Youth Development as a Violence Intervention Model Fact Sheet
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Introduction top
Traditionally, violence prevention interventions have targeted young people most "at risk" for delinquent or violent behavior. This approach, called a deficit model, works to change the specific behaviors or characteristics that place youth at risk, such as failing at school, abusing drugs, or engaging in criminal behaviors.
Youth development, on the other hand, is a violence prevention model that shifts the focus from problems and emphasizes identifying, recognizing, and then building upon youth strengths. It includes programs, policies, and funding that support young people in becoming healthy, contributing adults.
Overview top
Young people have important insights and ideas and are invaluable assets to families, organizations, and communities. Yet often these characteristics are overlooked. Many adults have an inherent mistrust of young people. They blame youth for the problems of society, including violence, and believe that young people are disinterested, irresponsible, and dangerous. For some young people, this contributes to feelings of low self-worth, hopelessness about the future, and a disconnection from adults. Personal experiences with discrimination, poverty, and racism; exposure to family and community violence; social isolation; and a lack of positive adult relationships can fuel perceptions of limited life opportunities, a sense of fatalism, an exaggerated need for status and power, and frustration and anger at the "adult" world.
The youth development approach focuses on strengthening the capacity of young people to successfully navigate the life stage of adolescence. Its underlying premise is based on the belief that youth are valued assets and can contribute to family, school, and community life. It emphasizes not simply providing services, but offering a network of opportunities to encourage youth to get active and involved, and to support them in developing a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging, and power.1 Some of the developmental outcomes anticipated by the youth development model include: a positive sense of self, a sense of connection and commitment to others, and the ability and motivation to succeed in school and participate fully in family and community life.2
KEY
PHILOSOPHICAL ELEMENTS OF A YOUTH DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK top
(from Reconnecting Youth
and Community: A Youth Development Approach3)
- Adolescence is a turning point in the overall life development process and therefore an opportunity for communities to support young people in positive directions.
- Adolescent development is natural, evolving, and complex.
- Youth development occurs in the context of family, community, and country.
- Young people's maturation process is influenced by their surroundings and affected by relationships with key people, such as parents, teachers, and peers.
- The youth development approach includes services, opportunities, and support for all young people.
- Young people's development is supported through involvement with other people or places that offer intellectual, spiritual, and emotional nurturing.
- Young people can and should begin to take charge of their destiny through learned decision-making and an enhanced understanding of the choices available to them. They also should be provided the support necessary to deal with the consequences of those choices.
- Even adults struggle in some developmental areas. Every individual has different skills and abilities, and matures at a different pace.
- Not all young people start at the same place developmentally because of economic circumstances, family problems, or personal differences.
- Developmental activities must be tailored to meet the needs of young people who are in disadvantaged circumstances so that they receive the resources necessary to address the limitations in their life circumstances.
- Youth development is dependent on family and community development.
National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth, July 1996.
Operationalizing Youth Development top
Most people understand the need for services that address specific problems and help those most in need. However, youth development requires a shift in thinking about how to reach, serve, and work with young people. It offers a new paradigm for how communities can support youth, as well as create settings for youth to succeed.
One of the greatest challenges facing youth development programs is shifting the perspectives of community members, schools, volunteers, staff, board members, and youth themselves. It requires rethinking some basic cultural assumptions about how to create supportive environments. It emphasizes cooperation instead of competition, coordination instead of fragmentation, and funding that supports redevelopment of entire communities instead of specific, focused programs.
While there is some consensus on the framework and key elements of positive youth development, each community needs to be prepared to design specific programs that meet the needs and build on their inherent strengths and resources. Youth development is not successfully accomplished by one program or agency acting alone. It requires organizational and community collaboration to ensure that systems reflect the fundamental philosophy of valuing and supporting young people.
By its nature, the youth development model is multi-faceted. It combines prevention, early intervention, community development, and youth empowerment strategies. Since youth are products of their environment, it requires reconnecting them to their community. Therefore, rebuilding communities is central to reinventing youth services, and involving youth in this process is an essential component.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has spearheaded a collaboration of the federal agencies, institutions, and foundations interested in the youth development approach. This collaboration has identified key components of positive youth development, including:
- Providing youth with safe and supportive environments
- Fostering relationships between young people and caring adults who can mentor and guide them
- Providing youth with opportunities to identify and pursue their interests, focusing on their strengths
- Supporting the development of youth knowledge and skills in a variety of ways, including study, tutoring, sports, the arts, vocational education, and community service learning.
- Providing opportunities for youth to show they care-about others and about society
- Promoting healthy lifestyles and teaching positive patterns of social interaction
- Providing a safety net in times of need.
Publications top
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
www.dhhs.gov
- Reconnecting Youth & Community:
A Youth Development Approach, July 1996.
National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth
Serves as a primer on youth development, and is intended to help communities begin rethinking youth services in the context of the larger environment. It raises questions and offers guidance on the type of change necessary before a youth agency, or the larger community, can begin to plan for and accept youth development strategies.
Federal Responses and Resources top
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
- ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education
- Office of Educational Research and Improvement
- Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
- Administration for Children and Families
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
- DHHS Campaign To Increase Adult Involvement in Children's Lives
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
www.usda.gov
-
Children, Youth and Families Education and Research Network
www.cyfernet.org
Provides information on educational outreach programs, on-line publications, and research on children, youth, and families from universities in all 50 states. These universities are collaborating partners in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension System (CES) of which CYFERNet is a service. -
USDA Education Programs http://warp.nal.usda.gov/bic/Education_res/statefed.programs/ usda.biotech.html
Provides listing and summaries of USDA educational programs including Youth Conservation Corps to 4-H Youth Development.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
http://www.ed.gov
-
ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education (ERIC)
www.ericeece.org
ERIC is a national information system designed to provide users with ready access to an extensive body of education-related literature. The ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education (ERIC/EECE) is one of 16 clearinghouses in the ERIC system and is operated by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It provides information in the areas of child development; education, care, and teaching of children; and parenting and family life. -
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination
21st Century Learning Centers
www.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc/index.html
Provides expanded learning opportunities for participating children in a safe, drug-free and supervised environment. The program enables schools to stay open longer, providing a safe place for homework centers, intensive mentoring in basic skills, drug and violence prevention counseling, helping middle school students to prepare to take college prep courses in high school, and enrichment in the core academic subjects. -
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/index.html
The Department's vocational education programs help states and local programs implement challenging standards, and integrate academic, vocational and technical instruction in order to improve the academic, vocational and technical skills of students in high schools and community colleges.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
AND HUMAN SERVICES
www.hhs.gov/
- Administration
for Children and Families
Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB)
www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/fysb/
Funds programs that support communities in helping young people and their families and shares information through its National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth (NCFY). FYSB also runs the National Runaway Switchboard.- National Clearinghouse on Families
and Youth
www.ncfy.com
FYSB's online central resource for youth and family policy and practice. Information is organized on the Web site into the following major categories: features, which highlights FYSB grantee program approaches, youth-related events, and a site search engine; information and resources, provides descriptions of NCFY publications and materials, links to other youth- and family-related Web sites, and other resources; and information for special audiences, contains sections for youth service and juvenile justice professionals, policymakers, researchers, students and young people, and parents and community members. - State Youth Development
Collaboration Projects
www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/fysb/State-YD-Collb.htm
Awards more than $1 million in grant funding to enable nine states to develop and support innovative youth development strategies. Latest grant announcement available online.
- National Clearinghouse on Families
and Youth
-
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH)
www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/
DASH supports national, state, and local agencies and organizations that have the capacity to improve child and adolescent health. Some of the activities of the Division include: monitoring youth risk behaviors (YRBSS) and school health policies and programs (SHPPS); synthesizing risk behavior data and school health and adolescent health research; enabling project partners in state and local education agencies and in national organizations to implement adolescent and school health programs; evaluating school health programs; and collaborating with other federal agencies and organizations to coordinate adolescent and school health programs and research. -
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative
www.sshs.samhsa.gov/default.aspx
This initiative is funded jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services. Urban, rural, suburban, and tribal school districts will receive three-year grants to create a community-wide approach to violence prevention and healthy child development that is linked with community-based services and prevention activities. -
DHHS Campaign To Increase Adult Involvement in Children's Lives
www.health.org/yourtime/
The DHHS campaign, "Your Time-Their Future," recruits caring adults to help children and young adolescents avoid becoming involved in substance abuse. The campaign emphasizes the need for adults to become actively involved in providing children with activities that will keep them away from alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. "Your Time-Their Future" is administered by SAMHSA. SAMHSA issues a series of print, radio, and television public service announcements promoting the campaign and has information guides, a poster, and a resource guide available through its National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at (800) 729-6686, or http://www.health.org.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING
AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
http://www.hud.gov
Encourages and supports community-based efforts to reduce crime and violence
in and around HUD-assisted developments. Their Neighborhood Networks provide
nearly 1000 multi-service computer technology community learning centers in
public and low-income housing nationwide to teach computer literacy for 21st
century careers.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
www.usdoj.gov
- National
Youth Network
www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles/yfs9801.pdf
Founded and managed by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the National Youth Network consists of diverse youth leaders from across the nation who are sponsored by youth-serving organizations. The Network's goal is to recognize and build upon the power and importance of youth leadership by uniting young people and adults, through communication and action, to enable youth organizations and nonaffiliated youth to have a positive, formidable impact in our communities and throughout the country. The Network is organized into four workgroups: events, publications, public policy, and public relations.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
http://www.dol.gov
- Employment and Training Administration
www.doleta.gov
The Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration supports a number of programs that relate to youth development, specifically youth employment. Some of these programs include efforts to stimulate and assist industry in developing and improving apprenticeship and other training programs for youth; One Stop Career Centers that strive to provide an integrated service delivery system for job seekers and employers; and the Summer Youth Employment and Training Program that is designed to enhance the basic educational level of youth ages 14-21, encourage school completion; and provide youth with exposure to employment opportunities.- PEPNet
www.nyec.org/pepnet/
A national network of youth employment/youth development initiatives serving youth ages 14-25 that have been recognized for high standards of effectiveness. The network offers information on best practices and ways to strengthen and improve youth development opportunities.
- PEPNet
References top
- Report of the Analysis of Federal Youth Development Programming, National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth, November 1999.
- Incorporating a Youth Development Perspective into School-To-Work Systems, Resource Bulletin, National School-to-Work Learning and Information Center, March 1996.
- Reconnecting Youth and Community: A Youth Development Approach, National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth.