Inside Quality: Examination of Quality Improvement Processes in Afterschool Youth Programs

Using a case study method, afterschool site leader experiences and organizational factors related to youth program quality improvement processes were examined. Responding to issues identified by site leaders, external technical assistance targeted both program structure and content. Staff beliefs of internal program quality standards, such as a mandatory focus on academics, affected learning and quality improvement processes. Hierarchical organizational program standards and supports, including internal self-assessments, did not appear to foster buy-in, learning, or site-based problem-solving for quality improvement. Results indicated the need for further examination of the theory of change and pedagogical approaches to quality technical assistance.     

Competency in Establishing Positive Relationships With Program Youth: The Impact of Organization and Youth Worker Characteristics

Frontline youth workers’ ability to form strong, positive relationships with program youth is a key element in maximizing the benefits of program participation. A recent National Collaboration of Youth (2006 National Collaboration for Youth. ( 2006 ). Capturing promising practices in recruitment and retention of frontline youth workers. Retrieved from http://www.nydic.org/nydic/documents/CompletePublication.pdf  [Google Scholar]) report identified six elements associated with youth workers’ competency to complete their professional roles: compensation, training opportunities, supportive work environment, clear work roles, sense that work is valued, and networking opportunities. The current study investigated whether having these elements predicted 459 youth workers’ self-reported job competency in forming positive relationships with youth. Regression analyses revealed that job efficacy, clarity of work roles, and benefits significantly predicted competency in forming strong relationships with program youth. Findings are discussed in relation to practice implications for the youth work field.     

One Small Step at a Time: Implementing Continuous Quality Improvement in Child and Youth Mental Health Services

Continuous quality improvement (CQI) is increasingly being adopted by health care, including child and youth mental health services. As part of the commitment to ongoing quality improvement, child and youth mental health teams in the Fraser region in British Columbia undertook CQI projects over a one year period (2007–2008). The projects covered a range of domains and service features and staff gained experience in developing projects. Patience, management support and ongoing dialogue were key elements in the implementation of CQI. Three projects are highlighted to illustrate how teams developed their own unique projects and the outcomes.     

Youth Worker Professional Development Participation,Preferences, and Agency Support

Using a Web-based survey, this study examined youth workers' professional development participation, preferences, and levels of agency support and the relationships between these variables and youth worker characteristics. Results revealed a positive relationship between participation in professional development opportunities and youth workers' self-reported job competency but also indicated low levels of agency support for participation in continuing education. Though perceptions of critical training topics varied among program staff from different geographic areas, most youth workers reported similar training experiences and interests regardless of their individual characteristics. Collaborative approaches to training and professional development may result in increased exposure to a broad range of professional development opportunities and significantly enhance the quality of youth programming.     

Suicide Ideation among Participants in an After-School Program: A Convenience Sample

This exploratory study examined differences between elementary-age youth who have considered suicide and their peers using a data set that was collected from elementary school-age children (N = 51) who participated in an after-school program. Data were collected using a standardized survey assessing daily activities, social support, self-esteem, and antisocial behaviors. Youth considering suicide were distinctive from their peers in two composite measures representing club affiliation and illicit drug use. However, these two groups of youth did not differ in attitudes about school or a composite measure of worry, low confidence, and antisociality. These findings were interpreted as reflecting these vulnerable youths' ambivalence about seeking help, which presents an opportunity for intervention.     

Youth Work in Croatia: Collecting Pieces for a Mosaic

This article explores the historical development of youth work in Croatia. By drawing from available data and personal experience, we describe three key phases of youth work development in a post-conflict country: (a) the period of the early 1990s as a “direct peace building" youth work; (b) the rise of nonformal education during the mid and late 1990s; and (c) the growth of a networked youth sector and its focus on youth policy advocacy starting in 2000. In addition, we refer to today's context, particularly because of its project-management orientation. Such categorization highlights various practices that we consider to represent youth work in a specific and contested national framework. Work with young people with fewer opportunities is being presented as a case, building on our observation that contemporary youth work continues to be embedded in civil society development and nonformal education, facing challenges of funding-driven discourse and unsystematic support.     

Group Homes for Problem Youth:

No abstract available for this article.     

Connecting research and practice: Perspectives on the role of manualized programs in youth work

While there is a strong movement in favor of the use of manual-based programs in the arena of social care, there is a view that such programs are not applicable in the more fluid setting of youth work, which operates informally, using dynamic and organic methods. A critical pedagogical approach to youth work engages young people by encouraging them to become inquisitive, to question why things are the way they are and to pose problems through which they can learn. For some, manualized or evidence-based programs are not seen as having a role in such contexts. However, to date, the international debate in relation to this issue has been limited by an absence of published studies focusing specifically on strategies to implement evidence-informed practice in youth work contexts. This article aims to address this gap in the literature. The Irish national youth organization Foróige, which works with more than 56,000 young people in Ireland on an annual basis, has developed a range of manualized evidence-informed resources to support its youth work over recent years. Drawing on research findings from a range of studies conducted with youth workers focusing on implementation of these resources, the article explores the benefits and tensions associated with the use of program manuals in a youth work context. The findings suggest that such resources have a valuable role to play in youth work if designed in collaboration with youth workers, showing respect for core youth work values and allowing for flexibility and adaptability in implementation.     

When There Is No Blueprint: The Provision of Mental Health Services in Alternative School Programs for Suspended and Expelled Youth

A variety of alternative programs are being implemented in Canada and the United States for students who have exhibited conduct problems and who are suspended or expelled from their schools. Given the complexity of issues that these students frequently face, treatment must be multifaceted, wrap-around, delivered by trained professionals and be targeted to these students' unique biopsychosocial needs. This article reviews the literature on delivery of mental health services within the broader school-based context. Specific mental health issues endemic in the high-risk adolescent demographic are highlighted, and implications for mental health professionals, particularly psychologists, working with such individuals are discussed. Suggestions are made with respect to screening and assessment instruments and treatment.     

Creating Settings for Youth Empowerment and Leadership: An Ecological Perspective

Youth development programs are increasingly focusing on youth empowerment and leadership, a shift which often requires adult staff to adopt new roles and practices. This article explores staff practice in the context of a multisite initiative designed to engage marginalized youth in social change through youth-led grants. Interviews with youth workers and managers revealed practices at multiple ecological levels. Individual-level practices supported youths’ capacities to participate. Group-level practices fostered social interactions and activities that actualized the youth-led approach. Setting-level practices created structures that supported and protected group activities while organization-level practices promoted a favorable environment for youth leadership. Analyzed from an ecological and activity settings perspective, these results contribute to understanding the multifaceted and complex nature of youth work in power-sharing practice models. Practice implications include identifying training needs to help practitioners navigate across multiple ecological levels and suggesting reflection questions for practitioners.     

借助素质教育工程平台推进企业高新技术人才培训

企业要保持发展的可持续性,不仅要大幅度提升职工的素质,还要进一步增强高新技术人才的创新能力及实践技能,为企业赢得市场和创造可观的经济价值。首都职工素质教育工程的平台具有全方位、多渠道、教育资源丰厚的优势,培训形式灵活多样,为职工素质的提升搭建了继续教育的新型培训平台。企业可以利用这种新颖和多功能的培训平台推进企业岗位技术技能的培训,捕速高新技术队伍人才的培养。     

Youth Development Outcomes of the Camp Experience: Evidence for Multidimensional Growth

Three thousand, three hundred and ninety-five families, whose child attended one of 80 different day or resident summer camps for at least one week, completed customized questionnaires that measured growth from precamp to postcamp in four domains: Positive Identity, Social Skills, Physical & Thinking Skills, and Positive Values & Spirituality. Parents, children, and camp staff reported significant positive change in these four domains; more than would be expected by maturation alone. Most gains were maintained or showed additional growth six months later. Few of the camp's structural elements correlated with growth, nor did striking gender, age, or ethnicity differences emerge. The study highlights the particular strengths of camp as an educational institution and social movement and suggests that different variations of summer camp can provide potent developmental experiences. Christopher A. Thurber is full-time faculty at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1997. His major research interests include homesickness, youth camping, and developmental psychopathology. Margery M. Scanlin is the Executive Officer for Research at the American Camp Association in Martinsville, Indiana. She received her EdD from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, in 1982. Her major research interests include youth development outcomes, program improvement in youth organizations, and organizational aspects of effective camps. Leslie Scheuler Whitaker is a Senior Associate with Philliber Research Associates in St. Louis, Missouri. She received her PhD in social science research from Washington University in St. Louis in 2000. Her primary research areas include youth development, arts education, and program evaluation. Karla A. Henderson is a professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism at North Carolina State University. She received her PhD in education from the University of Minnesota in 1979 and is currently a member of the American Camp Association Board of Directors. Her research interests include leisure behavior theory, camping and outdoor education, and gender and diversity issues.     

Two Systems of Youth Service: Determinants of Voluntary and Required Youth Community Service

Although an increasing number of schools mandate service, this requirement is seen by some as self-contradictory, especially in contrast to voluntary service. Looking closely at the service process, we argue that the categories of required and voluntary, do not in themselves convey the nature of service students might do with implications for the benefits they may derive from service. We report data from students in 2 high schools to support our case. Both schools required service, but one integrated it into the curriculum whereas the other left choice of service to individual students. Students in the former school were more apt to do the kinds of service that engage students cognitively and emotionally and involve them in reflection on politics and morals. Apart from fulfilling their requirement, many of the students also did volunteer service of the kinds that were potentially beneficial. These students were likely to have parents and best friends who also did service and to belong to churches and civic organizations that sponsored or encouraged service as part of an ideological commitment. The data support the idea that required and volunteer service can be usefully viewed as operating according to separate regimens. Nevertheless, both have the potential for yielding benefits when service is viewed as providing youth with opportunities to learn about systems of meaning through participatory action. From the viewpoint of educational policy, schools can help students most when they organize service strategically and integrate service into the academic curriculum.     

共青团服务青年就业和再就业工作思考

十六大报告指出 :“就业是民生之本。”贯彻十六大精神 ,搞好青年就业和再就业工作 ,共青团组织责无旁贷。共青团应引导青年树立正确的就业观念 ,提升青年的“可就业指数” ,对青年进行创业辅导 ,开展青年就业中介服务 ,帮助青年进行职业生涯设计 ,开创青年就业和再就业工作新局面。     

Learning and teaching to care for young people

“What is youth work, and what are the best ways to teach someone to be a high quality youth worker?” This is a thorny and contested question that many scholars (Emslie, 2013 Emslie, M. (2013). Toward a youth work profession. Child and Youth Services, 34, 125–138.[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]; Fusco &; Baizerman, 2013 Fusco, D. &; Baizerman, M. (2013). Professionalization deconstructed: Implications for the field of youth work--guest editors' comments. Child and Youth Services, 34, 85–88.[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]; Magnuson &; Baldwin, 2014 Magnuson, D. &; Baldwin, C. (2014). In defense of professionalism: A response to Fusco and Baizerman. Child and Youth Services, 35, 4–15.[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]; Starr, Yohalem &; Gannett, 2009; Walker &; Larsen, 2012 Walker, K. &; Larsen, R. (2012). Youth worker reasoning about dilemmas encountered in practice: expert-novice differences. Journal of Youth Development, 7(1), 5–23. [Google Scholar]) and directors of higher education programs in youth work (VanderVen, 2015 VanderVen, K. (2015, March 24-25). Advancing child and youth work through professional preparation: Proceedings of the summit on higher education in child and youth work at the University of Pittsburgh. Milwaukee, WI: The Association for Child &; Youth Care Practice. Retrieved from: http://www.acycp.org/advancing-child-and-youth-work-through-professional-preparation [Google Scholar]) have been asking as youth work has emerged as a field of higher education study in the U.S. and other countries. Although there are many positions within the professionalization debate, most agree about the importance of better defining a knowledge base that describes youth work (Emslie, 2013 Emslie, M. (2013). Toward a youth work profession. Child and Youth Services, 34, 125–138.[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). This base includes defining both content knowledge and context-dependent practices. For instance, Walker &; Gran (2010 Walker, K. &; Gran, C. (2010). Beyond core competencies: Practitioner expertise as a critical component of quality. St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development. [Google Scholar]) distinguish between competencies, which are discrete skills and content knowledge, and competence, which is the practice of knowing how to apply multiple skills and knowledge in particular situations and contexts. She writes that competence, “... is the knack for doing youth work skillfully, gracefully; for doing the right thing at the right time...While most of us know it when we see it, as a field we don't have a very reliable way of identifying it, let alone intentionally producing it” (p. 3). In this article, I name and describe one youth work practice, caring for, towards developing reliable ways that youth work professionals can engage and develop competence in learning and teaching to care for young people.     

Why University Education Matters: Youth Work and the Australian Experience

In many countries youth work education in the university confronts a precarious future. Paradoxically, this takes place as the labor market is unable to meet demands for qualified practitioners. This article makes a case for further investment in university-based youth work education. While presenting labor demand and supply arguments, we also suggest that a good university education is important for producing graduates capable of becoming experts and good practitioners in the Aristotelian sense of the word. This entails the provision of learning opportunities to attain specialist knowledge, technical expertise and ethical capacities of the kind that distinguish youth work practice from other approaches to work with young people. Such an education also promotes the prospect that practitioners are able to develop a professional habitus that advances youth work as a discrete field of professional practice. While the material used in this article is Australian, we suggest there are sufficient commonalities between the Australian experience and many other countries for the arguments, findings and recommendations made here to have more general applicability.     

就业质量的概念内涵与政策启示

就业质量概念的提出,是对就业/失业二元划分局限性的突破,但对其概念内涵界定尚未统一。"体面劳动"主要是应对经济全球化带来的劳动权益受损问题,基于此的就业质量内涵更侧重于宏观层面的劳动力市场供求状况和配置效率;"工作和就业质量"主要是应对福利国家高失业率和招工难的结构性困境,基于此的就业质量内涵更侧重于微观层面的劳动待遇、工作福利及就业满足等。就业质量概念的政策启示在于:积极就业政策应覆盖到对工作贫困的治理;制定有利于提高就业质量的劳动政策;引导就业质量学术研究的规范发展;系统地构建微观、中观、宏观的提升就业质量政策体系。     

Chapter 9. Framing the Future for Children and Youth in the Risk Society

Abstract

This chapter sets out to explore the six significant findings of this study by relating the interview content to the sociological risk literature. It examines thinking behind loss zones and gain zones and then moves on to look at individual versus collective risk and perceptions of risk. A child and youth care understanding is noted within the context of the Youth Encounter Project environments.     

Trends in Residential and Community Care for Dependent Children and Youth in Israel:

Policy trends and their underlying ideologies are reviewed for Youth Aliyah, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Education and Culture. On this basis, the current status of research and evaluation, differential diagnosis and program assignment, and planning accountability are presented with recommendations for needed policy initiatives.