The Ventures in Community Improvement (VICI) demonstration, a national research and demonstration program, was designed to test the effectiveness of a youth employment program in various settings. Eight VICI programs, each of which enrolled up to 60 unemployed, out-of-school, economically disadvantaged youths between the ages of 16 and 19, were started at the following sites: Broward County, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Newark, Jersey; New Haven, Connecticut; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the South Bronx in New York City. Program participants worked five days a week under supervision of union journeyman drawn from the construction and building trades. Although the work varied among the sites, it was aimed at making tangible community improvements through such activities as refurbishing public facilities or repairing homes occupied by poor or elderly people from the same neighborhoods as the youths enrolled in the program. The VICI model relied heavily on a set of linkages (including educational institutions, labor unions, and various local agencies) to tie the program to other institutions. Activities at each site were summarized and evaluated, and practical suggestions for prime sponsors seeking to implement VICI-type projects were made. (Other youth knowledge and development reports are available separately--see note.) (MN)