at-risk youth, the two most critical <br /> components that have been identified are the presence of an attentive adult and a <br /> multi-agency approach to providing services (Smith, 1991). What is needed is a <br /> system of coherent long-term youth development opportunities. (Mendel, 1995). <br /> Recreational programs based on the philosophy "that youth are a resource to <br /> be developed, rather than a problem to be managed" are most likely to be successful <br /> (Smith, 1991, p. 11). Treanor (1988) decried what he called the "theory of youth <br /> deviance"; the idea that youth, particularly those from low-income households, "are <br /> either deviant or potentially deviant" (Treanor, 1988, p. 9). According to Treanor, this <br /> • has resulted in a local government focus on programs that promise to combat some <br />