Contact Name
Barbara Dietsch
562-985-9488

Contact Email
bdietsc@WestEd.org

Amy J. A. Arbreton, Ph.D.
Public/Private Ventures

In order to address the needs of youth in high-risk communities, policymakers have tended to allocate funding for programs that focus on specific problems or a specific subset of youth (e.g., drug abusers, first-time offenders, pregnant teens) and provide remediation. Unfortunately, the programs instituted are often narrow, problem-focused and short term. The programs that have grown out of this narrow approach may work for their duration, but rarely have long lasting effects. P/PV and others have thus abandoned the expectation that "quick fixes" will result in long-term benefits. Our research and operational experience indicate, instead, that an adolescent's successful transition into adulthood depends on having a coordinated sequence of positive experiences (in particular, key developmental supports and opportunities) that are adequate in number, duration and intensity (Walker and Vilella-Velez, 1992; Smith and Gambone, 1991).

Voluntary youth-serving organizations (VYSOs) located in low-income communities represent a strong program model for provision of the type of youth development prevention and intervention strategies necessary to make a difference in the lives of at-risk youth. For decades, privately funded VYSOs such as Boys and Girls Clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Girls Incorporated, settlement houses, YMCAs and Police Athletic Leagues-to name just a few-have offered youth positive options for using their free time in supportive and safe environments. Rather than focusing on addressing the negative consequences of adolescent mistakes after they happen, VYSOs pursue a "youth development" premise: if young people are given the developmental tools needed to master the tasks of adolescence, fewer will make the serious mistakes and unhealthy choices whose consequences, in the end, require public intervention.

Advocates of this approach have won rather broad acceptance of it-in principle. But, in practice, funders and policymakers are struggling with how a developmental approach can be expanded at a time when funds for youth are shrinking relative to needs-and when the watchword for all social programs is "outcome accountability." The notion of a preventive approach that keeps young people on track is hard to dismiss; but the question of how to measure its success presents a serious challenge. It was in this context that P/PV designed a study of affiliates of three national youth organizations: Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Girls Incorporated and YMCA of the USA. The study is a first step toward defining the activities and experiences that contribute to youth development in such settings.

P/PV identified seven key developmental areas that comprise a youth development approach and are common to the missions of all three national organizations. Designation of the seven areas drew on past academic research in the field of youth development, previous studies conducted by or for the three organizations, and conversations with representatives of each organization about their goals for youth. The seven developmental areas are: safety, challenging and interesting activities, sense of belonging, supportive relationships with adults, involvement in decision-making, opportunities for leadership, and involvement in community.

The P/PV assessment found that in six of the seven defined areas, the majority of youth at each organization are deriving positive developmental experiences from their participation. (The exception is community service, an area in which the VYSOs offered few opportunities.)

Safety is another concern for urban youth in after-school hours, and about two-thirds of the youth felt the VYSO was as safe or safer than other places where they spend their time. Virtually all the sites monitor access to the facility, have rules about on-premises behavior, and forbid fighting and gang markings.

Challenging and interesting activities are offered by all the sites and were so defined by about 60 percent of the participants during the study period. The activities are changed every few months and include not only sports, but leadership training, environmental programs, computer training, arts, health education, community service, field trips and more. A sense of belonging, which was measured as the degree to which youth felt the VYSO is a comfortable place where their ideas are valued, was reported by about 60 percent of the youth. Factors that appeared to help youth feel they belong are staff whose ethnicity matches that of the participants, space for youth to meet for unstructured activities and "hanging out," and a variety of means for formal recognition of youths' accomplishments.

Supportive relationships with adults, which include advice about personal problems, help in emergencies, and just knowing what is going on in a young person's life, were experienced by at least two-thirds of the youth. The staff-to-youth ratios vary, but cluster around 1:15. Staff keep informed of participants' outside lives, seek out youth whose participation has fallen off, and make school visits and counseling referrals when problems occur.

Involvement in decision-making in relation to what, how and when they do things at the VYSO was experienced by about 60 percent of the youth. Many of the sites offer youth such opportunities as planning special events, setting goals or objectives for teams, and developing rules for tournament competition and lounge areas. In eight of fifteen sites, youth input also includes serving as board representatives, attending teen council rap sessions and developing rules for activity areas. Opportunities for leadership were frequent at all the sites. Youth were asked whether they had been in charge of an activity or had been in a helping role, and nearly three-fourths said they had. On average, serving on advisory or rules committees, being club officers, officiating at sports events, monitoring younger children, providing orientation for new members, running snack stands, serving as junior staff, team captains, newsletter editors or representative to outside groups.

The study found that the developmental benefits provided by these organizations seem to accrue to all youth-regardless of poverty or risk profiles. These organizations have shown that a developmental approach can attract a mix of youth without targeting or stigmatizing those from poor families, or those who engage in risk behaviors. This finding addresses the current policy debate about whether limited youth resources should target youth defined as "at risk." The approach of VYSOs presents an interesting alternative, one that serves both youth at risk and those who are not in a way that benefits both.

This article is adapted from the Public/Private Venture's report, Safe Havens: The Contributions of Youth Organizations to Healthy Adolescent Development, a project completed with support from five foundations-the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Pinkerton, Charles Hayden, James Irvine and Ford Foundations-and an anonymous donor.