Authentic Youth Engagement:

I S S U E B R I E F # 3 Authentic Youth Engagement: Youth-Adut Partnerships Authentic Youth Engagement: Youth-Adut Partnerships Engaging adoescents in panning and decisionmaking regarding their own ives and the arger community reaps critica benefits throughout the process of transitioning to aduthood. Emerging knowedge in the fied of neuroscience tes us that during adoescence and young aduthood the brain is undergoing extensive remodeing and that experience pays a critica roe in how the brain matures. The concept is one of use it or ose it as synapses that see itte use wither away and those that are used become stronger. Young peope who have opportunities to be fuy engaged with aduts and practice adut skis such as reasoning, decisionmaking, and sefreguation are thus strengthening the parts of the brain responsibe for those functions. Young peope in foster care have often been removed from natura opportunities for decisionmaking, community engagement, and eadership and they experience a sense of poweressness and isoation. The intentiona creation of eadership and community A young peope shoud have opportunities to be engaged in directing their own ives and to hep shape their communities. engagement opportunities is therefore particuary important for this group of young peope. The engagement of young peope succeeds best when it is authentic and when it is supported by youth-adut partnerships. What makes engagement authentic? What is a true partnership? How do agencies that serve young peope in foster care achieve authentic engagement of young peope through youth-adut partnerships? Why focus on being authentic? Whie it is often caimed that young peope are being engaged, not a engagement of young peope is authentic. Engagement oses authenticity when aduts are conficted about questions of power and contro. In his spectrum of adut attitudes, Wiiam Lofquist categorizes work with young peope as fitting into one of three categories (see Figure 1). The attitudes aduts hod about young peope infuence the abiity of youth-adut partnerships to be effective

I fee aduts don t care and that they disregard any knowedge I have. Samanthya Amann, 20 and of youth engagement to be authentic. Young peope can aso hod stereotypes about aduts that impact youth-adut partnerships. It is therefore critica to address the attitudes and beiefs that each partner hods about the other. Over the past twenty years, the youth deveopment fied has strugged to engage young peope in meaningfu ways. We-intentioned attempts to create decisionmaking positions for young peope (pacing them on boards of directors or charging them with eadership of community projects) have often faied because young peope and aduts were not adequatey prepared to work together in a new arrangement: youth-adut partnership. The strugge in authenticay engaging young peope ies argey in the fact that it is chaenging work to adequatey prepare aduts and young peope to work together as equa partners. At times, this work with young peope may mean spending a considerabe amount of time preparing young peope before meetings, offering respectfu support during meetings, and debriefing with them after a meeting has ended. Aduts need to expain to young peope before the meeting why they are going to be there, why they are needed, what their roe is, and how the process wi unfod. Everyone wi need to understand that it takes time to achieve true, meaningfu youth-adut partnerships time to fee comfortabe with one another, to agree on areas of importance, and to come to decisions that are agreed on by both the young person and the adut. A common anguage must aso be deveoped so that everyone can understand what is being discussed as work progresses. Whie this can seem onerous, the benefits make each investment worthwhie. 1 1 Lofquist, 1989 Figure 1. Spectrum of Adut Attitudes 1 Aduts know what is best for young peope and contro situations in which they aow them to be invoved. Youth as Objects It is the young person s responsibiity to take advantage of what aduts have designed for them. Aduts retain contro over the majority of decisions, etting young peope make trivia decisions because it wi be good for them. Youth as Recipients Young peope have the responsibiity to practice for when they become rea peope. Aduts respect young peope as having something significant to offer, supporting and encouraging their fu invovement. Youth as Partners Young peope have responsibiity for making meaningfu decisions and for working as equa partners with aduts. 2 J I M C A S E Y Y O U T H O P P O R T U N I T I E S I N I T I A T I V E I S S U E B R I E F # 3

What is authentic youth engagement? Youth engagement has been defined as young peope who are activey and authenticay invoved, motivated, and excited about an issue, process, event or program. 2 But what does authentic youth engagement actuay ook ike? Authentic youth engagement can best be described by focusing on the experiences of young peope when they are engaged: They are respected, vaued, and trusted and they fee appreciated, safe, and comfortabe. They fee they are working in an environment that faciitates their engagement, and they are invoved in a meaningfu way as teachers as we as students. Their voices are being heard and treated as worthwhie. They are given the opportunity to be invoved and make decisions, gain eadership skis, and see their ideas reaized. They are abe to participate in the socia aspects of their invovement. They see change and progress happening as a resut of their contributions. They are in a space where they have ownership and contro in decisionmaking processes. 3 Authentic youth engagement with youth in foster care For adoescents in foster care, authentic engagement occurs at two eves. First, young peope become partners in the deveopment of their own case panning, incuding panning for permanent famiy reationships. They aso participate in transition 2 Hoffman & Staniforth, 2007. 3 Adapted from Hoffman & Staniforth, 2007 Thinking youth don t have anything vauabe to offer is a very shaow way of thinking, because there are many youth who have tons to say about the foster care community and ways to improve it. Just giving them that chance to come out and say what they want to say wi just change everything. TaCandie Richmond, 19 panning that addresses goas for education, empoyment, heath care, and housing. At this eve of engagement, young peope fuy understand their rights and responsibiities and are fu partners in making decisions that affect their ives. A key component of the panning process is their eadership in deveoping both permanency and transition pans in partnership with a wide array of aduts from their own natura networks of reationships as we as various pubic and private systems. Young peope activey ead the process of making decisions on issues that affect them in order to support their successfu transition to aduthood and a heathy, productive adut ife. The normative expectation for partnerships between youth and aduts has been rerouted from an assumption that aduts are responsibe for fixing youth s probems to that of ending a heping hand or even stepping aside so that youth themseves take responsibiity for persona, peer, and community ife. Traditiona efforts permitting youth invovement in activities that improve themseves and their communities have morphed into initiatives that encourage youth to think body and make significant changes in the word in which they ive. Search Institute, 2005 AUTHENTIC YOUTH ENGAGEMENT: YOUTH-ADULT PARTNERSHIPS 3

Not ony shoud there be support financiay but guidance and advice to both the youth and the professiona. They both shoud be considered as experts and their opinions vaued. Octavia Fugerson, 20 Second, young peope become activey engaged in their community in areas that are of interest to them, such as faith-based groups, extracurricuar schoo activities, oca cubs, sports, causes, and poitics. Young peope who want to improve the foster care system aso have opportunities to advise and infuence chid wefare practice and poicy. For many adoescents who have experienced foster care, it is very important to hep other young peope who wi come behind them. Opportunities to positivey infuence the foster care experiences of others is a very meaningfu way for them to get invoved and to give back. The proof of authenticity in youth engagement is demonstrated by young peope s perceptions about these processes (see box beow). Young Peope s Definitions of Youth Engagement Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative Feows define youth engagement as: Paying an active roe, voicing needs Being invoved and having a say Way to get connected to resources and communities Needed, understood, trust Listened to, opinions vaued Having a voice, power to make a change Quaities of an authentic youth-adut partnership In an authentic youth-adut partnership, both partners have equa opportunities to utiize skis, make decisions, and independenty carry out tasks to reach shared goas. Each acknowedges earning from the other. Optimay, a baance is created among young peope interacting with peers, aduts interacting with other aduts, and, importanty, young peope and aduts working together to reach common goas. 4 The quaity of mutuaity distinguishes youth-adut partnerships from parent-chid, student-teacher, and mentoring reationships. 5 Mutuaity is very different from reationships in which aduts take eadership roes and young peope are assigned inferior roes, or programs in which youth make a of the decisions whie the aduts sit back and watch. Neither partner s views are treated as subordinate to the other s. Youthadut partnerships instead buid on the strengths of each group, and the program or activity is stronger than one devised and deivered individuay by either group. 6 Why youth-adut partnerships are critica Youth-adut partnerships have proven to be one of the most effective ways to engage both young peope and aduts in meaningfu activities that contribute to positive youth deveopment. In authentic partnerships, young peope are abe to practice skis that they wi need throughout their ifetime, strengthening the parts of the brain responsibe for Sharing expertise, infuence Letting us te you the toos we need 4 Jones & Perkins, 2006. 5 Camino, 2000. 6 Zedin, et a., 2001. 4 J I M C A S E Y Y O U T H O P P O R T U N I T I E S I N I T I A T I V E I S S U E B R I E F # 3

those skis. Young peope who are invoved in positive, meaningfu, respectfu reationships with aduts show improved skis and competencies and they are ess ikey to engage in dangerous behaviors. Research indicates that young peope who are invoved in positive socia reationships and activities with aduts deveop stronger communication skis and eadership experience. They gain increased status and stature in the community, which eads to greater sef-esteem. In addition to producing positive effects for young peope, these partnerships are beneficia for aduts as we. When partnering with young peope, aduts buid skis and simutaneousy strengthen the organizations to which they beong. 7 From a programmatic perspective, programs that invove young peope in design, impementation, and evauation tend to be more reevant and effective. Programs deveoped in partnership dispay more awareness of the unique characteristics of the target group and are more ikey to speak to that popuation. Youth-adut partnerships frequenty resut in: How to best support youthadut partnerships Three conditions hep agencies that serve young peope in foster care create effective youth-adut partnerships: aduts must be wiing to share their power and responsibiity with young peope; young peope need to be wiing to take on responsibiity; and both need skis to work together respectfuy and successfuy. 9 Youth-adut partnerships can eve the whoe paying fied, because we don t have a the answers. We give it a fancy tite but we forget that it s about committed reationships, buit on trust, uncompromising honesty, and ove. These reationships with youth provide aduts expert input and vaidation that improves our practices and our poicies whie estabishing a sense of mutuaity and respect. Marty Zanghi, Maine Youth Opportunities Initiative Chid wefare and other agencies that serve young peope can achieve authentic engagement of fresh, new ideas; new perspectives on decisionmaking, incuding more reevant and meaningfu information about the needs and interests of young peope; open and honest responses about existing programs or services; additiona human resources due to the sharing of responsibiities between young peope and aduts; greater wiingness of young peope to accept the services and messages of the program; and greater credibiity for the program or organization among young peope and advocates. 8 9 Texas Network of Youth Services, 2002. What Young Peope Say About Youth-Adut Partnerships Youth-adut partnerships are youth and aduts coming together in a positive, mutuay respectfu environment with the recognition that each group contributes unique strengths to the reationship. The end resut woud not have been possibe without coaboration from the two unique groups. University of Caifornia 4H Youth Deveopment Program 7 Univ. of Caifornia 4H Youth Deveopment Program, 2011. 8 Bird, n.d.; Kindera & Menderwed, 2001. AUTHENTIC YOUTH ENGAGEMENT: YOUTH-ADULT PARTNERSHIPS 5

My experience working with aduts in my state to change foster care has been both chaenging and effective. I ve earned to be patient, to isten, and to hep them hep us. Eddye Vanderkwaak, 20 young peope in foster care through youth-adut partnerships by: Identifying and offering training to hep young peope and aduts partner effectivey. Seecting young peope and aduts who are wiing and abe to engage in the mutuaity of the process that youth-adut partnerships require. Giving opportunities for young peope and aduts to expore what each brings to the tabe, encouraging open communication concerning mutua expectations. Emphasizing the mutuaity of reationships: young peope and aduts shoud be seen as providing unique and vauabe contributions to the partnership. Ensuring that aduts and young peope work together to determine roes, pan activities, set deadines, create guideines, and divide tasks. Providing adequate resources that incude financia support for young peope when their The concept of partnering with youth most ikey represents a fundamenta shift in our reationships with young peope. No onger are they the cients we work at they become fu and active participants in the panning, deivery, and evauation of services. They are fu partners that bring fresh perspectives, energy, and taents to the tabe. Texas Network of Youth Services, 2002 participation is not a part of their work or schoo responsibiities, and offering chid care for parents. Counting young peope s and aduts votes equay, if voting is used for decision making. Aowing young peope to make significant program and community decisions. Hoding meetings when young peope are out of schoo and starting and ending meetings on time. Aocating resources to young peope, incuding aduts offering transportation to meetings. Offering young peope and aduts the opportunity to reguary refect on their work. Providing individuas who do not necessariy vaue youth-adut partnerships with opportunities to see the benefits of these partnerships, thereby supporting a cutura shift in which a aduts and young peope see the vaue and importance of partnering for change. 10 To make youth-adut partnerships truy work, agencies utiizing these partnerships need to prepare and support both young peope and aduts. 11 Aduts can be heped to: Expect no more and no ess from a young person. Aduts shoud expect from young peope what they woud expect from an adut partner: responsibiity, skis, and participation. Respect young peope s time and responsibiities. Conversey, aduts shoud not excuse a indiscretions on the basis of youth. Treat young peope as individuas. Aduts can assure young peope that they are interested 10 Adapted from Russe, Poen, & Tepper, 2009. 11 Bird, n.d. 6 J I M C A S E Y Y O U T H O P P O R T U N I T I E S I N I T I A T I V E I S S U E B R I E F # 3

Key Eements of Authentic Youth Engagement in their persona opinions and that they do not expect them to speak for a young peope. Aduts can recognize that young partners bring individua skis, interests, and perspectives to the shared work. And, as with aduts, tasks that appea to some young peope wi not appea to others. Take time to expain. Many young peope may, for the first time, be assuming a roe of authority, and they may ack the knowedge to be effective partners at first. Aduts can ask for questions, give reasons for actions taken, and aow young peope time to process information. Rushing through meetings may signa a desire to contro the group s actions. Pan for young peope s invovement. Aduts shoud schedue meetings at times when young peope can attend and hod them in an accessibe ocation. Young peope can be invited to participate in projects or on committees whose activities are structured to hep them fee wecome and abe to move forward. Recognize interna and externa barriers to youth-adut partnerships. Aduts need to be comfortabe with the abiities, skis, and knowedge that they bring and use these assets to address barriers to authentic partnerships. Young peope can be heped to: Demonstrate their capabiities. Young peope can be heped to identify the strengths, interests, and commitments they bring to the partnership and may need support to communicate these to aduts. This communication can provide aduts with an understanding of a that young peope bring to the work, which can hep aduts more comfortaby share responsibiity and authority. Reevance: Engage the youth around reevant issues that affect their individua/coective ife conditions. Accessibiity: Demonstrate accessibiity that is incusive, engaging a broad cross-section of youth, incuding marginaized youth. Consistency: Become an organization that champions the incusion of youth as routine practice. Authenticity: Incude authentic and formaized youth participation in program deveopment, impementation, and evauation. A high eve of meaningfu youth participation has cear roes, shared decisionmaking, a diversity of roes, youth empowerment, and/or increased persona agency for youth. Hands-On, Action Learning: Offer projects that emphasize experientia earning and incude action projects that have a range of structured and informa earning opportunities for youth to contribute. Loca Projects: Have a oca community focus for youth action projects. Face-to-face, frequent participation is easier, and resuts and recognition are more readiy visibe. Scope: Incude an evoving capacity for youth to participate and an increased range of opportunities. Recognition and Respect: Honesty and openy respect youth opinions, aow them air time and space in discussions, and recognize their contributions, incuding ceebrating project miestones. Source: Hoffman & Staniforth, 2007 AUTHENTIC YOUTH ENGAGEMENT: YOUTH-ADULT PARTNERSHIPS 7

Accept feedback. Aduts can hep young peope see how they use constructive critique, a process that wi aso invove critiquing young peope s ideas. And aduts can hep young peope understand that the constructive criticism process is not an indication of disrespect or dismissa. Utiize opportunities. Young peope need additiona support both in and outside of meetings and events to be abe to understand when an opportunity to contribute is avaiabe and to fee comfortabe taking it. In order for young peope to become comfortabe taking such opportunities, aduts must give their time, patience, and understanding. ABOUT JIM CASEY YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES INITIATIVE The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative s mission is to ensure that the young peope who eave foster care are abe to make successfu transitions to aduthood. In an effort to improve the systems that support them, the Initiative promotes the strategies of: youth voice, community partnerships, research and evauation, pubic wi and poicy, and the creation of a range of opportunities for young peope. It works in partnership with communities and states across the country to integrate these strategies into the core work of state chid wefare agencies and other strategic aies. Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative 222 South Centra, Suite 305 St. Louis, MO 63105 314-863-7000 www.jimcaseyyouth.org Both young peope and aduts can be heped to: Check assumptions and stereotypes. Young peope and aduts are ikey to bring biases about one another to the work. Aduts may view young peope very positivey or, aternativey, as undependabe and disinterested. Young peope may see aduts as reiabe probem sovers or as overy controing. Many aduts are afraid of young peope, and many young peope are intimidated by aduts. Young peope and aduts need hep to recognize their partners as individuas with strengths and room to grow. Practice good communication. Aduts may tend to interrupt, which can discourage young peope from participating. Aduts may need hep aowing young peope to finish their ideas, and young peope may need support to persevere despite interruptions. Young peope need to know that using different anguage and communication styes than aduts does not make their contributions ess worthwhie. Summary Authentic engagement of young peope in foster care through youth-adut partnerships is essentia to positive youth deveopment. As research on the adoescent brain tes us, young peope who have opportunities to be fuy engaged with aduts and practice their adut skis are strengthening the parts of the brain responsibe for those functions. Therefore authentic youth engagement is not ony an effective approach; it is aso a neuroogica imperative. Chid wefare and other agencies that serve young peope can promote these outcomes by impementing the key eements of effective youth engagement (see page 7). 8 J I M C A S E Y Y O U T H O P P O R T U N I T I E S I N I T I A T I V E I S S U E B R I E F # 3

Reated Pubications References ACT for Youth. (2011). Authentic youth engagement. Retrieved Juy 15, 2011 from http://www.actforyouth. net/youth_deveopment/engagement/authentic.cfm Bird, M. (n.d.). Effective youth-adut partnerships for stronger programs. Retrieved Juy 15, 2011 from ucce. ucdavis.edu/fies/fieibrary/5180/16045.doc Camino, L. (2000). Youth-adut partnership: Entering new territory in community work and research. Appied Deveopmenta Science, 4(Supp.1), 11-20. Hart, R. (1992). Chidren s participation from tokenism to citizenship. Forence, Itay: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. Hoffman, J. & Staniforth, S. (May 2007). The Green Street guide to authentic youth engagement: Green Street and the Nationa Youth Engagement Program. Retrieved August 18, 2011 from http://www.green-street.ca/ fies/greenstreetyouthengagementmanua.pdf Jones, K.R. & Perkins, D. F. (2006). Youth and adut perceptions of their reationships within communitybased youth programs. Youth and Society, 38(1), 90-109. Kindera, K., & Menderwed, J. (2001). Youth invovement in prevention programming: Issues at a gance. Retrieved Juy 15, 2011 from http://www. advocatesforyouth.org/storage/advfy/documents/ invovement.pdf This and other issue briefs draw from a research base and set of recommendations described more fuy in The Adoescent Brain: New Research and Its Impications for Young Peope Transitioning From Foster Care. For copies of these and other resources from the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, visit www.jimcaseyyouth.org. Russe, S.T., Poen, N. & Tepper, K.H. (2009). What are youth-adut partnerships? Retrieved Juy 15, 2011 from http://cas-cf.casnet.arizona. edu/fcs/bpy/content.cfm?content=yapartners Search Institute. (2005). The power of youth and adut partnerships and change pathways for youth work. Executive summary. Retrieved Juy 15, 2011 from http://www.search-institute.org/system/fies/ KeoggExecSummary_0.pdf Texas Network of Youth Services. (2002). Making it work: A guide to successfu youth-adut partnerships. Retrieved August 18, 2011 from http://www.tnoys. org/resources/youth%20adut%20partnerships%20 Guide.pdf University of Caifornia 4H Youth Deveopment Program. (2011). Youth-adut partnerships. Retrieved Juy 15, 2011 from http://www.ca4h.org/about/ Mission/YAP/ Zedin, S., McDanie, A., Topitzes, D., & Lorens, M.B. (2001). Bringing young peope to the tabe: Effects on aduts and youth organizations. CYD Journa, 2(2), 20-27. Lofquist, W. (1989). The technoogy of prevention workbook. Associates for Youth Deveopment, Inc., 47-50. AUTHENTIC YOUTH ENGAGEMENT: YOUTH-ADULT PARTNERSHIPS 9

222 South Centra, Suite 305 St. Louis, MO 63105 Phone: 314-863-7000 Fax: 314-863-7003 www.jimcaseyyouth.org