How to Move Youth Engagement Forward Through Youth-Adult Partnerships: Understanding the Basics and Utilizing Advanced Techniques

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1 How to Move Youth Engagement Forward Through Youth-Adult Partnerships: Understanding the Basics and Utilizing Advanced Techniques Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health May 11, 2011

2 How to Move Youth Engagement Forward Through Youth-Adult Partnerships: Understanding the Basics and Utilizing Advanced Techniques Presenter: Magno Guillen- Consultant, City of Houston Department of Health and Human Services Michael Cox- Deputy Project Director, Rural Children s Initiative of West Texas

3 Webinar Objectives: Participants will learn about: The importance of establishing healthy youthadult partnerships. Strategies other communities have used to establish authentic youth-adult partnerships. Strategies for evaluating youth-adult partnership-based action plans. Non-traditional ways for connecting with youth.

4 Polling Question: Youth should partner with adults in program planning on all levels. STRONGLY AGREE AGREE DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

5 Youth-Adult Partnerships Youth-adult partnership is a relationship that emphasizes mutuality, or support in teaching, learning, and action between youth and adults. (Zeldin, McDaniel, Topitzes & Lorens, 2001)

6 Three Components of Successful Youth-Adult Partnerships 1. Challenging the power dynamics that are typical of youth-adult relationships 2. Exploring and developing what makes partnerships successful: communication, teamwork, and coaching 3. Developing a plan for community action

7 Challenging the power dynamics that are typical of youth-adult relationships Action Step 1: Conduct an assessment of your organization and your youth (population of focus). Assess your organization s readiness to engage young people and develop a plan to involve youth. Help young people to determine where they can start by allowing them to assess their personal level of readiness.

8 Explore and develop what makes partnerships successful: communication, teamwork, and coaching Action Step 2: Organize initial efforts by creating a forum to gather youth and adult representatives together to establish relationships and roles and a shared understanding of the initiative.

9 Action Step 3: Development of a plan for community action Based on the organizational and youth assessments, create a youth engagement plan. Create the initial action plan by defining your vision, mission, objectives, goals, strategies, inputs, outputs, timelines and responsible person(s). Specifically develop planning efforts around building the capacity of decision making and leadership among young people within the population of focus.

10 Action Step 4: Development of a plan for community action Implement and Continuously Evaluate the Plan Formalize the action plan into a document that is easy for all current and future youth and adult stakeholders to understand and follow. Jointly create and train key youth and adult partners in understanding the necessity of evaluation in youth engagement within the system of care and planning efforts. Set up a process to monitor and evaluate the work plan.

11 For Youth Why establish healthy youthadult partnerships? Youth benefit from partnerships with adults when they are seen as individuals who are competent and able to contribute to important decisions that impact their communities. Youth involvement in positive social relationships and activities with adults is associated with a decrease in risk behaviors, stronger communication skills and leadership experience, increased status and stature in the community, and improved competencies and self-esteem. Youth who are involved in their communities with adults have been shown to be less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior.

12 Why establish healthy youthadult partnerships? For Adults Youth-targeted programs that involve youth in the program design, implementation, and evaluation stages are inclined toward increased relevancy and effectiveness. By involving youth, the program will be more "in-touch" with the unique characteristics of the target group and will more likely appeal to and speak to that population. Having youth involved in the decision-making and implementation of a program has been shown to produce positive outcomes for programs.

13 Polling Question: My young people express the need for youth and adult partnerships STRONGLY AGREE AGREE DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

14 Questions? How would you, in your role, benefit from active and authentic youth-adult partnerships? Please press *7 on your phone to unmute your line. When you are finished, please press *6 to remute.

15 Local System of Care Examples Readiness assessment (governance board) Education to board and staff on importance of youth involvement Youth advocacy training Youth presentation to the board (training on how to involve youth)

16 Local System of Care Examples Youth strategic planning and infrastructure development Youth development of a getting to outcomes logic model to support project model

17 Polling Question: My local governance structure is open and proactive in engaging young people STRONGLY AGREE AGREE DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

18 Questions? Who is taking the initiative to develop these relationship/partnerships within your community? Give an example. Please press *7 on your phone to unmute your line. When you are finished, please press *6 to remute.

19 Polling Question: Youth should be able to evaluate the programs and agencies that serve them. STRONGLY AGREE AGREE DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

20 Five Action Strategies for Transforming Communities

21 Five Action Strategies for Transforming Communities Engage adults from all walks of life to develop sustained, strengthbuilding relationships with children and adolescents, both within families and in neighborhoods. Mobilize young people to use their power as asset builders and change agents. This means listening to their input and including them in decision making. Activate sectors of the community such as schools, congregations, businesses, and youth, human service, and healthcare organizations to create an asset-building culture and to contribute fully to young people s healthy development. Invigorate programs to become more asset rich and to be available to and accessed by all children and youth. Influence civic decisions by influencing decision makers and opinion leaders to leverage financial, media, and policy resources in support of this positive transformation of communities and society.

22 Positive Youth Development - Organizational (Org) Survey Assess org culture in terms of youth involvement/engagement and allowing youth and adults to develop healthy partnerships.

23 Org Survey Results: Challenges and Strengths Challenges Most organizations surveyed cited difficulties in engaging youth in policy development and civic competence (e.g., youth helping to develop a tool kit for mental health services; a tip sheet for C.E.U. trainers of best practices geared towards working with youth; a youth-friendly organizational policy for waiting areas, etc). No organizations surveyed reported a systematic plan in place to support collective youth involvement Strengths All organizations surveyed had identified developed partnerships with other local community based organizations. In addition, several other community-based organizations have expressed interest in using their existing initiatives and programs to better support youth with serious emotional disturbance and other health challenges.

24 Current PYD Organizational Assessment Initiative Give background about the development and evolution of your current project that is enhancing and strengthening the ability for youth and adults to engage, build professional relationships, and partner together on getting to positive community outcomes that enhance everyone s organizational goals. Discuss the role evaluation plays in staying on track.

25 Collective Partnerships Through collective partnerships, The City of Houston Department of Health and Human services identified and supported two youth from SOH-a systems of care site to attend the Big Tent conference at George R. Brown Convention Center (November 18-20, 2010).

26 Polling Question: Every youth serving agency should have young people on its board of directors. STRONGLY AGREE AGREE DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

27 Questions? How is your community currently assessing its readiness for these partnerships on both the youth and adult side? Please press *7 on your phone to unmute your line. When you are finished, please press *6 to remute.

28 Recommended Tips and Strategies - Advancing Identify and collaborate with existing programs in your community A good way to establish youth-adult partnerships is to allow young people to connect with adults via service learning projects

29 Recommended Tips and Strategies - Advancing Youth Be where the youth are Relate with meaning Follow through Be present Listen, Listen, Listen Challenge Adults Educate Don t assume Relate with purpose Be consistent Provide opportunities Challenge

30 Possible Pitfalls and Obstacles Pointers on things to be aware of whether it is assumptions in planning, or not so obvious issues that arise when youth and adults start working together on projects

31 Questions? What are the young people in your community saying about the need for youth/adult partnerships? Please press *7 on your phone to unmute your line. When you are finished, please press *6 to remute.

32 Houston Healthy Adolescent Initiative (HHAI) (A Broader Community Example) The primary objective of HHAI is: To improve the overall health and well-being of Houston adolescents, years of age, and To prepare them with a strong foundation for adult life. According to the results from the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Texas and Houston youth are at greater risk than youth across the United States to engage in behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems. Examples of these behaviors include: Using illicit drugs, sold or given drugs by someone on school property, making the wrong decisions, Riding with an intoxicated driver etc.

33 Implementing Youth-adult Partnerships within HHAI? To help address these behaviors in Houston: HHAI uses a comprehensive, evidence-based youth development approach to increasing healthy behaviors and decision-making among Houston adolescents by promoting the development of confidence, competence, connectedness, character, and contribution. HHAI utilizes the 40 developmental assets framework to accomplish its goals.

34 Implementing youth-adult partnerships within HHAI? To help address these behaviors in Houston: HHAI conducts a local needs assessment (youth and organizational) HHAI is developing a strategic plan for the Houston community to address adolescent health through a comprehensive youth development approach. To help ensure a comprehensive approach, group members have a variety of expertise including adolescent physical and mental health, school advisory councils, community resource coordinating groups, juvenile justice, faith-based services, sports and recreation, and parents of adolescents.

35 Goals The short-term goal is to integrate youth development and empowerment work into existing partner agency policy and protocol. A longer-term goal is to build youth voice throughout city agencies and develop a city-wide youth group with representation from various agencies.

36 Harris County Youth on Board, Houston Works, Houston Parks and Recreation, YMCA and the Mayors Anti-Gang youth groups are actively participants on the Houston Healthy Adolescent Initiative Youth Leadership group (a collective youth initiative to address health disparities among youth in Houston)

37 Polling Question: We have young people in our community that are equipped/trained to serve on governance boards/committees. STRONGLY AGREE AGREE DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

38 Questions? Please press *7 on your phone to unmute your line. When you are finished, please press *6 to remute.

39 Related resources The Search Institute youth-adult partnerships - a training manual

40 Presenter Contact Information Magno Guillen Michael Cox