for Children and Youth - Ventura County Star

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20 Creating Asset Rich Environments for Children and Youth The following illustration depicts the youth development process as described by Bonnie Bernard (2006). Parents, family members, educators, neighbors, and community members in schools and youth organizations provide protective factors for children and youth that help meet their developmental needs. These adults and organizations use caring relationships, high expectations, and opportunities for youth participation to promote positive developmental outcomes for children and youth. The result is greater youth resiliency and positive health and lifestyle outcomes. Youth Development Process: S C H O O L / O R G A N I Z A TI O N P R O V I D E S P R O TE C T I V E F A C T O R S C a r i n g R e l a t i o n s h i p s H i g h E x p e c t a t i o n s O p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r P a r t i c i p a t i o n f o r A l l M e m b e r s Resilience in Action T H A T M E E T C H I L D R E N ’ S D E V E L O P M E N T A L N E E D S S a f e t y L o v e & B e l o n g i n g R e s p e c t M a s t e r y C h a l l e n g e P R O M O TI N G C H I L D R E N ’ S P O S I TI V E D E V E L O P M E N T A L O U T C O M E S S o c i a l C o m p e t e n c e P r o b l e m S o l v i n g T H U S P R O D U C I N G P O S I TI V E E D U C A TI O N O U T C O M E S P o w e r M e a n i n g A u t o n o m y P u r p o s e & F u t u r e A n d R E S I L I E N C Y Benard, B. (2006) http://www.wested.org/chks/pdf/21st_bb.ppt . 1 3 Youth asset development is not a highly sophisticated or complicated prescription for dealing with the challenges confronting our youth. It is about people, programs, institutions and systems that provide all young people – at-risk or not – with the supports and opportunities they need to empower themselves. Youth development begins with all of us. Let’s join together in answering this Call to Action. Each of us can enact the strategies of promoting caring adult relationships, facilitating meaningful participation, and fostering high expectations for our children and youth.
Creating Asset Rich Environments for Children and Youth 21 Strategy 1 Promote Caring Adult Relationships with Children and Youth “We exist not as a mass of independent individuals, but rather in the context of a vast web of relationships; and these connections are what allows us to pursue collective action effectively…Every sector has a role to play in a caring society, whether by supporting, facilitating, or directly providing care to youths and those in need.” D. Rauner, 2000 Every child and youth needs and deserves support and guidance from caring adults in their families, schools and communities. This includes fostering ongoing, secure, trusting relationships with parents and other family adults, as well as relationships with teachers, mentors, coaches, youth volunteers, and neighbors (Search Institute, 2006). Research shows that young people who have healthy relationships with caring adults who talk with them and believe in them have a sense of hope and future, and are less involved in destructive behaviors. Young people need to feel valued and celebrated, and they deserve our recognition. The self-confidence, trust and practical knowledge young people gain from caring adult relationships help them grow into healthy, happy, resilient, positive, caring and self-sufficient adults. What is a Caring Adult Relationship? Caring adult relationships are supportive connections to others; it means having a person who is “there” and who listens non-judgmentally (WestEd, 2003). For a child or youth, it is a teacher or other adult who knows when they are absent, who listens to them when they have something to say, and who notices when they are upset about something. How It Matters Studies show that increased “school connectedness” decreases absenteeism, fighting, bullying and vandalism while promoting educational motivation and classroom engagement (U.S. Department of Education, 2007). Students with strong ties to their school are also less likely to be involved in risky health behaviors like cigarette smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, early sex, violence, and suicidal thoughts and attempts. Investment in a child’s social and emotional well-being through caring adult relationships produces long-term positive effects not only for our young people, but it also positively affects the well-being of the entire community. We all benefit, children, youth and adults. Ventura County Picture How well are we doing in Ventura County in establishing caring adult relationships with youth? According to the 2005-2006 CHKS data, as seen below, the percentage of students who reported having a high level of caring adult relationship at school were: ◆◆ 61 % of 5th graders ◆◆ 35 % of 7th graders ◆◆ 27 % of 9th graders ◆◆ 32 % of alternative school students
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