NCJ Number
146470
Date Published
1993
Length
37 pages
Annotation
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is sponsoring a 3-year project to develop and implement community-wide systems of training youth workers on a national basis. The curriculum would deliver a core set of knowledge and skills to professionals working with at-risk youth.
Abstract
The four primary objectives for the first year of the project, reported on here, included identifying the elements of a youth development perspective to serve as a framework for staff development, to identify the core competencies of youth workers, to identify the components and qualities of effective staff development programs from the perspective of youth workers, and to recommend means of achieving effective training. Data were collected through a project advisory group, interviews with trainers, interviews with youth workers, focus groups with youth workers, and a literature and document review. The authors of this study made six recommendations to guide OJJDP in creating staff development programs: articulation of a clear vision, staff development as a strategy of program improvement, staff development as the central component of organizational mission, staff development as a tool for organizational improvement, staff development as a vehicle to build the capacity of communities, and use of the full range of staff development activities available to organizations. Guiding principles of effective training related to the content of training, the context of training, and the process of training. 7 tables