E TENSION College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Az1403h 04/07
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ARIZONA COOPERATIVE E TENSION College of Agriculture and Life Sciences AZ1403h 04/07 IDENTIFYING HIGH QUALITY YOUTH PROGRAMS Community Connections and Collaborations Borden, Stuart, Waits, Tessman, Lauxman, Strickland, & Norquest The University of Arizona Overview The purpose of this fact sheet is to introduce key principles including a range of underserved and at-risk populations to building effective community collaborations in order to with special needs. Combining the efforts of youth, families, increase the quantity and quality of youth programs. Youth, schools, and other organizations results in programs parents, and community members will be introduced to that focus on the whole person (Adger, 2001). Indirectly, strategies for establishing key community collaborations collaborations can provide the means for youth to achieve that will promote the positive development of all young academically through the development of competencies in people through the establishment of high-quality youth academic, social, emotional, vocational, civic, and physical programs. domains (Honig, et al., 2001). Collaborative efforts utilize the strengths of all the collaborators and develop strategies Introduction to achieve the goals of positive youth development Community collaborations provide young people with (McLaughlin, 2000). access to a full range of developmentally appropriate youth programs (Honig, Kahne, & McLaughlin, 2001). These Developing Effective Collaborations programs provide the support and opportunities necessary Establishing and sustaining collaborative efforts with and for youth to be able to fulfill their goals (Pittman, Irby, on behalf of young people requires communities to mobilize. Tolman, Yohalem, & Ferber, 2001). In a recent nationwide The first step is creating the conditions that encourage all poll, 94% of American voters agreed that there should be stakeholders (e.g., youth organizations, schools, families, organized after-school programming for youth to attend youth, and others) to work together. Four conditions that daily (Afterschool Alliance/Mott Foundation, 2004). A mobilize efforts to collaborate are: key element of a high-quality youth program is effective collaboration between community-based organizations, • Awareness that things need to change youth, families, other adults, and schools (U.S. Department • Knowledge of strategies needed to facilitate these of Education and U.S. Department of Justice, 1998). changes • Engagement of the entire community to implement Effective Collaboration is Key to High- the changes Quality Youth Programming • Commitment of all participants to make the necessary Schools and community-based youth development changes organizations have different missions but equivalent goals A second step in establishing effective collaboration to (Friedman & Bleiberg, 2002). “Community-based programs support and establish opportunities for youth requires the that are connected to the schools, not isolated from them, are implementation of community strategies. These strategies more likely to assist families and increase student learning include: strengthening the capacity of community adults and success” (Epstein, 2001, pg. 164). Collaboration helps organizations achieve goals that could not be achieved 8 Features of Positive Youth Development Settings separately by capitalizing on each organization’s assets, • Physical and Psychological Safety resources, and perspectives (Ashcraft, 2002). High-quality, equitable youth programs that are accessible to more youth • Appropriate Structure are enhanced when the resources of community-based • Supportive Relationships organizations are utilized in addition to the resources of the • Opportunities to Belong school system and other organizations (Pittman, Wilson- • Positive Social Norms Ahlstrom, & Ferber, 2003). • Support for Efficacy and Mattering Collaborations facilitate the creation of continuous • Opportunities for Skill Building comprehensive youth programming for youth of all ages, • Integration of Family, School, and Community Efforts (parents, families, primary caregivers, neighbors, and resolutions, political and cultural sensitivity, group employees) to provide support and opportunities for structure, team building, and clear roles and youth; reforming schools and other public institutions responsibilities. Group leaders must be able to and services affecting youth; increasing the number and work collectively with community members to quality of developmental activities for youth; and realigning successfully address the specific issue. Effective public policy and resources to support these community leadership is necessary in order to assure that diverse strategies. community members and organizations participate in the community group, ensuring broad community Creating Effective Community representation. Collaborations for Youth • Communication— improves group functioning and chances for success in the larger community. Programming The group must establish norms of communication, Youth-serving organizations, in conjunction with youth, including appropriate terminology and language. parents, and community members, must develop a shared A plan for ongoing internal communication must understanding of the needs of the young people in their also be determined (e.g., weekly phone calls, list- community. They must decide together what youth need in serves, teleconferencing, WebPages, email, and order to develop into healthy, self-sufficient, and involved other methods). The group should identify the key adults and how the community can best meet those community leaders who are critical to the identified needs. Through that collaborative process, they design issue and develop effective communication channels a youth development framework and how to translate to engage them. Further, the group should develop the framework into a vision for young people in their social marketing strategies to inform and gain support community (Larson, Eccles, & Gootman, 2004). from the larger community. To successfully address critical community issues requires • Research and Evaluation— the use of current an understanding of the process factors and contextual research and evaluation information will assist the factors that influence the ability of a community organization community group to identify, clarify, and prioritize to achieve their vision, mission, and outcomes . Once that current trends and issues in the community that understanding is realized, the community can begin to need to be addressed. The group must identify the implement the process factors and contextual factors into types of research and evaluation data they need to their community. address the identified issue. Reviewing the current data provides successful community models and Process Factors identify the internal components required reduces the duplication of efforts on a specific issue. of effective community groups. These “how to” factors An objective research and evaluation plan offers the address the skills needed to build effective community group the opportunity to analyze and assess the groups. Each factor covers a range of skills that impact the successful attainment of their goals. group process (Bergstrom, Clark, Hogue, Perkins, Slinski, • Sustainability— the ability of a community group & Associates, 1996). The six Process Factors are: to have an ongoing effort to continually address a • Understanding the Community— requires knowledge specific issue. Sustainability requires that systems of the people, culture, and their values and habits. be instituted in order to provide strategic planning; This understanding provides the foundation for short and long-term planning; sustained membership; the work of the community group (i.e., community and the generating of revenue, time, and human members and participating organizations). This resources. Further, it is important that a community broad understanding of the underlying values of group continually develop strategies that link the the community enhances the group’s ability to key community members and organizations in successfully address specific issues. order to ensure the integration, and eventually, the • Community Development— requires knowledge institutionalization of the group’s efforts within the of the attitudes and norms as well as the beliefs larger community. and values within the larger community. Further, a Contextual Factors identify the characteristics of the basis of trust must exist between the group and the external environment that influence the ability of the larger community; without trust as a basis, the group community group to successfully address the specific issue. will have difficulty moving forward in addressing This includes the physical settings, resources available the issue. Knowledge of community development in the community, and political atmosphere. Although prepares the group to position specific issues within a community group may be able to influence these the context of other community initiatives and, in characteristics, the group does not have control over these turn, successfully meet their goals. environments. The six Contextual Factors are: • Leadership within the Community— establishes • Connectedness— refers to the formal and informal norms of operation including protocols, conflict types of linkages between individuals who feel a bond 2 The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension with other individuals, between groups who share resources, and perspectives of the community as a whole.