PLEASANT GAP -- A group of concerned citizens and business owners this weekend decided local youth services should begin sharing resources to help reduce the numbers of "at risk" youth in Centre County.

The Centre County Town Summit Meeting, part of a nationwide program called "Making The Grade," was held here Saturday to raise awareness of national youth problems at a local level.

Functional illiteracy, crime, school dropouts, substance abuse, pregnancy and unemployment among local teen-agers are the largest problems both across the county and in the county, said meeting organizer Robert Ott.

"What we're meeting here about is not just Centre County's youth, but our nation's youth," Ott said.

The purpose of the meeting was to "assess the effectiveness of (youth) services and to get (the public) motivated," said Ed Horning, who was representing the Centre County Cooperative Extension at the seminar.

Participants reviewed local statistics, prepared by several state government agencies, to help them make goal suggestions for local youth services.

Centre County's juvenile delinquency rate is less than two-thirds of the Pennsylvania average. The Centre County dropout rate is 1.51 percent, compared to the 3.05 percent state average.

Other Centre County statistics showed: 22 youths were admitted to area public substance abuse centers in 1988, compared to the state average of 68 youths; 107 children were born to local teen-agers in 1988; and Centre County's youth unemployment rate was 19.8 percent, compared to the 14.5 percent state average.

But Ott, who helped gather the local data for the organizing committee, said the information is not always accurate. "There is just not good local data out there," he said.

The group assessed the information and consolidated their ideas, which will be discussed by a drafting committee sometime in March. Suggestions will be printed and distributed to local youth service offices by the committee.

Four major goals will be discussed by the drafting committee:

-- Creating a widespread network and coalitions among youth agencies, schools, businesses and families.

-- Addressing the causes of the problems.

-- Increasing the value of children and the role of parents in society.

-- Emphasizing the importance of the family and the skills needed in raising children.

One participant was disappointed with the diversity of those who attended.

"These folks are lacking representation of the community," said Meg Davis, who was representing the AIDS Project. The group was almost all white, middle-class, middle-aged people, she said.

"I wish we had a group of kids," Connie Schultz, a Centre County resident said.

Causes of the problems facing teen-agers today were also debated.

Richard Kisslak, who spoke at the general meeting, cited the advancement of technology as a problem. "Our world has changed, but I don't think we've changed," he said.

"Children don't receive support from their family," said Heather Peters, a State College resident.