center for youth development and policy research national leadership summit on improving results...

Center for Youth Development and Policy Research

National Leadership Summit on Improving Results

Building a Youth Development Infrastructure

Bonnie PolitzSeptember 18, 2003INFRASTRUCTURE


Four Realities•Fixing Youth

•Global Economy

•Television and Computers

•Time

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How Do Youth Spend Their Time?

Asleep-38%

?-21%

Ideally with Family- 27%

In School-14%

3,285 Hours

1,200 Hours

2,355 Hours

1,920 Hours

Source: A Matter of Time: Risk and Opportunity in the Non School Hours, Carnegie Council 1992

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Primary Prevention

High Risk

Treatment

"The Medical Model"

Addressing Youth Problems is

Critical...


PositiveDevelopment

Primary Prevention

High Risk

Treatment

But, Problem Free is Not Fully Prepared

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Core Supports & OpportunitiesViolence

Pregnancy

Delinquency

Dropouts

Substance Abuse

Common Core of Prevention StrategiesINFRASTRUCTURE


•SKILL BUILDING- building social skills, problem-solving skills and communication skills•PARTICIPATION- engaging youth through offering real opportunities for participation (e.g. youth led discussion, real choices), leadership (e.g. youth as peer counselors, tutors, contributors)•MEMBERSHIP- creating a sense of membership within the group and/or a sense of commitment to school, culture, community•NORMS AND EXPECTATIONS - establishing new norms and expectations for behavior that are sanctioned by the group•ADULT-YOUTH RELATIONSHIPS- establishing deeper and different ways for youth and adults to relate through the creation of different structures for interaction and specific training for adult leaders•INFORMATION AND SERVICES- providing problem-specific information and services or access to services

Common Themes in Prevention Programs

Source: Adolescents at Risk, Dryfoos 1990

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High RiskYouth/Communities

Medium

Low RiskYouth/Communities

Low RiskServices

HighRisk Services

MediumRisk

Pregnancy PreventionTutoringCounselingDrug PreventionMentors

Music/ArtCreative WritingCommunity ServiceLeadership TrainingOutdoor EducationCareer Guidance

Traditional Views of Youth Services

Pregnancy PreventionTutoringCounselingDrug PreventionMentors

Vocational EducationViolence PreventionRemedial EducationCrisis InterventionGang Prevention


Youth Development is …

the ongoing process in which all youth are engaged in attempting to:•meet their basic personal and social needs to be safe, feel cared for, be valued, be useful and be spiritually grounded; and

•build skills and competencies that allow them to function and contribute in their daily lives.

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What Opportunities Do Young People Need?•To learn and build skills, test and explore ideas

•To express themselves and be creative

•To experience a sense of group membership

•To contribute and be of service to their communities

•When appropriate, to learn about working and to be employed

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Seven Elements of a Youth Development

Infrastructure

What it

Takes

Identifying, Redirecting and

increasing Financial

Commitment to Youth

Development

Participatory Strategic Planning

for Public/Private/Non

profit Sectors

Supporting and Increasing the

Number of Direct Service and

Capacity Building Organizations at the Local Level

Increasing the Amount of and Access to

Public/Private Space for Youth

Research, Documentation and Evaluation of Best

Practices and Lessons Learned

Information Development and Dissemination of Baseline Youth

Development Data

Building an Informed

Constituency Through Civic

Participation and Advocacy

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Developmental Outcomes for Youth

Mental Health

Employable

Mastery & Future

Belonging & Membership

Responsibility & Autonomy

Self-Awareness & Spirituality

Safety & Security

Self-Worth

Civic & Social

I ntellectual

Cultural

Physical Health

Areas of

Ability

Aspects of

I dentity

© 2002


Lack of Easily Accessible

Information

“On any given Saturday night in a major city, we can generally find out in a matter of moments how many young people were arrested, their age, their gender, their ethnicity, where they live, etc. However it would take weeks, if not longer, to know this kind of information about young people who attend a youth organization on any given Saturday night.”(Source: A Matter of Money: The Cost and Financing of Youth Development, 2001)

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“Dangerous Information”

•It is dangerous to not have enough information.

•It is dangerous to have wrong information.

•It is dangerous to have irrelevant or out of date information.

•It is dangerous to have too much information.

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Center for Youth

Development and Policy

Research

Database Driven

WEBSITES

PROMISING PRACTICES IN AFTERSCHOOL (PPAS)

www.afterschool.org

The PPAS System is a process to identify and disseminate promising practices that underlie

quality afterschool programs. This Website provides a searchable database of practices, links to resources and discussion forums for

program directors and other key stakeholders in afterschool.

TRANSFORMATIONAL EDUCATION (TED)www.TEDWeb.org

The TED initiative is designed to document and foster discussion on educational practices with

significant implications for the education, positive development and successful outcomes

of young people. This Website is designed to share the knowledge and expertise of

practitioners and advocates that work directly with youth.

COMMUNITY YOUTHMAPPING (CYM)www.communityyouthmapping.org

The CYM strategy involves young people gathering information by locating and

documenting in a given locality, "places to go and things to do.” This Website allows

communities to easily map, sustain and manage data as well as make data accessible to the

entire community.


DRAFT

1. Do our young people have the spaces and people they need to learn the basics?

Classroom Size (by School) Student:Teacher Ratio (by School) Teacher Qualifications (by School) Density of school space reported together with youth population (by School)

2. Do our young people have opportunities to learn art, music and physical education in school?

Hours of these courses (by School)

3. Do our young people have the opportunities to prepare for the world of work ?

Number of school-to-career programs in middle and high school (by School) Number of school-linked job programs (by School) School-based volunteer opportunities (by School)

4. Do our young people have the spaces and people needed for safe and developmentally appropriate recreation?

Square footage of public recreation space (by Neighborhood) Programs in public recreation (by Neighborhood) Staffing and available hours in public recreation (by Neighborhood)

5. Are adults active/involved in our community to ensure young people get the experiences they need to mature into healthy adults?

Local and National Voting Statistics (by Neighborhood or Local Political VotingDistrict)

PTA/O membership (by School)

New Youth Development Community Indicators

Dra

ft

Dra

ft

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Youth Development “Bumper Stickers”

•Problem free is not fully prepared. Preventing high risk behaviors, even if achieved, is not the same as helping young people prepare for the future. Preparation requires an equal commitment to helping youth understand life’s challenges and responsibilities and to teach the necessary skills for success.

•Preventing problems does not necessarily promote development and is usually not enough to fully prepare youth for adulthood. A young person’s not getting pregnant, using drugs, or joining a gang does not mean that person has the skills, knowledge, or attitudes to “make it.”

•Youth development (such as working towards developmental outcomes) is the best strategy for problem prevention. Striving for more positive goals that promote development often gives youth the skills and motivation they need to adopt healthy life styles.

•Youth development is the best strategy for achievement. Striving for more positive goals that promote development often gives youth the skills and motivation they need to achieve milestones, such as high school graduation and employment.

•The goal is not to fix youth but to develop them. Adults often work from a deficit or problem prevention mode. The result is that young people get clearer messages about what they should not do, think, or become than what they should do.

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center for youth development and policy research national leadership summit on improving results...

Documents

youth problems

policy research core

prepared infrastructure

policy research skill

school hours

prevention programs

hours source

social skills