Youth Development
Resources
The Center for Youth Development and Policy Research: Children and teens are at the heart of prevention work. Young people have a natural curiosity to learn and develop in healthy ways. At its best, prevention work supports this natural process of development. To learn more about youth development, this is a great place to get started.
Hawkins and Catalano research: David Hawkins and Richard Catalano have spent years researching risk and protective factors that predict certain behaviors. Their work has informed how many communities in the U.S. collect data and plan community interventions.
The mission of the Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing (FCYO) is to substantially increase the philanthropic investment in and strengthen the organizational capacities of youth organizing groups across the country.
The Forum for Youth Investment
National Institute of Mental Health: This brochure on the construction of the adolescent brain provides an easy-to-read summary of brain development and changes that take place during the teen years.
Search Institute: The more assets available to a child, the more likely he or she will engage in healthy behaviors and avoid risky teen behavior. The work of the Search Insitute is to measure 40 developmental assets and promote the availability of more of them.
Responsive Classroom: Schools and teachers have the ability to shape the school environment for their students. The Responsive Classroom can show you how to create conditions where children thrive.
Advocates for Youth
The BEST Initiative, a program of Health Resources in Action in Boston, provides training to youth workers and program managers who oversee youth development work.
The WestMOST network: One of the ways society supports healthy youth development is by providing quality out-of-school time programming. There are many before and after school and summer learning programs in western Massachusetts. The WestMOST network provides support and training to regional out-of-school time programs.