Designing Professional Development for Youth Workforce Development

InfoBrief NATIONAL COLLABORATIVE ON WORKFORCE AND DISABILITY FOR YOUTH ISSUE 44 • AUGUST 2017

DESIGNING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUTH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION Youth service professionals in various settings across the United States are responsible for preparing youth and youth adults, ages 12 to 25, to be successful in employment, postsecondary education, and adult life. Whether they work in the public workforce development system or other public agencies (e.g., child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, health, disability services), in schools or postsecondary institutions, or for nonprofit organizations, they are often the “face” of their organizations. Young people frequently base their decisions about whether or not to engage with an organization on their relationship with one or more youth service professional. As a result, much rests upon their level of competence in connecting with and assisting youth through a critical period of their development.

While the transition from adolescence to adulthood is challenging for anyone, many youth face additional complications resulting from one or more of the following experiences: living in poverty, having Designing Professional Development for Youth Workforce Development ISSUE 44 • AUGUST 2017

low literacy skills, having one or more disabilities cy, funding priorities, and interventions; and (d) including mental health conditions, being home- demonstrates ongoing professionalization of less, being an English language learner, being the field. in the foster care system, being involved in the Efforts to improve program quality and outcomes juvenile justice system, etc. (Langford, Badeau, in youth services require attention to building & Legters, 2015; Osgood, Foster, & Courtney, and sustaining a qualified workforce of youth 2010). Given this is a critical yet demanding job service professionals (Starr & Gannett, 2016). for even the most experienced youth worker, are This raises the question—What can agencies these professionals adequately prepared and and organizations, as well as their funders (pub- supported to meet the demands and achieve lic and private), do to invest more in building the targeted outcomes? competencies and supporting growth among While much attention is paid to whether or not youth service professionals? youth programs and services are high-quality The National Collaborative on Workforce and and achieving outcomes, significantly less con- Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) has been sideration is given to ensuring that the profes- working for over 10 years on developing and sionals who work directly with youth day-to-day piloting strategies and resources to address in non-school settings have the competencies the professional development needs of youth they need to be effective. According to the Youth service professionals with a particular focus on Transition Funders Group (YTFG), “investments those working at the intersection of youth devel- that support enhanced and ongoing professional opment, workforce development, education, and development of those working with older youth disability services. The passage of the Work- and young adults are urgently needed” (Lang- force Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of ford, Badeau, & Legters, 2015, p.30). YTFG out- 2014 has elevated the importance of building lines several recommendations for supporting staff capacity to work collaboratively across sys- professional development including investing in tems, agencies, and organizations to plan, deliv- competency-based training to build expertise in er, and align workforce development, education, adolescent development, positive youth devel- and support services to youth and adults. Given opment, trauma, implicit bias, and effective in- WIOA’s increased priorities around achieving terventions. According to Baizerman and Roholt employment outcomes for disconnected youth (2016) professional development benefits youth and youth with disabilities, agencies and orga- workers and the field in four ways. Profession- nizations must ensure that the staff responsible al development (a) enhances the legitimacy of for serving youth and young adults are equipped youth work legally, socially, and politically and with the necessary competencies to serve these ensures that professional practice is up-to-date; populations effectively. (b) establishes youth workers as professionals to be taken seriously among other profession- This Info Brief describes strategies and consider- als; (c) legitimizes youth workers as spokesper- ations for designing and delivering professional sons for and with young people to affect poli- development for youth service professionals at

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the state and local levels. By highlighting strat- design and deliver professional development. egies, required resources, and lessons learned Where available, the overview includes data on from three different professional development professional development outcomes based on initiatives, this brief aims to inform the decisions participant and organizational feedback evalu- of organizations, agencies, and funders as they ations. consider how to invest in professional development efforts within the workforce development Strengthening Youth Systems system as well as other youth service systems through Cross-Agency Training— and program contexts. YSP/KSA Demonstration Project In 2013, NCWD/Youth partnered with three com- PROFESSIONAL petitively selected sites to conduct a demon- DEVELOPMENT IN ACTION stration and evaluation of professional development. The project aimed to demonstrate the Designing and delivering quality profession- components of high-quality professional devel- al development for youth service profession- opment in the workforce development system, als requires careful planning and implementa- to deliver high-quality training and technical as- tion in order to achieve the desired outcomes. sistance to youth service professionals (YSPs) Between 2013 and 2016, NCWD/Youth has across a variety of systems, and to evaluate field-tested various strategies as part of three the effects on YSPs’ competencies, individual professional development initiatives targeting and organizational practices, and organization- youth service professionals. All three initiatives al policies and culture. Each site consisted of involved delivering in-person group training us- a cross-agency partnership including at least ing content from the same curricula, the Youth three youth-serving agencies that committed to Service Professionals’ Knowledge, Skills, and working together to build their staff capacity and Abilities (YSP/KSA) training modules. The YSP/ improve youth outcomes within their geographic KSA training modules are a series of eight day- region. The lead agencies and their partners in long training curricula designed to develop core each site were: competencies that youth service professionals need to connect all youth, including those with ●● The Baltimore City Mayor’s Office disabilities, to opportunities for work, further of Employment Development, Youth education, and independent living. Some of Services Division (Baltimore, MD) led a the ways in which the three initiatives differed partnership with the Career Academy/ include how participants were selected for the Baltimore City Schools and the Housing training, who delivered the training, and how the Authority’s Successfully Moving Youth to training was integrated with other professional Work agencies. development activities and methods. ●● The City of Los Angeles Economic and The following overviews of each initiative high- Workforce Development Department light different approaches that can be used to (Los Angeles, CA) led a partnership with

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the Los Angeles Unified School District professional ethics. Los Angeles and Baltimore and the County Department of Children selected training in Assessment and Individual and Family Services. Planning; New York and Los Angeles selected ●● New York State Department of Labor training in Career Exploration and Preparation (Albany, NY) led a partnership with the strategies; and New York and Baltimore select- Office of Children and Family Services, ed training in Engaging Employers. In addition, Division of Juvenile Justice and Los Angeles participants received training in Opportunities for Youth, the New York Connecting to Community Resources; New York State Education Department, Office of received training in Program Design and Deliv- Adult Career and Continuing Education ery; and Baltimore received training in Commu- Services – Vocational Rehabilitation nication with Youth. (ACCES-VR) and the P-12 Office In order to build organizational capacity to deliv- of Special Education, and YOUTH er future training and support trainees, NCWD/ POWER!/Families Together in New York Youth also trained two staff per site to serve State, Inc. as “facilitators-in-training” to assist NCWD/ At the start of the project, NCWD/Youth worked Youth’s expert facilitators. The on-site facilita- with each cross-agency site to assess their tors-in-training were also responsible for pro- professional development needs and develop viding follow-up support to the trainees between shared goals and strategies for supporting pro- and after completion of the training sessions. fessional development. This planning phase in- Additionally each site partnered with a postsec- formed each site’s selection of four of the eight ondary institution to provide credits or a creden- YSP/KSA training modules relevant to their spe- tial for completing training. cific assessment results and goals. Each site In the post-training phase, the agency admin- developed an initial logic model outlining the istrators and trained staff from each site partic- outcomes they aimed to achieve through pro- ipated in technical assistance designed to sup- fessional development and corresponding staff port the trainees in applying what they learned and organizational practices they would focus to improve their work with youth. This included on improving to achieve the outcomes. This log- assisting the agency administrators with identi- ic model was revisited and refined following the fying ways to support staff in applying new skills training phase. and strategies gained through the training.

In the training phase, NCWD/Youth provided The third-party evaluation of the demonstration youth service professionals at each site with project focused on determining the quality, rel- four days of cross-agency training delivered evance, and effectiveness of the professional over a four-month period (one day of training per development. Training participants were asked month). All sites completed training on Knowl- to complete a pre-survey and a post-survey for edge of the Field, which covers foundational each training session in which they participated. theories, concepts, policies, best practices, and They also completed six-month and 12-month

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follow-up surveys to measure behavior chang- of confidence in their ability to support es in the year following the training. Additionally, employers providing work opportunities site administrators were interviewed prior to the to youth than prior to the training (95% first training and six and 12 months post-training. were confident or very confident post- The evaluation design utilized Donald L. Kirk- training compared to 83% pre-training). patrick’s (1994) Four Level Model for evaluating ●● More Los Angeles training participants professional development (Reaction, Learning, reported that they had a high degree Behavior, and Results). of confidence in their ability to create The evaluation indicates that the majority of work-based learning opportunities in the training participants across all three sites found community (75% were confident or very the training to be useful to their work and of high confident post-training compared to 44% quality (e.g., facilitation was engaging, training pre-training). content was well-organized) (Russell, 2016). ●● More New York training participants reported that they had a high degree of Measures of participant learning show that par- confidence in their ability to build youth’s ticipants’ confidence in their abilities and their employment seeking skills (88% were knowledge increased in many of the competen- confident or very confident post-training cies covered by the training delivered to their compared to 74% pre-training) site. A sample of specific post-training learning outcomes from the sites includes the following: Additionally, training participants from each site reported that they had increased confidence in ●● More Baltimore training participants their ability to assist youth with disabilities in reported that they had a high degree

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making decisions about disclosure –a skill im- they indicated that the cross-agency training as- portant to their becoming self-determined adults pect of the project allowed for the implementa- who are able to advocate for accommodations tion of new strategies and created the potential in employment and postsecondary education if for increased cooperation and collaboration in needed. the future, including that necessitated by the implementation of WIOA. The results from the six-month follow-up evaluation show a strong level of behavior change Developing Statewide Capacity to indicating that many participants consistently Implement Reform with a “Train- applied what they learned during the training. the-Trainer” Model Participants reported regularly using strategies (70%) and using resources (50%) from the train- In 2016, the Ohio Institute for Human Services ing in their individual practice as well as sharing (OIHS) and the Ohio Department of Job and knowledge gained (64%) from the training with Family Services’ Office of Human Services In- other staff in their agency, behaviors which are novations requested assistance from NCWD/ strong predictors of improved organizational ca- Youth with developing a strategy to build staff pacity. When asked about their organizations’ capacity across the state to implement Ohio’s support following the training, the majority of new Comprehensive Case Management and participants said they felt encouraged to apply Employment Program (CCMEP). With the goal what they learned and to improve practices cov- of assisting the “emerging workforce to prepare ered in the training. for and find meaningful employment,” the state of Ohio created “a new framework for serving The 12-month follow-up evaluation results in- low-income Ohioans ages 16 to 24, through an dicate a high degree of behavior change; the integrated intervention program that combines majority of respondents from each site report- the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ed regularly engaging in individual practices (TANF) program and the Workforce Innovation identified by their organizations as targeted out- and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth program” comes. When asked about organization-wide (Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, changes, many trainee respondents comment- 2016). The CCMEP is housed in the Office of ed on changes in organizational culture since Human Services Innovations within the Ohio the training, noting the improved communica- Department of Job and Family Services. tion between staff and program participants, empowerment of individual staff to do their job As part of the CCMEP’s new service model, with confidence, higher levels of sensitivity to case managers would be required to use new specific youth issues, and increased coaching assessment and individualized planning strat- and support from supervisors. Likewise, admin- egies to assist young adults with identifying istrators reported an increase in valuing and their employment and training needs and set- investing in ongoing professional development ting goals using an individual opportunity plan. rather than one-time training efforts. In addition, The plans would identify support that youth may

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need to obtain a high school credential, secure served the three pairs in their assigned regional a job, gain work experience, and obtain other team, provided detailed and individualized feed- supportive services (e.g., child care and trans- back, and collaborated with each pair (as well portation). Implementation of CCMEP would as individual trainers as needed) to construct a require significant changes in the roles and re- plan for on-going preparation and support. The sponsibilities of case managers, which would technical assistance and support for the Ohio necessitate training them on new practices and regional facilitators continued for three months procedures for serving youth. as they trained case managers throughout the state. Following an initial consultation about their professional development goals and needs, OIHS Participant evaluations were completed by 253 contracted with the Institute for Educational of the 570 training attendees. Of those who re- Leadership (IEL), which houses NCWD/Youth, sponded, 81 percent rated the overall quality of to plan and deliver a training of trainers project the training as very good or excellent, 85 percent using four of the YSP/KSA training modules. Ini- agreed or strongly agreed they would recom- tially, OIHS requested that NCWD/Youth deliv- mend it to a colleague, and 90 percent agreed er training to an estimated 700 case managers or strongly agreed that they gained knowledge across five regions of Ohio. Given the scale of and/or skills from the training that they can use training needed in a short-time frame, NCWD/ in their work. Many participants described that Youth proposed using a train-the-trainer mod- they planned to use what they gained from the el which would enable Ohio to develop its own training to better connect with clients, to devel- cadre of statewide training facilitators qualified op more comprehensive assessments of youth, to deliver the training in different regions of the and to better engage youth using new activities state. and tools. Several participants suggested the training should be provided to all case manag- In 2016, IEL worked with four members of the ers. YSP/KSA national cadre of facilitators to conduct the train-the-trainer event for 30 training facili- Developing a Professional Learning tators. The Ohio-based facilitators were paired Community through an Academy to form 15 co-facilitation teams that provided 35 Model training events across Ohio. A regional team of three co-facilitation pairs worked together to de- In 2014, IEL began a partnership with the DC liver the training for each of the five regions. To Alliance of Youth Advocates (DC AYA) to devel- support the ongoing quality of the Ohio-based op and facilitate the Youth Workforce Leaders facilitators, NCWD/Youth staff and the four na- Academy, a professional learning community for tional cadre members provided coaching to youth service professionals providing workforce the Ohio-based regional training teams on-site development services to youth ages 16 to 24 in during the first three-day set of trainings held in the District of Columbia. This partnership was each of the five regions in May. Each coach ob- established when IEL and DC AYA responded to

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a grant solicitation from the Community Foun- other entities that provide youth workforce de- dation for the National Capital Region’s Greater velopment services. The Academy uses mul- Washington Workforce Collaborative (GWWC). tiple strategies to facilitate professional devel- The Community Foundation had recently con- opment including in-person learning sessions ducted a quality program assessment and im- and email group discussions. In addition, they provement initiative led by the National Youth each complete the YSP/KSA assessment for Employment Coalition (NYEC) called the DC youth service professionals, develop an individ- PEPNet Collaborative. Through the initiative, ual professional development plan, implement a six nonprofit organizations engaged in training capstone project, and receive support from an on youth program quality standards, complet- alumni peer mentor. ed organization-wide quality self-assessments, During the monthly learning sessions, the cad- and developed quality improvement action re receives training on essential practices and plans (Ross & Thakur, 2014). At the conclusion considerations for designing and delivering of this initiative, GWWC sought to establish the high-quality youth workforce development pro- Youth Workforce Leaders Academy to address gramming. Training content drawn from the YSP/ the need for further professional development KSA training modules includes an overview of opportunities expressed by the organizations in- the national and local youth workforce develop- volved in the DC PEPNet Collaborative. ment landscape, youth rights and policies, youth IEL and DC AYA were strong counterparts for development and youth voice, quality program the task of developing the Academy. IEL provid- design and delivery, career exploration and ed expertise in youth workforce development workforce preparation strategies, assessment policies and best practices across the country and individualized planning, employer engage- as well as lessons from its long history of devel- ment, collaboration and connecting to commu- oping and facilitating professional development nity resources, and engaging families. IEL and and leadership programs. This paired well with DC AYA work together to identify and arrange DC AYA’s expertise on local policies, implemen- for national and local guest speakers who can tation challenges, and best practices as well as share their expertise and highlight practical ex- their position in the community as a respected amples on the monthly topic. champion for youth and youth service profes- The monthly sessions also consist of peer-led sionals. discussion and strategy sharing. The Acade- The Academy was designed to support the my’s professional learning community model growth and success of 15 professionals annual- provides a unique opportunity for participants to ly by engaging them in a year-long professional develop a strong network of peers from other development learning community. Competitive- local organizations and agencies. This affords ly selected through an application process, the opportunities for learning from each other and participants work for a diverse mix of nonprof- opens doors to building collaborations and bet- it organizations, schools, public agencies, and ter coordinating services to youth in the city.

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Participants regularly share new strategies and To measure results and inform continuous im- resources with other colleagues at their organi- provements, IEL conducts a final evaluation of zation, which enables the organizations to build the Academy each year by surveying the partic- broader staff capacity. ipants and their supervisors. In evaluations from the 2016 cadre, all participants indicated that By requiring each participant to complete a cap- the Academy helped them grow in most of the stone project, the Academy ensures that partic- targeted competencies. In their open-ended re- ipants apply their learning from the very start to sponses, many of the participants indicated that address organizational challenges or program they found the opportunities for networking and improvement goals. For example, one partic- building collaborative relationships to be espe- ipant’s project focused on improving transition cially valuable. One participant described the outcomes of youth aging out of the foster-care benefits of participating as follows: “Through the system by developing a career pathways pro- connections I’ve made with other youth work- gram model for their agency that would engage force professionals and the immense amount youth during the 9th and 10th grades in year- of resources, both tangible and intangible, I am round career awareness, career exploration, a much stronger, more aware, more thoughtful and career preparation activities. This type of professional. I have gained confidence in my project-based professional development pro- work and an amazing amount of knowledge, vides tangible benefits for the organizations, skills, and abilities that I didn’t have or didn’t which makes it worthwhile to give staff release know I had just a few months ago.” time to attend monthly sessions and other Acad- emy activities.

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REPLICATING greatest need of development. Regardless of the specific service system or authorizing leg- SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES islation, three sub-sets of competencies are FOR PROFESSIONAL particularly important for all youth service pro- DEVELOPMENT fessionals: 1) competencies for promoting pos- NCWD/Youth’s YSP/KSA Demonstration, State- itive youth development, 2) competencies for wide Train-the-Trainer Model, and Youth Work- facilitating career development with an empha- force Leaders Academy share the goal of in- sis on promoting informed decision-making and creasing the quality and effectiveness of youth providing work-based learning opportunities, workforce development services by providing and 3) competencies necessary to effectively group training and peer-to-peer learning oppor- address the emotional and behavioral develop- tunities to youth service professionals. By re- ment needs and challenges (including trauma) viewing each of these efforts, it is possible to of adolescents and young adults. identify several successful practices that can Collecting data from youth service professionals serve as a roadmap for other entities respon- about their current competencies and profes- sible for designing and delivering professional sional development needs should inform plan- development. ning. This may involve asking professionals to Clearly define objectives and desired- out complete a self-assessment of their core com- comes for professional development fo- petencies using a tool such as the Knowledge, cused on developing validated core compe- Skills, and Abilities (KSA) Assessment for Youth tencies with input from key stakeholders. Service Professionals. This tool asks individual staff to rate the relevance of ten validated com- Clearly defining the objectives for professional petency areas for youth service professionals to development is an essential first step in profes- the work they do, to rate their proficiency in each sional development planning. The responsibility competency area, and to indicate the amount of for designing or selecting professional devel- prior training they have received in each area. opment opportunities often rests with agency Each competency area outlines knowledge, or organizational administrators, workforce de- skills, and abilities needed to work well with velopment boards or other governing boards, youth in general and the additional competen- and funders. While these key decision-makers cies needed to work with youth with disabili- must be involved, input from youth service pro- ties. Data from staff competency assessments fessionals and their direct supervisors should or other types of staff surveys can be analyzed shape decisions. and used to determine priorities for professional Setting professional development objectives development. may also require organizations and agencies to Other types of data that are useful for setting review which competencies are essential to the objectives for professional development include work of their youth service professionals and in performance outcome data, organizational qual-

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ity assessment results (e.g. PEPNet Self-As- While in-person training is not always feasible, sessment), and customer satisfaction feedback participants in NCWD/Youth’s three initiatives (e.g. input from youth, families, employers, com- have found it to be highly valuable. A primary munity partners). advantage of an in-person group format is the opportunity it presents for peer-to-peer learning Select professional development activities and support. The YSP/KSA training modules in- well-suited to the objectives, the context, volve a significant amount of peer-to-peer dis- and the learning styles and levels of the pro- cussions and activities (e.g., case scenarios, fessionals. role plays). This facilitates sharing of challeng- Decisions about the professional development es, successful strategies, and resources among content and strategies should be based upon participants. Participants often describe feeling how well they can be expected to achieve the energized or encouraged by connecting with objectives and how well they fit the context of peers who do similar work with youth. For some the organizations and agencies. The content participants, the group training experience is the and strategies also should fit the needs of the first opportunity they have to recognize them- professionals being targeted, including their selves as belonging to a community of youth starting level of knowledge or proficiency, their service professionals. The relationships that ability to participate (e.g., when and where, how they develop in the training environment have many hours, how frequent, in-person or virtual), the potential to serve as an ongoing source of and their learning styles and preferences. support and learning through the development of a peer network. The success of any professional development effort depends upon providing relevant and Professional development that incorporates ex- valuable content in the most engaging way pos- periential and applied learning strategies can sible. Ensuring that professional development be particularly effective. While these strategies is engaging for adult learners involves building deepen engagement in learning, they can also upon their prior knowledge and experiences; facilitate the immediate application of new com- focusing on their needs and goals; respecting petencies in the workplace. For example, the their experiences, beliefs, knowledge, ques- use of capstone projects in the Youth Workforce tions, and ideas; making learning practical, Leaders Academy has been a valuable learning goal-oriented, and problem-centered; providing strategy for the trainees while also providing a them immediate feedback and opportunities for tangible benefit for their organizations. Partici- self-evaluation; using universal design for learn- pants use the new knowledge and skills gained ing principles to address learner variability; us- throughout their participation in the Academy ing collaborative learning strategies (e.g., small to plan and implement a project that address- groups, pairs); and addressing varying motiva- es a specific need or problem within their orga- tions of learners (Russell, 2009). nization. The projects often involve evaluating current practices and proposing improvement strategies, implementing changes to improve

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existing practices, or implementing an entirely ties and support to apply knowledge, skills, and new program or activity. abilities gained through training in their day-to-day practice. Studies of organizational performance Ensure the quality of trainers or facilitators of improvement and youth services professional professional development activities. practice demonstrate that various organizational Skilled trainers and facilitators are required to de- factors influence “transfer of training” or the extent liver quality professional development for youth to which professionals use what they learn in their service professionals. When NCWD/Youth chose jobs (Broad, 2005; Roholt & Rana, 2011). What to develop the YSP/KSA training modules, it also organizations do before, during, and after profes- recognized the need to identify and support qual- sional development activities has an effect on their ified facilitators across the country to deliver the employee’s behavior and subsequent organiza- training. Other professional development efforts tional performance results. By cultivating a culture should take care in identifying qualified individu- of professional development, organizational lead- als who are knowledgeable about emerging and ers create the conditions that enable participants to evidence-based practices and current policy ini- fully engage in professional development activities tiatives. In addition to expertise in the delivery and to apply what they learn to improve their work. of training, professional development facilitators In order to maximize the benefits of profession- must have a commitment to individualizing train- al development, it is important that organizations ing to their trainees’ needs and to the profession- take steps to both prepare and provide ongoing alization of the field. support to the professionals who are participating.

If trainers and facilitators are in short supply, or- Preparation for professional development should ganizations and agencies may consider utiliz- include taking time for conversations between or- ing a train-the-trainer approach. By developing a ganizational administrators, supervisors, and the cadre of training facilitators, as NCWD/Youth did professionals working directly with youth. When in Ohio, states or local communities can develop professional development is a mandated activity, their own capacity to conduct training and facilitate participants may not feel invested or motivated to professional development activities on a regular give it their full attention or effort. Organizational or as-needed basis. This is particularly valuable if conversations can help participants to develop an staff turnover is a challenge and training needs to understanding of why the professional develop- be delivered on a regular basis to orient and pre- ment activity is important and to reflect upon and pare new staff. discuss expectations for using what they learn in their work. Learner motivation may be enhanced Engage organizational leaders and supervi- by having professionals develop individual learn- sors in supporting professionals’ application ing goals that align with their organizations’ and of learning toward achieving organizational supervisors’ objectives for their development. Get- improvement goals. ting supervisors and youth service professionals Supporting professional development requires on the same page about goals and expectations that organizations ensure staff have opportuni-

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ahead of time prepares both parties for making Partners, 2016). Thomas Guskey’s model for changes in practices later on. evaluating professional development in education contexts adds an additional measure focused on Organizations can support professionals during organization support and change (Guskey, 2002). and after professional development activities by Evaluators of the YSP/KSA Professional Devel- identifying “organizational drivers,” or actions by opment Demonstration project used Kirkpatrick’s the organizational leaders and supervisors that and Guskey’s models to inform their evaluation they will use to promote the application of learn- design. This involved pre- and post-training sur- ing to improve practices (Bird, 2014). This strategy veys from participants as well as collecting data was employed by the organizations in the YSP/ in the year following the training from both partic- KSA Professional Development Demonstration ipants and administrators to determine whether project. Some common organizational drivers in- and how learning was applied. Whether surveys, clude: holding regular discussions about what interviews, or other methods are used, some form professionals are learning and how they are using of follow-up evaluation is valuable to examine the new knowledge and skills on the job; using learn- effects of professional development on the organi- ing communities, communities of practice, or peer zation’s performance over time. mentors to assist professionals as they work on applying new practices; providing professionals with Consider a cross-system approach to profes- feedback and coaching on how they are applying sional development. what they learned; and offering certifications, in- With the move toward more integrated cross-sys- centives, or recognition for increasing knowledge tem service delivery and common performance and/or changing or improving practices. Opportu- metrics required under the WIOA, and the con- nities to earn postsecondary education credits and tinuing and ongoing need to effectively leverage credentials for professional development activities limited resources, organizations should consider are a valuable incentive for professionals. organizing or engaging in cross-system training Evaluate and continuously improve the pro- and professional development. While they may fessional development activities. play different roles in youth’s lives or work within distinct settings, professionals who are work- Conducting an evaluation of professional devel- ing with the same or similar youth populations in opment activities is important to ensuring that the different organizations and agencies need some experience is relevant and valuable to profes- similar competencies, including competencies re- sionals and that it has the desired impact on or- lated to coordinating and collaborating with one ganizational performance and results. One com- another. Cross-system professional development monly used model for evaluating professional brings together various professionals who serve development created by Donald Kirkpatrick mea- youth in the same community or region to devel- sures participant reaction, participant learning, op competencies for delivering youth services in behavior change (i.e., whether or not participants a coordinated way. Participating together in pro- apply learning), and results (i.e. achievement of fessional development opens lines of communica- targeted organizational outcomes) (Kirkpatrick

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tion between organizations and agencies that may requires organizational investments in providing otherwise struggle to find common ground or op- quality professional development to build the ca- portunities to connect their work. pacity of the youth services workforce. Success- ful practices to consider in designing and deliv- The formation of a community of practice where ering professional development for youth service professionals from related fields come together to professionals include: setting clear objectives in- address a common concern is one approach to formed by key stakeholders, focusing on validat- cross-system professional development. For ex- ed core competencies, selecting professional de- ample, health care, youth development, and social velopment content and methods that are relevant services professionals might gather periodically to and engaging, ensuring the quality of trainers or develop their cross-system capacity to implement facilitators, providing ongoing support from orga- a broad-based intervention on behalf of youth. Be- nizational leaders and supervisors, evaluating out- yond building shared capacity for working together comes and making improvements, and developing effectively, a cross-system professional develop- partnerships to provide cross-system professional ment community of practice enables youth service development. professionals to understand the requisite skills set, strategies, and organizational approaches needed to develop systemic interventions. REFERENCES Baizerman, M. L., & Roholt, R. V. (2016) Youth Where there is significant overlap or intersections worker professional development: Moving of the roles and responsibilities of youth service from practicing the symbolic to working professionals in various settings (such as child substantively. In K. M. Pozzoboni & B. welfare and juvenile justice agencies), organiza- Kirshner (Eds.), The changing landscape tions may want to develop or adopt an integrated of youth work: Theory and practice for an framework of core competencies to guide the cre- evolving field (pp. 31-49). Charlotte, NC: ation of a cross-system professional development Information Age Publishing, Inc. effort. One example of this is the Core Compe- tencies for Integrated Care, which was developed Bird, L. (2014). “How to use drivers to support by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Ser- training success.” Kirkpatrick Partners Blog, vices Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health April 23, 2014. Retrieved from http://www. Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) kirkpatrickpartners.com/Blog/ID/388/How-to- (Hoge, Morris, Laraia, Pomerantz, & Farley, 2014). Use-Drivers-to-Ensure-Training-Success#. WXiwzoTyuUk

CONCLUSION Broad, M. L. (2005). Beyond transfer of training: Organizations and agencies responsible for pre- Engaging systems to improve performance. paring youth and young adults for adulthood need San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. competent and well-supported youth service professionals in order to ensure the quality and effectiveness of their services and programs. This

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Guskey, T. (2002). Does it make a difference? the transition to adulthood. The Future of Evaluating professional development. Children, 20(1), 209-229. Retrieved from Redesigning Professional Development, http://www.jstor.org/stable/i27795055 59(6), 45-51. Retrieved from http://www. Roholt .R .V & Rana, S. (2011). Improving ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/ community-based youth work: Evaluation of mar02/vol59/num06/Does-It-Make-a- an action research approach. Child & Youth Difference%C2%A2-Evaluating-Professional- Services, 32(4), 317-335. Development.aspx Ross M. & Thakur. M. B. (2014). Improving youth Hoge M. A., Morris J. A., Laraia M., Pomerantz programs and outcomes in Washington, A., & Farley, T. (2014). Core Competencies D.C. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution. for Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/ Care. Washington, DC: SAMHSA - HRSA wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BMPP_PEPNet_ Center for Integrated Health Solutions. Dec5.pdf Kirkpatrick, D. L. (1994). Evaluating Training Russell, A. (2016). Youth Service Professionals’ Programs: The Four Levels. San Francisco: Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities professional Berrett-Koehler Publishers. development demonstration and evaluation Kirkpatrick Partners. (2016, August 30). The project: Final evaluation report. Minnesota, Kirkpatrick Model. Retrieved from http:// MN: Systems Improvement Group, Institute www.kirkpatrickpartners.com/OurPhilosophy/ on Community Integration, University of TheKirkpatrickModel Minnesota.

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Osgood, D. W., Foster, E. M., & Courtney, M. E. (2010). Vulnerable populations and

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The National Collaborative on Workforce and All publications will be posted on the NCWD/Youth Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) is composed website at www.ncwd-youth.info. Please visit our of partners with expertise in disability, educa- site to sign up to be notified of future publications. tion, employment, and workforce development This document was developed by the National issues. NCWD/Youth is housed at the Institute Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, for Educational Leadership in Washington, DC. funded by a grant/contract/cooperative agree- NCWD/Youth is charged with assisting state and ment from the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of local workforce development systems to integrate Disability Employment Policy (Number #OD-23804- youth with disabilities into their service strategies. 12-75-4-11). The opinions expressed herein do not To obtain this publication in an alternate format, necessarily reflect the position or policy of the U.S. please contact the Collaborative Department of Labor. Nor does mention of trade at 877-871-0744 toll free or names, commercial products, or organizations email contact@ncwd-youth. imply the endorsement by the U.S. Department info. This Info Brief was written of Labor. Individuals may produce any part of this by Mindy Larson and Catherine document. Please credit the source and support of Burzio and is part of a series federal funds. of publications and newsletters NCWD/Youth, 1-877-871-0744 (toll-free); 1-877- prepared by the NCWD/Youth. 871-0665 (TTY toll-free); [email protected] 16