What we want from all the work that we do is to create an opportunity and clear avenue for youth and young adults to succeed – however they define that success. Across the country, we provide a range of services and interventions to help us make this a reality – diverse responses to meet unique needs. The overall underlying approach that should be the foundation for all of the work is positive youth development (PYD). There are some different ways to describe this approach; we recommend this 10-minute clip featuring Dr. Karen Pittman, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Forum for Youth Investment, and this interview with Dr. Richard Lerner, as an introduction.
- Keep youth voice as central to what you do. One agency leader shared “The most important thing we are doing is staying in tune with the youth we serve and ensuring that their voices—the voices of young survivors—and the voices of staff—adult survivors—remain central to everything we do. If we lose that, we have lost our rudder.” Youth are active participants in the services your agency provides – treat them as such. From developing their own service plans to serving on your board of directors, from helping you design your youth programming to becoming staff at your agency, youth should be central to your work, and central to their personal development.
- Listen to youth feedback. Holding an occasional focus group or providing a satisfaction survey is not enough. Evaluate your programs to determine how effective you are in engaging, delivering services, and supporting youth. Design your quality improvement process to include evaluation tools that will measure the impact you are having on the individual by using a PYD approach. (Here is an evidence-based tool used to help measure PYD, for example). Ask real questions for which you are prepared to hear the real answers, then work with youth to create the needed changes. Valerie Threfall did a Connection talk on “why organizations need to listen to the truth from youth” which provides both arguments and ideas for gathering authentic youth input.
- Develop, deliver, and evaluate your youth programs with youth. Sustainable and relevant youth service programming can only be created with involvement from youth. This youth-centered approach to your work will ensure you are on the right track, from the actual services to even the language you use (for example, we use “youth experiencing at-risk situations” versus “at-risk youth” so as not to label the young person but rather the situation – this came from the advice of young people). Youth need to feel valued and respected in your program. You want to develop a culture that encourages youth to feel ownership over the program and the outcomes for themselves, and for others. From the time you start your strategic planning through evaluation, thread positive development opportunities into your programming. Youth service programming is a key component of a healthy and resilient community. As such, it is the responsibility of youth service agencies to continue to assess, respond, and be proactive in developing and implementing programs that capitalize on community strengths and respond to community needs. It is not enough to do what has always been done. Relevant and sustainable agencies are constantly innovating – they are open to new ideas, flexible in change, and nimble in implementing solutions. This approach integrates services that have meaning into a community, resulting in a community culture that values and supports youth.
Acknowledgments
Youth Collaboratory thanks the agency leaders that contributed for this paper their thoughts on what youth service agencies need in place to develop and maintain relevant and sustainable youth service programs: Patricia Balke, Executive Director Wisconsin Association for Homeless and Runaway Services; Lisa Goldblatt Grace, Co-Founder & Director My Life My Choice; Ella Holsinger, Vice President Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania; Carlos Lejnieks, Executive Director Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson & Union Counties; Mary Fraser Meints, Executive Director Youth Emergency Services; and Mack McGhee, Superintendent Department of Youth Rehabilitation Service, New Beginnings Youth Development Center.
