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were 15 , three were 16 , two were 17 , four were 18, and one each , ages 19-22 years old . Several of the participants were high school dropouts . Amazingly, 14 out of the 20 had never touched a computer before . Pictured at left: Daniel Lopez in Mott Community College computer lob. Photo by Dan Bowers. From the first day, we had difficulty getting them to leave the labs at the end of the workday . At the start of the third day they were so proficient on the Internet that we had to stop and explain lab policy of "only educational sites allowed ." In addition to the conceptual and scientific learning modules , they gained basic proficiency in Microsoft Office ( Word , Access, and PowerPoint) and ArcView GIS software . Lessons were interspersed with field trips designed to show them real-world entities utilizing GIS technologies ( Genesee County Treasurer's Office, State of Michigan-MI Information Center, a private company, and land and air surveys ) . By the third week of the program , they were creating databases of recorded Brownfield sites by downloading information from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the U .S . Environmental Protection Agency . The final , and sixth , week of the program culminated in a public demonstration , complete with handouts and PowerPoint presentations they had created . There were difficulties to overcome ( deficits in basic literacy skills and [non ] established work ethics such as punctuality) , but the teenagers ' pride in their work and sense of accomplishment was self-evident . Three of the dropouts returned to school in the fall including Jimmy Barajas . No one really knows whether the bullet that killed Jimmy was the result of an accident , suicide, or gang -related homicide , but the other "Mappers" and community still mourn the tragic loss of this at risk young man . For more information , please contact Kate Fields, executive director, Greater Eastside Community Association ( tel . : 810-233-0507 , e-mail : KateFieldsaaol com ) . *Case Study courtesy of ESRI ArcNews Magazine. eGIS-based Routing for Youth Home Delive v An additional opportunity identified by Department staff is the use of GIS to determine routes from program areas/facilities to youth homes . Many of the Department ' s clients ( children ) rely on volunteers to provide them with a means of getting home after activities and events sponsored by the Department . In many cases, volunteers are asked to deliver one or more children to addresses with which volunteers are not familiar. GIS-based routing would enable the Department to generate various maps for volunteers that would provide a graphic and textual description of the route from a specific activity/event location to a child ' s home . Using the aforementioned MS Access database that is used to maintain at-risk youth records , a batch process could be used to generate maps based on program / project registration , such that relevant maps would be created in advance of an activity/event . The automated process would utilize the activity/event address as the starting point, and the target home delivery address as the ending point—one map could be generated for each registered child , and the maps would then be distributed to volunteers at the conclusion of the activity/event. 206 GIS Needs Assessment and Implementation Plan Chapter 1 - Departmental GIS Needs Assessment