Positive Youth Development
Positive youth development is a policy perspective that emphasizes providing services and opportunities to support all young people in developing a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging, and empowerment. While individual programs can provide youth development activities or services, the youth development approach works best when entire communities, including young people, are involved in creating a continuum of services and opportunities that youth need to grow into happy and healthy adults.
Simply put, youth development is a life process that everyone goes through. The goal of the positive youth development approach is to ensure that all adolescents experience this life stage positively.
Why Should I Care About Positive Youth Development?
The catchy answer is that young people are this Nation's most valuable resource. The reality is that youth have talents and needs that communities can no longer afford to ignore. When we fail to provide youth with support and opportunities, as adults they may experience unemployment, have drug or alcohol problems, commit crimes, and become a drain on community resources. When young people are nurtured by caring adults, are given opportunities to become involved in education or work that builds their skills, are supported and protected during challenging times, and are actively engaged in community activities, they become valuable contributors to the quality of community life. Engaging youth in communities simply makes sense, both fiscally and ethically.
How Is the Positive Youth Development Approach Different From Prevention and Intervention?
It is not. Central to the positive youth development approach is an understanding that all youth need access to developmental opportunities. They, of course, also need reliable information about behaviors that put them at risk, and at some point during adolescence, they may need prevention and intervention services. These services are far more effective when they are part of a community-designed system of supports and developmental opportunities that provide young people with chances to try new ventures or work toward dreams they had not thought attainable. Then, as young people gain confidence and skills, they shift their decision-making outlook from the short term to the long term, making choices that preserve their dreams and goals and help them avoid behaviors that put them at risk.
The positive youth development approach emphasizes fully preparing young people to succeed and contribute now and as adults; rather than focusing simply on ensuring that young people are not engaged in risky behaviors. Nonetheless, risk reduction and problem avoidance are often outcomes of developmentally focused programs.
What Is the Evidence That Positive Youth Development Works?
The nonpartisan National Academy of Sciences recently released a report entitled Community Programs To Promote Youth Development. The report is the result of a 2-year study conducted by the Academy's Committee on Community-Level Programs for Youth. One of the report's conclusions is that adolescents who spend time in communities that are rich in developmental opportunities . . . experience less risk and show evidence of higher rates of positive development. A diversity of program opportunities in each community is more likely to support broad adolescent development and attract the interest of and meet the needs of a greater number of youth.
What Local Programs Operate from a Positive Youth Development Perspective?
Many local programs offer young people both developmental opportunities and prevention and intervention services. The Boys & Girls Clubs of America, National 4-H Council, and YMCA of the USA, for example, are national organizations that promote the positive youth development approach through their local program affiliates. These programs provide young people with access to developmental services and activities and facilitate positive connections between youth and other young people and adults. They also offer young people valuable information and learning experiences that help them choose healthy lifestyles.
What Can I Do To Promote the Positive Youth Development Approach in My Community?
Each community must develop its unique approach to supporting young people. You can begin by finding out more about positive youth development and then sharing that information with local elected officials, local youth service agency staff, coworkers, and friends and neighbors. These individuals and organizations also can be effective partners in promoting positive youth development.
More important, be sure to engage young people in designing a community's approach to providing youth with opportunities and services. They often know best what works for them, and their inclusion is an investment in both their positive development and long-term community change on behalf of all youth.
For more information on positive youth development, please call or write the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth (NCFY), P.O. Box 13505, Silver Spring, Maryland 20911-3505; (301) 608-8098; Fax: (301) 608-8721; E-mail: Info@ncfy.com. Or check the NCFY Web site on the Internet's World Wide Web for materials on youth development: www.ncfy.com.
