Youth Serving Organizations Have Much of What Youth Need

• NCJ Number: 123205
• Journal: Youth Policy Volume: 11 Issue: 9 Dated: (November-December 1989) Pages: 9-15
• Author(s): K Pittman; R O'Brien
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Several facts have emerged recently as society has examined its ability to produce youth capable of meeting future needs: too many youths are engaging in risk-taking behaviors such as sex and drugs; too many youths are not progressing through the transition steps between adolescence and adulthood; too many youth are high-risk because their families have inadequate supports to meet their needs; and a disproportionate number of poor and minority youth comprise this at-risk youth. There cannot be progress in addressing these problems without an emphasis on youth development strategies that has at its core the meeting of the needs of at-risk youth.

Abstract

Six essential needs must be met: academic education, health care, work exposure and employment, opportunities for social growth and social development, community involvement and contact with adults, and family support services. There are services in place to meet the first three needs and increasing Federal and State interest in educational reform and school restructuring indicates that there will be future reforms. However, because the importance of the last three needs to youth development is often unrecognized, there is less public support for them. Furthermore, societal and demographic changes affect the degree to which these needs are met. In shifting emphasis from problem-focused prevention and intervention to positive youth development, service providers must attempt to meet youth needs in as overlapping a way as possible and support systems must exist in all four sectors of society (family, community, public institutions, and private organizations). Youth-serving agencies, experienced in working with youth in voluntary settings, can take the lead in positive youth development by working more collaboratively with each others; cooperating with other organizations in the public sector; increasing their efforts to move beyond their traditional area of responsibility; and making a systematic effort to reach low-income and minority youth. 2 tables, 3 figures.