Youth centers which also focus on providing a variety of extra-curricular academic learning opportunities for youth are often called youth academies. A youth centre should not be mistaken for a college or university campus. A university or college campus is a place primarily designed to cater for tertiary students, whilst a youth centre tends to be a centre for those aged below university age. In the United States, many towns have a youth centre or youth service center where teenagers can hangout or sneak without being judged. These facilities are known as youth clubs, most commonly in countries like the United Kingdom and parts of Australia. Youth centres are usually staffed. The term youth center achieved prominence in the 1960s in the United States as ownership was transferred from the Boy Scouts to local agencies and organizations. The ideal youth center is one that offers a wide range of healthy, educational, safe, and recreational activities that focuses on the holistic enhancement of a young person. Young people can acquire many skills while participating in these such as self-esteem and social communication as well as learning practical life skills. Energy management, anger management, and transition skills are three examples of skills youth learn in a youth center. In addition to skills, youth are exposed to new environments, people, their communities and they develop a stronger sense of community. As a result of communication skills, youth leaders or teachers advise their peers on problems that they experience and provide youth with tools needed to address the problems. This goal is accomplished by the working in conjunction with parents to set rules and to adjust rules as the youth mature. Educators/Youth workers offer tailored programs that cater to the background and needs of the community they work. They also convey values and roles that believed to conform to the particular culture or subculture that they exist within in a positive manner. An important goal of a youth centre is to educate children on topics such as attachment disorder, sexual acting out behaviors, bullying, parenting, and prevention strategies.

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