Work ethics, values, and attitudes cannot be learned through classroom style teaching-they must be learned through active participation. Create community partnerships. Youths should be involved in their community as volunteers to gain an understanding of their contributions to the betterment of society. Independence takes time. We need to promote service longevity, to serve longer when needed.
Programs serve youth better when they can provide meaningful aftercare and follow-up services.
Value individual strengths of the youth, their family, their culture, and their community. These strengths must not only be identified in service plans, but must be clearly evidenced in steps for achieving goals. All services should be individually and developmentally based, and youth must be reached in a way that matters to them. While some evidence suggests that abstinence education is developmentally appropriate for younger children and pre-teens, prior to their initiation of sexual intercourse, rigorous scientific evaluation remains necessary to determine how well abstinence education reaches those youth in the child welfare system, who are at high risk of premature sexual activity, teen pregnancy and STDs.