Youth Development is a guidepost for Youth Programs

On our website, NCWD/Youth takes an in-depth look at different topics concerning employment and youth with disabilities. The latest “HOT topic” is youth development, one of the guideposts for youth programs. Information on the other guideposts can be found in previous issues of this newsletter or in the Jump Starts section.

Effective youth leadership programs build on solid youth development principles, with an emphasis on those areas that support youth leadership. Youth Development and Leadership (Youth Development and Leadership) are important components of workforce development programs.

Programs that include youth development and leadership provide opportunities for young people to develop the attributes they need to be successful in the workplace such as responsibility, integrity, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills. Work preparation and work readiness skills are important, but personal qualities such as interpersonal relations, planning, and problem solving are also part of being an effective worker. Youth Development and Leadership programs provide many of the personal and social development pieces needed for youth to succeed.

Youth development and leadership are important components of effective youth programming. This is reflected in multiple parts of the Workforce Investment Act, including the youth portion of Title I and parts of Title IV, the Rehabilitation Act where there is an emphasis on effective youth practices such as adult mentoring and activities related to leadership, development, decision-making, citizenship, and community service. Adult mentoring and leadership development opportunities such as community service and peer-centered activities during non-school hours are, in fact, two of the ten WIA-required program elements.

Youth development is a process that prepares young people to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood through a coordinated, progressive series of activities and experiences which help them to become socially, morally, emotionally, physically, and cognitively competent. Youth leadership can be defined as both an internal and external process leading to (1) “the ability to guide or direct others on a course of action, influence the opinion and behavior of other people, and show the way by going in advance and (2) "the ability to analyze one's own strengths and weaknesses, set personal and vocational goals, and have the self-esteem to carry them out. It includes the ability to identify community resources and use them, not only to live independently, but also to establish support networks to participate in community life and to effect positive social change.

Check out details on Youth Development here.

Improving Learning for Struggling Students

With the right combination of practices, young people can turn their lives around. The second edition of National Youth Employment Coalition's Education Development Network self-assessment guide illustrates how caring adult support; schooling in smaller, less anonymous settings; leadership development; positive peer groups; and rigorous education and training coupled with work experience can make a difference. Free registration required.
http://www.nyec.org/EdStrategies.html