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## Other Youth Topics

## Breadcrumb

            -  Youth Topics 
            -           Involving Youth in Positive Youth Development      

# Involving Youth in Positive Youth Development

Youth involvement can benefit organizations and their programs as well as the youth themselves. Programs that are developed in partnership with youth are more likely to be effective at engaging the population and, therefore, to have a greater impact. Involving youth as partners in making decisions that affect them increases the likelihood that the decisions will be accepted, adopted, and become part of their everyday lives. In addition, empowering youth to identify and respond to community needs helps them become empathetic, reflective individuals, setting them on a course to potentially continue this important work in their future. Meaningful youth engagement views youth as equal partners with adults in the decision-making process. Programs and activities are developed *with* youth, rather than *for* youth. In this kind of equal partnership, both adults and young people need to be fully engaged, open to change in how things are done, and share a unified vision for the partnership.

**Considerations for organizations that want to involve youth in a meaningful way**

Here are some suggested steps to consider when trying to engage young people and ensure the experience is meaningful for the youth as well as for the program.

**Assess**

Consider where your program currently is on the continuum of youth engagement and where you would like to be. Not every program or activity can or should always involve youth at Level 5. Youth’s level of involvement may vary based on the capacity of program staff to spend time and resources on involving youth, the purpose of involving youth, and support within the organization for involving youth. Organizational infrastructure and support for involving youth are key concerns for sustainability of youth involvement.

**Plan**
                        - Look at your organization’s programs and determine where it would be most beneficial and feasible to involve youth. Define the purpose of involving youth in the selected activity. Based on the purpose, determine how to engage youth and the most appropriate level of involvement.
                        - Talk with other organizations and agencies that are already partnering with youth to learn how they went about doing this and any recommendations they have. Collaborating with other organizations that are engaging youth may help you avoid implementation challenges that others have faced.

**Implement**
                        - Identify how you will recruit youth and how you will keep them engaged in the process. Issues to consider are how to recruit youth who are representative of the population you serve, what skills and capabilities the youth need, and what training should be provided.
                        - Provide training for organization staff who will be working with youth to ensure they have an understanding of the rationale and purpose of partnering with youth, how it will benefit both the program and the youth, and the skills necessary to effectively work with youth.

**Evaluate**
                        - Develop a plan to review and monitor the youth involvement process.
                        - Engage the youth and adults to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of involving youth in the organization and program as well as its impact on the youth themselves.
                        - Share successes and challenges with others.

**Ways to involve youth throughout the life of a program**

There are many ways youth can be involved in organizational decision-making structures and program development. Involving youth from the beginning of a project is ideal; suggestions about how and where youth can be involved include the following:

**Assess**

***Needs assessment***An example of a needs assessment is the GIS (geographic information system) project from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, through which youth identified resources in their communities. The resources were uploaded into a community-wide map, which was then used to inform community leaders about existing gaps and challenges. Learn more about Youth Mapping.

***Prioritizing needs***Youth provide an excellent source of human and social capital within communities. Their networks consist of their peers as well as family members and adult friends who have access to local resources. Several federally funded programs are soliciting youth leadership in order to identify local priorities and achieve more meaningful results. These programs are tapping into the expertise of young people, relying on them to help determine the needs of their communities.

**Plan**

***Identifying strategies to meet needs***The National 4-H Council's Engaging Youth, Serving Communities project requires adults to work with youth to organize community forum. The forum can be facilitated in partnership or solely by youth to discuss the needs of the community and how to devise a plan to address the needs.

***Developing strategies/program activities***Youth can help create activities that will be of particular interest to their peers while effectively conveying program content. Many are familiar with age-appropriate team building exercises and activities that can be incorporated.

**Implement**

***Promoting program/activities to other youth and adults***Youth should have a lead role in promoting and presenting information about the program and the activities that will be offered. Recruiting youth and getting them to participate in programs and activities can be strengthened when their peers describe what is available and how these opportunities were developed based on youth interests. Youth can also identify locations (e.g., libraries, schools, and recreational centers) that are frequented by potential participants.

***School health councils/youth advisory boards***Communities are taking the voices of youth more seriously. In rural and urban areas alike, youth are participating in governing bodies such as library councils, parks and recreations boards, school boards, and even city councils. Many of these leadership groups give youth full voting privileges. Although this may not be allowed by some organizations, youth can still be given a chance to be heard as representatives of the communities in which they live.

***Curriculum selection committees***Organizations and agencies are concerned about retaining youth within their programs. Before selecting a particular curriculum to use with a target audience or even after a curriculum has been selected, it may be advantageous to have youth assist in reviewing curricula or training materials to determine whether they will be appropriate for a specific age group and population.

***Providing technical assistance on youth culture: How to effectively engage youth/how to work with youth***Youth can train adults who are interested in learning about youth culture. Youth can share what interests youth in general, conduct seminars on the relevance and use of innovative technologies such as web-based social networking, or serve on a panel to talk about what it takes to engage today’s youth.

***Participating in action research***Young people make excellent data collectors. As they contribute to tasks such as conducting interviews, taking photos, and reviewing feedback from surveys, they are also developing analytical skills that can serve them well in other roles.

**Evaluate**

***Developing evaluation instruments***Youth can brainstorm to create survey questions with adults. Once a draft of the survey is completed, youth can fill out the instrument and then provide feedback on what items were clear and unclear.

***Developing criteria for success***Soliciting honest feedback from youth will help build methods into the evaluation process that can strengthen a program or project. Youth can provide insight on what outcomes they would like to see as a result of program efforts.

***Collecting evaluation data***Youth can take photographs of the final results of project work, administer surveys, conduct structured interviews, and participate in focus groups.

***Assisting in analyzing results***With the assistance of adults, youth can learn how to enter data into software programs, read through data to sort out common themes, and help with interpreting comments, reactions, and behaviors generated by participants. A guide (e.g., observation protocol) describing what to look for during the analysis may be helpful. The Youth Involvement and Engagement Assessment Tool can help assist organizations and community partnerships in determining how they involve youth in programs, whether youth are becoming more engaged in the community, and if certain strategies are helping to retain youth.

***Presenting results***Once youth have had a role in all levels of a program, most are more than willing to share the results of their hard work. Giving them the opportunity to share what a difference the experience has made in their lives will also resonate with the audience. This is very important if youth are presenting information to local leaders who can serve as potential partners and also help make a difference in the community.

## Resources

**HHS/ASPE**

**youth.gov**The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs created this website to provide interactive tools and resources to help youth-serving organizations and community partnerships plan, implement, and participate in effective programs for youth. Users can explore resources related to almost thirty youth-related topics such as adolescent health, juvenile justice, and school climate, as well as discover upcoming learning events and locate program funding in their local community.

**Youth Engaged 4 Change**Youth Engaged 4 Change is a website that provides youth-focused resources and opportunities that inspire and empower young people to make a difference in their lives and in the world around them by improving their knowledge and leadership skills. Youth can locate opportunities for volunteering and employment, explore resources on topics of interest, and learn from peers’ own inspiring stories.

**Adolescent Health: Think, Act Grow® (TAG)**TAG is a national call to action to improve adolescent health in the U.S. The section of youth.gov provides action steps and resources that organizations and individuals can use to prioritize activities that can support the health and healthy development of youth. The TAG site provides access points to their resources broken down by audience: professionals, parents and caregivers, or teens. Resources also include successful strategies from across the country, multimedia tools, and other materials to help organizations get involved.

**Youth Engagement at the Federal Level: A Compilation of Strategies and Practices (PDF, 53 pages)**This compilation of briefs on the youth engagement efforts of 12 agencies and departments describes the accomplishments and basic mechanisms of these strategies while also noting barriers, challenges, and vision for the future. The conversations that informed this report consistently clarified that federal policymakers engaging young adults do so with two clear goals in mind: 1) to better support completion of their agencies’ missions, and 2) to support the development of young adults.

**HHS/ACF/CB**

**Youth Engagement Blueprint Series**The purpose of the Youth Engagement Blueprint Series is to help organizations promote a culture and climate that encourages youth engagement at all levels. The series is comprised of several documents describing how to build capacity in four component areas: (1) viewing young people as organizational assets, (2) having the right people, (3) implementing flexible and innovative programs and practices, and (4) using science and technology effectively.

**Engaging Youth in Foster Care Podcast**In this podcast for child welfare caseworkers, the CEO of Think of Us and consultant on youth issues for the Capacity Building Center for States shares his perspectives as a former youth in foster care for engaging youth in future-planning. Topics include use of social media to support youth in foster care; knowledge gaps of youth transitioning into adulthood; and tips to help youth recognize and build relationships with supportive adults in their lives.

**Introduction to the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) Video Series**This six-part video series provides an overview of the NYTD and the NYTD Review, which assesses how states collect and report data on youth transitioning out of foster care. Videos cover the following topics: (1) history and implementation of NYTD, (2) NYTD data collection and reporting, (3) introduction to the NYTD review, (4) system demonstration and survey methodology, (5) case record review, and (6) stakeholder interviews.

**NYTD Reviews**This webpage provides overall information on the NYTD and the purpose of the NYTD Review. Links are also provided to tools and resources for planning and conducting NYTD Reviews, final reports by state, and links to federal and state NYTD Reviewer opportunities.

**Federal NYTD Reviewer Opportunity**This webpage includes resources for recruiting and training young people to serve as Reviewers on the Federal Review Team for the NYTD Reviews. Links are provided for reviewer qualifications and responsibilities, as well as downloadable recruitment postcard and fliers for distribution.

**HHS/ASH/OPA**

**Meaningful Youth Engagement**This webpage describes youth listening session (YLS), which offer an opportunity to meaningfully engage youth, signal that their opinions are valuable, and incorporate their voices into programs. The webpage includes the Listen Up! Toolkit to help organizations start planning their YLS.

**PAF Successful Strategies**This OPA webpage profiles the accomplishments of former Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) grantees and highlights their strategies for working with pregnancy and parenting teens, women, fathers, and families.

**HHS/USDA/NIFA**

**4-H Citizenship Logic Model — Civic Engagement**This logic model summarizes 4-H inputs, outputs, outcomes, and impacts related to its members’ civic engagement efforts.

**Civic Engagement: After-School Activities for Citizenship, Leadership and Service**This resource guide from the MetLife Foundation is intended for professionals and volunteers who want to provide civic engagement programs for grades three through six in an afterschool setting. The guide provides background information and activities on civic engagement to help youth develop the skills and knowledge to become civically engaged. In addition to youth activities, the guide also provides reasons why youth development organizations should be involved in afterschool programs focused on civic engagement, as well as strategies for building family and community partnerships.

**HHS/CDC/SAMHSA**

**Youth Advisory Councils**This webpage provides a detailed overview of Youth Advisory Councils (YACs). It describes the role YACs play in improving the schools and communities they serve, discusses how they can use data to make decisions and create action plans, and outlines the structure of a YAC.

**Youth Engagement Guidance: Strategies, Tools, and Tips for Supportive and Meaningful Youth Engagement in Federal Government-Sponsored Meetings and Events**This manual provides recommendations and resources for engaging youth in government-sponsored events and meetings. The guide is broken into three sections: (1) broad goals, including strategies that are centered on informing an agency’s policies and practices on youth engagement; (2) tools and resources for government representatives to fully implement and model youth engagement, and (3) tips for government representatives to use for successful engagement of youth before, during, and after government-sponsored events.

**FEMA**

**National Strategy for Youth Preparedness Education: Empowering, Educating and Building Resilience (National Strategy)**The National Strategy, as this effort is called, was jointly developed by FEMA, the Department of Education and the Red Cross with the intent of providing a starting point for a youth-focused preparedness effort. The publication lays out the importance of educating young leaders on emergency preparedness, a vision for the National Strategy and short- and long-term activities for moving the effort forward in communities.

**Teen CERT: Launching and Maintaining the Training**The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area. The Teen CERT program was created to address preparedness and response from within high schools. This page includes information and resources to assist in locating CERT groups, starting a CERT group, as well as training information and manuals. 

**HUD**

**Guide for Engaging Youth in Decision Making and Planning**Designed as a guide for local Continuums of Care working to prevent and end youth homelessness, the document suggests steps for effectively engaging young adults in project development processes. Also included are best practices and a guide to the levels of decision-making for youth.

**Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) Community Resources**This webpage contains resources helpful to all communities working on preventing and ending youth homelessness. Information is organized in three topical sections. The Resources section contains a guide for supporting communities advising youth about work-related travel as part of a Youth Action Board, Lessons Learned from the YHDP), and a youth collaboration webinar. The YHDP Coordinated Community Plans section provides links to the plans for the first two rounds of selected communities. Finally, the 100-Day Challenge section provides links to various communities’ summary and case study reports on innovative practices implemented to end youth homelessness in their communities.

**Youth Collaboration Toolkit**Developed by the National Youth Forum on Homelessness and the True Colors Fund, the toolkit is a primer on effectively engaging youth in the movement to end homelessness, particularly among LGBT youth. The toolkit was developed as a resource for those whose work affects LGBT youth experiencing homelessness; however, the information included can be applied to anyone who works with or on behalf of youth and young adults. Topics covered include creating meaningful youth-adult partnerships, identifying barriers, undoing adultism, and guiding principles for collaboration.

**DOL/ODEP**

**Youth Development & Youth Leadership: A Background Paper**Recognizing that youth development practices are foundational to all other youth work, this paper defines and differentiates youth development and youth leadership programming and activities for youth service practitioners, administrators, and policymakers. The paper includes a comprehensive table of the five areas of youth development with intended outcomes and suggested activities for addressing them, a glossary of terms and a comparison of youth development models.

**Youth Development and Leadership: Opportunities to Develop Connecting Competencies**This Innovative Strategies Practice Brief focuses on building young adults’ connecting competencies — positive social behaviors, skills, and attitudes that help youth form and maintain positive relationships with supportive adults. This brief features youth programs recognized by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability (NCWD)/Youth as Innovative Strategies and feature programs and organizations that serve youth with disabilities in some capacity.

**Guideposts for Success**In this guide, NCWD/Youth identifies the supports youth, including those with disabilities, need to transition successfully into adulthood. Based on research of what all youth need to make this transition, the Guideposts framework provides: a statement of principles; a direction that will lead to better outcomes; and a way to organize policy and practice. This framework is intended for use by youth and families, state level policymakers, administrators and local policymakers, and youth service practitioners.

**USAID**

**Positive Youth Development Measurement Toolkit**Developed by YouthPower Learning, this toolkit provides those implementing youth programming resources and tools on how to use a positive youth development (PYD) approach for evaluating youth-focused programming. The toolkit provides an overview of PYD and the PYD Framework, moves into a step by step discussion of PYD constructs and illustrative indicators, and offers a series of considerations for adapting the indicators and measures to local contexts. While developed with the USAID program cycle in mind, it has broad applicability for other programs and is intended for implementers, evaluators, and funders of youth programs.

**Youth Programming Assessment Tool**This tool allows youth-serving organizations to gather feedback from key staff and youth on programming and practices to identify areas for improvement.

**Toolkit for Youth Inclusion in Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG)**This online toolkit provides USAID field and headquarters staff, as well as national and international partners, with information and resources related to designing, managing, and evaluating youth and DRG-related programs, or programs that include components focused on youth.

**Feed the Future Project Design Guide for Youth Inclusive Agriculture and Food Systems**These guides provide USAID staff and implementing partners with approaches, frameworks, and tools to design agriculture programs that promote successful and meaningful youth engagement with the U.S. Feed the Future Initiative and the U.S. Government Global Food Security Strategy.

**Workforce Development and Youth Employment Assessment: Nigeria**This report from Youth Power includes an assessment of the youth employment landscape in Nigeria, providing details on the larger contextual issues that frame workforce development and youth employment.

**Mission-Wide Youth Assessment: Zambia**This USAID report reviews youth policies and strategies of the Government of the Republic of Zambia and other stakeholders to ensure that the views of youth are fully considered. The report makes recommendations for evidence-based interventions, models, and approaches that may benefit current and future USAID/Zambia programming related to youth.

**Democratic Republic of Congo: Rapid Youth Assessment and Activity Design**These USAID reports summarize 1) the findings of a desk review examining literature relevant to youth in the Democratic Republic of Congo across a multitude of sectors: education, economic opportunity, civic engagement, health, conflict and stabilization, humanitarian assistance, and positive youth development; and 2) a rapid field assessment activity in which research teams held focus group discussions with more than 150 youth between the ages of 18 and 24 who represented different youth segments.

**Cross-Sectoral Youth Assessment: Ethiopia**This assessment and brief, commissioned by USAID/Ethiopia, aims to better understand the status and aspirations of Ethiopian youth aged 15-29 as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. It explores assets and unmet needs of Ethiopian youth, institutional efforts to address these needs, evidence-based approaches to current youth development programming, and strategic guidance for the design and development of future programming.

**USAID Development Objective 2: Honduras Youth Assessment**This assessment and brief, commissioned by USAID/Honduras, provides insights on identified aspirations and challenges among youth in Honduras and describes promising programs and structures that promote positive youth development (PYD) in Honduras, as well as recommendations for the future of PYD in Honduras.

**Liberia Youth Assessment**This cross-sectoral youth assessment and report, commissioned by USAID, uses a desk review and field visits to six priority counties to capture the experiences, aspirations, challenges, and assets of Liberian youth ages 15-35. The analysis uses a positive youth development lens to offer a snapshot of the youth experience across multiple sectors, including education and skills development, employment and entrepreneurship, agriculture, health, security, social engagement, and civic participation.

**Cross-Sectoral Youth Assessment: Kyrgyz Republic**This assessment and report, commissioned by USAID, provide information on the youth and youth initiatives in Kyrgyz Republic, the National Youth Policy, and youth development plans across the Kyrgyz Republic. This assessment uses a desk review, peer group discussion, and interviews to capture assets and challenges in the lives of Kyrgyz youth. It also describes promising programs and structures that promote positive youth development (PYD) in Kyrgyz Republic as well as recommendations for the future of PYD in Kyrgyz Republic.

**Rwanda Youth Assessment**This assessment and brief, commissioned by USAID/Rwanda, aims to better understand the status and aspirations of Rwandan youth aged 16-30 as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. It explores challenges and priorities of Rwandan youth with the goal of identifying opportunities to support youth and to engage them as participants, and beneficiaries, of Rwanda-owned development solutions.

**Cross Sectoral Youth Assessment: Somalia**This assessment and brief, commissioned by USAID/Somalia, aims to better understand the status and aspirations of Somalian youth aged 15-30 as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. The assessment also aims to assess models/approaches for implementation of evidence-based programming for adolescents and young people.

**Cross-Sectoral Youth Assessment: Armenia**This assessment and report, commissioned by USAID/Armenia, aims to better understand the status and aspirations of Armenian youth aged 15-29 as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. The assessment provides a detailed understanding of the drivers that motivate Armenian youth, identifies the obstacles or constraints that undermine their contributing to Armenia’s political, economic, and social well-being in a meaningful way, and describes opportunities to optimally support youth and engage them as participants, and beneficiaries, of sustainable Armenia-owned development solutions.

**What Works in Youth and Peace and Security**This document, created by YouthPower, seeks to identify best practices, bright spots, and possible opportunities for replication with a primary focus on preventing violent extremism/countering violent extremism.

**What Works in Youth and Health**This page, developed by YouthPower, provides a quick overview of available evidence related to multiple youth health topics, including reproductive health, mental health, substance abuse, enabling environments, and key populations.

**What Works in Youth and Agriculture, Food Security, and Nutrition**This page, developed by YouthPower, provides an overview of the current understanding of youth involvement in the agricultural sector in sub-Saharan Africa, constraints to youth engagement in agriculture, existing youth and agriculture programming, areas for future research, and assessment tools for youth in agri-food systems.

**What Works in Cross-Sectoral Skills for Youth**This page, developed by YouthPower, presents an overview of the existing evidence on how cross-sectoral skills, also known as “soft skills,” are perceived and valued by different stakeholders, the types of cross-sectoral skills that have the most impact in improving outcomes for youth across sectors, and promising practices in implementing and measuring skills-development interventions.

**What Works in Youth and Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance**This page, developed by YouthPower, includes resources that explain how democracy, human rights, and governance programs can assist young people in overcoming barriers to their political participation and transforming power structures to attain meaningful political influence. These resources provide guidance for structuring all types of assistance for youth political and civic participation.

**Asante Africa Foundation**This foundation focuses on educating East African youth by partnering with local communities to address the root causes preventing children from receiving quality education and to provide skills to help students apply their knowledge beyond the classroom to thrive in a global economy.

**Disabled Women Empowerment Center**This organization aims to encourage full participation, inclusion, and contribution of Nepali women with disabilities in the community, while facilitating programs to protect their rights, and to improve their social, political, educational, economic and psycho-social status.

**The Dream Factory Foundation**This organization empowers youth in South Africa from marginalized and underprivileged backgrounds to transition successfully into adulthood and contribute to society.

**Kibera Community Empowerment Organization**This organization’s youth-led Young Mothers Incubation program provides a safe space for young mothers in Kibera, Kenya living with disabilities and those who have been subjected to stigma, discrimination, and sexual abuse.

**Safeplan Uganda**This youth-founded organization aims to empower young people in Uganda through skills and awareness training to increase their ability to find employment.

**The Biz Nation**This organization’s Young Women Productive Education Program provides young women in underserved communities in the Caribbean cost in Colombia with computers and free internet access as well as entrepreneurship, innovation, and vocational training.

**Visionaria Network**This program combines hands-on learning and a “visionaria” (female visionary) mindset to empower young people to develop and enact their own visions for sustainable development projects in their communities.

**Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia, Tajikistan**This organization seeks to conduct research on the impact of local and international efforts in youth civic engagement and peacebuilding by identifying boosters and barriers to youth participation, the impact of youth participation on peacebuilding and preventing violent extremism, and the contextual factors that affect the impact of such projects and what can be scaled up.

**Youth Choosing Peace: Comparative Research in Northern Mali**This study will examine youth engagement in peacebuilding and conflict in Mali’s Bourem-Inaly and Lafia, two communes with very different dynamics regarding youth participating in peacebuilding and conflict, with the goal of gaining transferable approaches for youth engagement in peacebuilding across contexts.

**UNOY Peacebuilders**This youth-led participatory action research documents and examines young people’s roles in peacebuilding activities in Afghanistan, Libya, Sierra Leone, and Colombia and studies the factors that enable or constrain these roles.

**Equal Access International**This grant will research the relationship between empowerment and radicalization in Nigeria’s northern youth population. It will aim to reframe the current understanding of youth radicalization, empowerment, agency, and self-actualization in social change, peacebuilding, and positive youth development work.

**Mercy Corps**This organization’s program GRL Power aims to equip adolescent girls with the skills to conduct research on their own research topics that impact their lives and to share these learnings with INGOs, national NGOs, UN agencies, the Jordanian government, and universities.

**Waves for Change**This grant will help the South Africa-based Waves for Change Surf Therapy program develop a framework for a gender-sensitive program design, allowing staff to improve gender norms through this community-led initiative in an area where locals believe girls cannot do the same things as boys.

**Education Development Center, Inc.: Identifying Cross-Cutting Non-Cognitive Skills for Positive Youth Development**This grant aimed to improve understanding of how mismatches in youth’s and stakeholders’ perceptions of soft skills, as well as gendered perceptions of soft skills, can affect a youth’s employment or education outcomes.

**JA Worldwide**This grant, in partnership with JA Worldwide's global network, worked with six young people to create a set of videos that document the experiences of participants in the grantee’s program that engages high-school-aged students in organizing and operating an actual business.

**Komo Learning Centres: KLC Youth-Led Club Documentary Project**This grant produced nine videos detailing the concept, activities, challenges, and lessons learned of the grantee’s Youth-Led Club.

**Restless Development USA: Inspire, Influence and Inform: A Video Series Highlighting Young People’s Role in Positive Youth Development Programs**This grant supported the creation of a video series featuring the perspectives and experiences of young people in three countries across Africa and South Asia that address the benefits, impacts, best practices, and challenges of youth engagement.

**Technical Brief: Making the Pitch for Youth Engagement**This technical brief provides tips gathered from members of the YouthPower Youth Engagement Community of Practice for pitching meaningful and ongoing youth engagement to different actors.

**Six Tips for Increasing Meaningful Youth Engagement in Programs**This recommendations included in this summary represent a synthesis of the feedback shared at a spring 2016 meeting of the YouthPower Youth Engagement Community of Practice, in which group members brainstormed answers to the question, “what are the key components of youth engagement in programs?”

**Measuring Youth Engagement Guidance for Monitoring and Evaluating Youth Programs**This resource provides a list of possible ‘targets of measurement’ that could be adapted for measuring engagement of youth in programs, community groups, and governing bodies.

**Youth Engagement Measurement Guide**This resource from YouthPower provides an overview of the importance of youth engagement, describes youth engagement measurement and youth engagement indicators, addresses how youth can be involved in youth engagement monitoring and evaluation, and provides a list of additional resources.

**YouthPower Learning Brief: Promising Practices in Engaging Youth in Peace and Security and PVE/CVE**This document, created by YouthPower Learning's Community of Practice for Youth in Peace and Security, seeks to identify best practices, bright spots, and possible opportunities for replication with a primary focus on preventing violent extremism/countering violent extremism (PVE/CVE).

**PYD Approaches to Mitigate Sexual Violence and Coercion Among Adolescents: Building Choice, Voice, and Agency for Prevention and Response**This brief highlights examples of successful programs aimed at reducing the occurrence of sexual coercion and force and describes strategies for responding to these issues. It also discusses how the impact of sexual coercion could be reduced by building assets, especially social skills, agency, and youth empowerment, as a part of positive youth development (PYD) programs.

**Does Your Program Reflect Gender-Transformative or Positive Youth Development Practices? A Checklist**This checklist aims to help development practitioners who want to ensure their programs incorporate good practices for gender-transformative and positive youth development programming.

**Technical Brief: Measuring Youth Competencies Across Contexts: Lessons From Implementers on How to Adapt Soft Skills Measurement Tools**This technical brief, developed by YouthPower Learning's Community of Practice on Cross-Sectoral Skills, gathers and synthesizes lessons learned from implementers’ experiences adapting soft skills measurement tools in diverse geographic and cultural contexts through a brief scan of the literature and three implementer case studies.

**Learning Agenda for Positive Youth Development**The purpose of this learning agenda is to define priority questions in the field of positive youth development in low and middle-income countries and provide collective guidance for a common agenda to address evidence gaps and invest in evidence-building activities related to positive youth development.

**youthlead.org**YouthLead is a free, membership-based network intended for young global changemakers between the ages of 15 and 35 to connect with like-minded youth, mentors, resources, and events. Member information and discussion groups are available to registered YouthLead members only. Both changemakers and non-changemakers (i.e., non-members) can access the website’s public resources, including information about social and entrepreneurial programs in various communities; grants, scholarships, and other opportunities for funding projects; global networking events; and user submitted resources in the Learning Hub.

**Youth Compass: A Strategic Guide to Strengthen Youth Activities**This guide describes Youth Compass, a tool used by USAID to achieve the intended results of a youth activity, bring those results to scale, and sustain them. The tool can help analyze the weaknesses of an activity and identify, and implement, opportunities to strengthen it.

**Youth in Research: Youth Speak Program in Morocco** (PDF, 209 pages)This quick start guide, developed with support from USAID and the Moroccan Ministry of National Education, provides an overview of Youth Speak, a program created to reduce dropout among middle school students in Morocco. It includes information on the foundational principles, implementation, and activities of the program.

**Youth Leadership: Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI)**This program, supported through a partnership of USAID and private sector companies, civic organizations, NGOs, and national and regional public sector entities, aims to build the leadership skills and entrepreneurship of African youth.

**Peace Corps**

**Life Skills and Leadership Manual** (PDF, 400 pages)This manual aims to help Peace Corps Volunteers, and their counterparts who work with youth worldwide, to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes integral to three youth in development sector competencies: 1) support healthy lifestyles and prepare youth for family life, 2) prepare youth for work, and 3) engage youth as active citizens.

**Health and HIV Life Skills Manual**This manual arms Corps Volunteers to work with their communities to support youth in building important life skills for sexual and reproductive health as well as HIV/AIDS mitigation.

**Youth Clubs Toolkit**This toolkit provides guidance, checklists, and tools to support Peace Corps volunteers in the implementation and improvement of quality youth clubs.

**Youth Camps Manual: GLOW and Other Leadership Camps**This manual guides volunteers in the planning and implementation of Camp GLOW and other leadership camps. The guide provides a timeline for planning, ideas to expand sustainability and impact, sample camp activities, counselor training information, and related resources.

**Youth Mentoring Workbook**This workbook aims to help Peace Corps Volunteers foster and maintain mentoring relationships with youth in their community, while structuring and guiding those relationships toward evidence-based outcomes.

**Youth Livelihoods: Employability**This training is designed to be delivered by Peace Corps volunteers to youth and young adults who want to learn about employability. The training addresses seeking, interviewing for, and securing a job and navigating the world of work.

**Peace Corps Knowledge Hub**This virtual library allows Peace Corps staff and volunteers to share and access agency and community-authored resources.

**Additional Federal Resources**

**School Connectedness: Strategies for Increasing Protective Factors Among Youth**This publication identifies six strategies that teachers, administrators and other school staff, and parents can implement to increase the extent to which students feel connected to school.

**Positive Youth Development Measurement Toolkit: A Practical Gudie for Implementors of Youth Programs** (PDF; 124 pages)This toolkit offers practical strategies for collaborating with youth. It includes information on partnering with youth, the purpose of PYD, glossary of PYD language, strategies for implementing PYD in an organization, and sample focus group questions to solicit youth input.

**Reconnecting Youth and Community: A Youth Development Approach (PDF; 59 pages)**This resource focuses on how communities can shift from a problem-focused approach to serving youth to a community-youth involvement model that captures the talents, abilities, and worth of youth.

**Non-Federal Resources**

**Core Principles of Engaging Youth People in Community Change**This report from the Forum for Youth Investment aims to help organizations empower youth, especially those least like to succeed without help, to drive powerful and positive community change.

**PYD 101 Online Courses**This series of short courses introduces positive youth development to professionals new to youth work, volunteers, and advocates.

**Achieving Authentic Youth Engagement: Core Values & Guiding Principles**This two-page fact sheet, developed by the Jim Case Youth Opportunity Initiative, presents three core values and related guiding principles for developing successful partnerships between young people and adults.

**Youth Lead the Change: Participatory Budgeting**This report examines the work of Youth Lead the Change: Participatory Budgeting Boston, a program that enables young people from across the city to suggest ideas for capital projects.

**2007 CFSR Toolkit for Youth Involvement – Engaging Youth in the Child Family Service Review** (PDF, 51 pages)This toolkit offers practical strategies for collaborating with youth on the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR), an extensive review of state child welfare systems by the federal government. It includes information to keep in mind when partnering with youth, feedback forms and de-briefing strategies, and strategies for implementing surveys and conducting focus groups.

**Youth Collaboration Toolkit**Developed as a partnership between the National Youth Forum on Homelessness and the True Colors Fund, this toolkit aims to promote authentic partnership with young people receiving services and the affirming adults in their lives. It describes practical tips, scenarios, and strategies that can ensure young people are authentically engaged in the decisions that directly impact them and provides concrete steps to identify and address barriers to authentic collaboration.

**Youth Development and Leadership in Programs**This brief developed by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth describes how administrators and policymakers can create programs that serve all youth, including youth with disabilities.

**Center for Collaborative Action Research**The Center for Collaborative Action Research links educators, researchers, and community members with the goal of creating a deep understanding of educational problems within the school context and to encourage evidence-based reasoning to solve these problems.

**Engaging Youth in Work Experiences**This Innovative Strategies Practice brief provides practical examples and resources used by promising and exemplary youth programs that engage youth in work experiences. The youth programs featured in this brief have been recognized as Innovative Strategies by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth.

**Improving Public Health through Youth Development**This supplement to the *Journal of Public Health Management and Practice* (November 2006) presents and discusses youth development approaches in the context of public health programs. The purpose of the supplement is to acquaint public health practitioners with the basic concepts of youth development and to provide guidance on how to put these concepts into practice.

**Participatory Evaluation with Young People** (PDF, 52 pages)This guide provides tools and learning activities to use in a community to practice participatory evaluation, including evaluation questions, steps in the process, methods of gathering information, and strategies for creating change.

**Youth-Adult Partnerships in Evaluation (Y-AP/E)** (PDF, 48 pages)This resource guide is intended to help translate research into practice by identifying the most important “leverage points” that have come out of more recent research on youth participatory research and Y-AP in evaluation. Several tip sheets are provided that cover topics such as understanding the fundamentals of evaluation research, preparing for the most significant challenges of Y-AP/E, and creating a supportive organizational culture for Y-AP/E.

## Other Resources on this Topic

### Agencies 

                          - AmeriCorps
                          - AmeriCorps
                          - National Institute of Food and Agriculture

### Announcements 

                          - 2023/2024 Prevention Resource Guide
                          - Building Staff Co-Regulation to Support Healthy Relationships in Youth: A Guide for Practitioners
                          - Department of Justice Awards More Than $136 Million to Support Youth and Reform the Juvenile Justice System
                          - Department of Justice Awards Nearly $105 Million to Protect Children from Exploitation, Trauma, and Abuse
                          - Domestic Violence Awareness Month
                          - Help Youth Reach their Full Potential during National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month (NTPPM)
                          - Justice Department Announces $21.72 Million to Reduce Sexual and Domestic Violence on Campus, Support Children and Youth, and Engage Men and Boys as Allies
                          - Measuring Co-Regulation: A Draft Tool for Observing Educators in Youth-Serving Programs
                          - National Adoption Month 2022
                          - NCER Awards Three Additional Education Research Grants
                          - Observance: 2023 National Adoption Month
                          - OJJDP’s Fiscal Year 2021 Discretionary Awards Total Nearly $344 Million
                          - Permanency for Youth on Their Own Terms
                          - Redesigned National Adoption Month Website
                          - Report: Building Co-Regulation Capacity to Support Positive Development for Youth with Foster Care Experience
                          - Report: Dual Language Programs
                          - Report: Partnerships to Align Education and Careers
                          - Report: Promoting Healthy Futures: Afterschool Provides the Supports Parents Want for Children’s Well-Being
                          - Report: Surgeon General’s Advisory on Protecting Youth Mental Health
                          - Report: Youth Apprenticeship in the United States
                          - Resource: 2022 Adoption Month Outreach Toolkit
                          - Resource: A Look Inside Sharing Power in Child Welfare: A Podcast
                          - Resource: A Tool for Youth Engagement and Empowerment
                          - Resource: Activate: The Center to Bring Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Research to Youth-Supporting Professionals
                          - Resource: Advances in Supporting Kinship Caregivers — Part 5  Agencies and departments: Department of Health and Human Ser
                          - Resource: AFFIRM Caregiver: Affirmative Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Caregivers of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning (LGBTQ+) Populations
                          - Resource: Affirming and Supporting LGBTQ Children and Youth in Child Welfare
                          - Resource: Ask Youth Challenge
                          - Resource: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
                          - Resource: Behavioral Health Beneficiary Survey
                          - Resource: Biliteracy Seals in a Large Urban District in New Mexico: Who Earns Them and How Do They Impact College Outcomes?
                          - Resource: Building Infrastructure for Surveillance of Adverse and Positive Childhood Experiences: Integrated, Multimethod Approaches to Generate Data for Prevention Action
                          - Resource: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Investments in Adverse Childhood Experience Prevention Efforts
                          - Resource: Change and Implementation in Practice
                          - Resource: Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs) Webpage
                          - Resource: Child Exploitation  
                          - Resource: Co-Regulation in Human Services
                          - Resource: Co-Regulation in Practice Series -- Strategies for Practitioners Who Serve Youth Aged 14-24
                          - Resource: Co-regulation: What It Is and Why it Matters Video
                          - Resource: Comprehensive Systems Integration for Adolescent and Young Adult Health (CSI-AYAH)
                          - Resource: Conducting Implementation Research in Impact Studies of Education Interventions
                          - Resource: Dear Adult Leaders: #ListenToYouth
                          - Resource: Dear Colleague Letter on Addressing the Impacts of Parent and Caregiver Loss on Children
                          - Resource: Dear Colleague Letter: End to Corporal Punishment in Schools
                          - Resource: Department of Justice Awards Nearly $105 Million To Protect Children From Exploitation, Trauma and Abuse
                          - Resource: Developing a Graduate Mental Health Internship Program
                          - Resource: Diversity, Racial Equity, and Inclusion in Child Welfare: Our Shared Vocabulary 
                          - Resource: Encouraging Families to Visit a Literacy Website: A Randomized Study of the Impact of Email and Text Message Communications
                          - Resource: Essentials for Parenting Teens
                          - Resource: Factsheet on Improving Access and Care for Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Conditions
                          - Resource: Family-Based Justice Center
                          - Resource: Family-Based Justice Center
                          - Resource: Financial Literacy Activities
                          - Resource: Good Behavior Game
                          - Resource: Guides for How to Incorporate Coregulation with Older Youth in Foster Care
                          - Resource: Guiding Principles on School Discipline
                          - Resource: Having the Normalcy Conversation
                          - Resource: Health Equity Guiding Principles for Inclusive Communication
                          - Resource: Healthy Native Youth Community of Practice Sessions
                          - Resource: How to Help Children and Teens Manage Their Stress
                          - Resource: Interactive e-learning Tool for Strengths Conversations
                          - Resource: Interconnecting Mental Health and Behavioral Support Improves School Safety
                          - Resource: It’s All Relative: Supporting Kinship Care Discussion Guides and Video Series
                          - Resource: Judicial Leadership for Community-Based Alternatives to Juvenile Secure Confinement
                          - Resource: LGBTQ+ Youth Engagement Virtually and In-Person
                          - Resource: Maintaining Cultural Connections  
                          - Resource: National Guidelines for Child and Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Care
                          - Resource: Newly-Redesigned YE4C
                          - Resource: One-Fifth of Young Adults Have Tried Prescription Drugs Off-Script
                          - Resource: Our Goals, Our Lives Video Series
                          - Resource: PAF Program Videos
                          - Resource: Parenting Your Adopted Teenager
                          - Resource: Permanency Planning with Youth
                          - Resource: Planning Tool for Youth Engagement
                          - Resource: Podcast Series: Collecting Data on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression
                          - Resource: Practical Guide for Implementing a Trauma-Informed Approach
                          - Resource: Practical Measurement for Continuous Improvement in the Classroom: A Toolkit for Educators
                          - Resource: Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Training
                          - Resource: Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Online Training for Faith, Spiritual, and Religious Communities
                          - Resource: Preventing Childhood Adversity Through Economic Support and Social Norm Strategies
                          - Resource: Preventing Youth Hate Crimes & Identity-Based Bullying Fact Sheet
                          - Resource: Prevention Profiles: Take Five - Jeff Coady, Psy.D.
                          - Resource: Probation Reform: A Toolkit for State Advisory Groups (SAGs)
                          - Resource: Problematic Sexual Behavior of Children and Youth (PSB-CY): Clinical Assessment and Treatment Overview Training Courses New Online Training Courses to Address Youth with Problematic Sexual Behavior
                          - Resource: Promoting Resilience and Emotional Health for Children, Youth, & Families with Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs)
                          - Resource: Reconnecting Youth Project
                          - Resource: Red Ribbon Patch Program
                          - Resource: Reducing Homelessness Among Young People Transitioning from Foster Care
                          - Resource: Reimagining School Safety: A Guide for Schools and Districts
                          - Resource: Resilience, Opportunity, Safety, Education, Strength (ROSES) Program
                          - Resource: Responding to the Current Youth Mental Health Crisis and Preventing the Next One
                          - Resource: Responding to Types of Child Abuse or Neglect
                          - Resource: Seed Sisters 4 Part “Strong Roots” Series, Part 1
                          - Resource: Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress Series
                          - Resource: Services to Support Children Living in Kinship and Nonrelative Foster Care 2008-2009
                          - Resource: Social Development
                          - Resource: Social Influencers of Health and Education Needs Assessment: A Pathway for School Health and Mental Health Professionals
                          - Resource: Standing Together to Prevent Bullying
                          - Resource: Starter Guide: Trauma-Informed Care for Adolescents in Primary Care
                          - Resource: State Survey Analysis
                          - Resource: Strategies for Involving Parents in School Health
                          - Resource: Strengthening Kinship Care and Prioritizing Equitable Support for Kinship Caregivers
                          - Resource: Strengthening Kinship Care and Prioritizing Equitable Support for Kinship Caregivers
                          - Resource: Substance Use Treatment Programs
                          - Resource: Suicide Prevention Resource for Action
                          - Resource: Support for Prosecutors Who Work with Youth
                          - Resource: Supporting and Responding to Students’ Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Needs: Evidence-Based Practices for Educators
                          - Resource: Supporting Decision Making Recording
                          - Resource: The National Partnership for Student Success
                          - Resource: Tip Sheets on Everyday Parenting Topics
                          - Resource: Tobacco-Free Schools Toolkit
                          - Resource: Toolkit for Embracing a "Youth Welfare" System: A Guide to Capacity Building
                          - Resource: Transporting Students Experiencing Homelessness
                          - Resource: Trauma-Informed Care and Fostering Resilience Video Collection
                          - Resource: Trends in Youth Arrests for Violent Crimes
                          - Resource: U.S. Outlying Area Public Schools’ Experiences with COVID-19 - September 2022
                          - Resource: U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection
                          - Resource: Using Federal Funds for Summer Learning and Afterschool: A Guide for Providers, School Districts, and Intermediaries
                          - Resource: Voices of Young Workers
                          - Resource: What Does an Effective Support System Look Like?
                          - Resource: Why are Drugs So Hard to Quit?
                          - Resource: Working Virtually With Families of LGBTQ+ Youth.
                          - Resource: Working with Military Families as They Pursue Adoption of Children and Youth
                          - Resource: Youth Acceptance Project
                          - Resource: Youth Advisory Councils
                          - Resource: Youth Development Across the Federal Government: A Thought Leader Conversation with Cheri Hoffman
                          - Resource: Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM) Toolkit
                          - Resource: Youth Reentry and Family Engagement
                          - Resource: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System 2021 Data
                          - Resource: Youth Voices
                          - Second Chance Month: April 2023
                          - Self-Regulation Training Approaches and Resources to Improve Staff Capacity for Implementing Healthy Marriage Programs for Youth (SARHM): Final Report
                          - Share with Youth: Federal Internship Portal
                          - Share with Youth: Internships at the Executive Office of the President (EOP)
                          - Share with Youth: NASA Internship Programs
                          - Share with Youth: Substance Use Prevention Resources for Youth and College Students
                          - Share with Youth: U.S. Department of State (DOS) Student Internship Program
                          - Share with Youth: Where to Next? Exploring STEM Careers
                          - U.S. Department of Education Creates National Parents and Families Engagement Council to Help Ensure Pandemic Recovery Efforts Meet Students’ Needs
                          - Webinar Recording: Building Parent Leadership and Power to Support Faster, Lasting Reunification and Prevent System Involvement
                          - Webinar Recording: Don’t Leave Us Out: Tapping ARPA for Older Youth
                          - Webinar Recording: Empowering Youth Finding Points of Connection
                          - Webinar Recording: Public Health and STEM with the CDC
                          - Webinar Recording: Social Science Research and the Mental Health Crisis in Minority Youths and Adolescents
                          - Webinar Recording: Supporting Students in Effective Transitions
                          - Webinar: Participatory Systems Change for Equity: Centering Community Wisdom and Collective Action to Transform Child-, Youth-, and Family-Serving Systems
                          - Well-Being on Campus: The Role of Collegiate Recovery Programs
                          - Youth Partnership: A Call to Action for State Advisory Groups (SAGs)
                          - Youth Voices Have Moved to YE4C

### Collaboration Profiles 

                          - About the Program
                          - Iowa Collaboration for Youth Development (ICYD) Council
                          - National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS)
                          - Navicate
                          - Partnership for Results
                          - Promise Neighborhoods
                          - Second Chances - Norfolk, VA Sheriff's Office
                          - USDA and the Military: Positive Youth Development
                          - Youth ChalleNGe Program
                          - Youth M.O.V.E. National: Making a Difference through Youth-Adult Partnerships
                          - Youth M.O.V.E. National: Making a Difference through Youth-Adult Partnerships
                          - YouthGo.gov

### Departments 

                          - 4-H Military Partnerships
                          - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

### Feature Articles 

                          - A Positive Youth Development Research Agenda
                          - Adventure Central
                          - AmeriCorps NCCC: Strengthening Communities and Developing Leaders
                          - Archived Webinar: Youth Don’t Need to Be Fixed: Strategic Framing for Messaging on PYD
                          - Call for Nominations: Youth Listening Session
                          - Engineering students mentor at middle school with STARBASE
                          - Healthy Youth Development through Self-Regulation and Co-Regulation
                          - How much do you know about...4-H and Positive Youth Development?
                          - Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs Develops Common Language on Positive Youth Development
                          - Just Launched! Redesigned YE4C
                          - Minnesota's Support Systems for Rural Homeless Youth Program
                          - National Youth Listening Tour
                          - Pathways for Youth: Strategic Plan for Federal Collaboration
                          - Portland Kids Learn about Life and Basketball at the Hoopin' It Up Camp
                          - Promoting Positive Adolescent Health Behaviors and Outcomes: Thriving in the 21st Century
                          - Reports and Recommendations for Core Components
                          - Resources to Support Youth Who Have Lost a Caregiver
                          - SAMHSA’s Guidance — Strategies, Tools, and Tips for Supportive and Meaningful Youth Engagement in Federal Government-Sponsored Meetings and Events
                          - Secretary Duncan Hosts First Meeting with National Council of Young Leaders
                          - The Changing Transition to Adulthood: A TAG Talk
                          - The CITY Project
                          - The Crisis of Connection for Adolescent Boys: A TAG Talk
                          - The Power of the Adolescent Brain: A TAG Talk
                          - Washington State Youth Take Civic Activism To New Level
                          - YE4C Accepting Applications for the Editorial Board
                          - YE4C Responds to Current Events Affecting Youth
                          - Youth Engaged 4 Change
                          - Youth Speakers Share Their Hopes for the Future

### Programs 

                          - 21st Century Community Learning Centers
                          - 4-H Afterschool
                          - 4-H Youth Development Program
                          - Administration for Native Americans
                          - Children, Youth, and Families at Risk
                          - Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB)
                          - National 4-H Headquarters
                          - National Guard Youth Challenge Program
                          - Neighborhood Networks
                          - Passport in Time
                          - Preserve America Stewards
                          - Promise Neighborhoods
                          - YouthBuild

### Publications 

                          - Advancing the Self-Sufficiency and Well-Being of At-Risk Youth: A Conceptual Framework
                          - Communication Skills Building for Parents of Preteen Girls
                          - Framework for Advancing the Well-being and Self-Sufficiency of At-Risk Youth
                          - Learn More About Positive Youth Development
                          - Make a Friend-Be a Peer Mentor
                          - NCFY Voices: The Youth Dreamers Think Big
                          - PEPNet: Connecting Juvenile Offenders to Education and Employment
                          - Public/Private Ventures' Evaluation of Faith-Based Programs
                          - Synthesis of Research and Resources to Support at-Risk Youth
                          - The Effective Management of Juvenile Sex Offenders in the Community
                          - The Guide to Community Preventive Services
                          - The Revolution of Responsibility

### Resources 

                          - 2015-2016 E3! Ambassadors
                          - Community Youth Mapping: A Tool for Youth Participation and Program Design
                          - Resource: SAMHSA’S Youth Engagement Guidance
                          - Six Tips for Increasing Meaningful Youth Engagement in Programs
                          - Six Ways to Successfully Engage Youth in Peacebuilding
                          - Young AAPI Leaders Convene for the Fifth White House AAPI Youth Forum
                          - Youth Advisory Councils
                          - Youth Engagement Community of Practice
                          - Youth Engagement in Development: Effective Approaches and Action-Oriented Recommendations for the Field

### Technical Assistance 

                          - Cooperative Extension System
                          - National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health
                          - Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Centers
                          - Underage Drinking Training Center
                          - You For Youth

### Tools & Guides 

                          - 10 Things Americans Can Do to Combat Summer Reading Loss and Childhood Obesity
                          - 3 Bold Steps for School Community Change
                          - AmeriCorps: National Mentoring Month
                          - Children, Youth, and Families Education and Research Network
                          - National Service-Learning Clearinghouse
                          - Putting Positive Youth Development Into Practice: A Resource Guide
                          - Resource:  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Youth Engagement Guidance
                          - Resource: Top 10 Tips for Engaging with Young People
                          - Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Centers - Community of Practice
                          - Share with Youth: Game Changers: Establishing a Youth Advisory Council
                          - Youth Leadership Toolkit: Branding and Logos
                          - Youth Leadership Toolkit: Member Outreach
                          - Youth Leadership Toolkit: Strategic Sharing
                          - Youth Leadership Toolkit: Travel Guide
                          - Youth Leadership Toolkit: Youth Engagement

### Training Resources 

                          - Introduction to Positive Youth Development

### Videos & Podcasts 

                          - International Day of the Girl
                          - Keep in Touch
                          - Resource: Youth Create!: A Collection of Youth-Created Content
                          - Webcast Archive: Make the Connection: How Positive Youth Development Offers Promise for Teen Health and Teen Pregnancy Prevention
                          - Youth Workers: When Did You Make the Biggest Difference in a Youth’s Life?

### Webinars & Presentations 

                          - Youth Development Across the Federal Government: A Thought Leader Conversation with Cheri Hoffman
                          - YouthPower Learning Webinar: Engaging Youth in Research
                          - YouthPower Learning Webinar: Makerspaces - A Tool for Youth Engagement

### Websites 

                          - Resource: YouthPower – What Works
                          - Families, Youth, and Communities
                          - Museums and Libraries: Engaging America's Youth
                          - National Mentoring Resource Center
                          - Positive Youth Development
                          - Resource: Money Lessons for Kids of All Ages Website
                          - Share with Youth: Create a “my Social Security” Account
                          - United We Serve
                          - YouthLead

### Youth Topics 

                          - Positive Youth Development

## Youth Briefs

How Individualized Education Program (IEP) Transition Planning Makes a Difference for Youth with Disabilities
Youth who receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) and especially young adults of transition age, should be involved in planning for life after high school as early as possible and no later than age 16. Transition services should stem from the individual youth’s needs and strengths, ensuring that planning takes into account his or her interests, preferences, and desires for the future.

Youth Transitioning to Adulthood: How Holding Early Leadership Positions Can Make a Difference
Research links early leadership with increased self-efficacy and suggests that leadership can help youth to develop decision making and interpersonal skills that support successes in the workforce and adulthood. In addition, young leaders tend to be more involved in their communities, and have lower dropout rates than their peers. Youth leaders also show considerable benefits for their communities, providing valuable insight into the needs and interests of young people

How Trained Service Professionals and Self-Advocacy Makes a Difference for Youth with Mental Health, Substance Abuse, or Co-occurring Issues
Statistics reflecting the number of youth suffering from mental health, substance abuse, and co-occurring disorders highlight the necessity for schools, families, support staff, and communities to work together to develop targeted, coordinated, and comprehensive transition plans for young people with a history of mental health needs and/or substance abuse.

Young Adults Formerly in Foster Care: Challenges and Solutions
Nearly 30,000 youth aged out of foster care in Fiscal Year 2009, which represents nine percent of the young people involved in the foster care system that year. This transition can be challenging for youth, especially youth who have grown up in the child welfare system.

Coordinating Systems to Support Transition Age Youth with Mental Health Needs
Research has demonstrated that as many as one in five children/youth have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Read about how coordination between public service agencies can improve treatment for these youth.

Civic Engagement Strategies for Transition Age Youth
Civic engagement has the potential to empower young adults, increase their self-determination, and give them the skills and self-confidence they need to enter the workforce. Read about one youth’s experience in AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).

## Main navigation

- Positive Youth Development
- Research Agenda
- Key Principles
- Integrating
- Culture Influences
- Involving Youth
- Assessing Youth Involvement & Engagement
- Youth Adult Partnerships
- Effectiveness
- References

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### Agencies

AmeriCorps Recognized for Using Evidence and Data to Invest Federal Resources in Programs that Work

AmeriCorps Recognized for Using Evidence and Data to Invest Federal Resources in Programs that Work

AmeriCorps Recognized for Using Evidence and Data to Invest Federal Resources in Programs that Work

### Announcements

Challenge America (Funding Opportunity)

Share with Youth: Become a We Think Twice Insider

Resource: Promoting Resilience and Emotional Health for Children, Youth, & Families with Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs)

### Collaboration Profiles

About the Program

Second Chances - Norfolk, VA Sheriff's Office

Iowa Collaboration for Youth Development (ICYD) Council

### Feature Articles

Healthy Youth Development through Self-Regulation and Co-Regulation

Resources to Support Youth Who Have Lost a Caregiver

YE4C Accepting Applications for the Editorial Board

### Publications

The Revolution of Responsibility

The Guide to Community Preventive Services

Synthesis of Research and Resources to Support at-Risk Youth

### Resources

Youth Advisory Councils

Youth Engagement in Development: Effective Approaches and Action-Oriented Recommendations for the Field

Six Ways to Successfully Engage Youth in Peacebuilding

### Youth Topics

Positive Youth Development