Reconnecting Youth & Community: A Youth Development Approach

The Positive Youth Development Approach

The Positive Youth Development approach was designed more than 30 years ago when researchers and practitioners developed a delinquency prevention strategy based on why most young people stay out of trouble. In other words, they looked at what kept the "good kids" on track and identified four ingredients necessary for youth to develop in a positive way:

• A sense of competence: being able to do something well
• A sense of usefulness: having something to contribute
• A sense of belonging: being part of a community
• A sense of power: having control over one's future

The Positive Youth Development model emphasizes offering young people a complement of services and opportunities. Moreover, the Positive Youth Development model involves youth in their communities in ways that build on young people's strengths and give them hope for the future.

The Positive Youth Development approach also offers a strategy for creating communities in which young people are active and valued contributors. This is especially critical today as people bemoan the loss of a sense of community and neighborhood, and the comfort of being among others who know and care about them. This breakdown in community networks and neighborhoods has forced policymakers and practitioners to revisit how the social linkages of yesteryear were maintained.

Rebuilding Communities >>