Resource Archive Provincial Consortium on Youth in Recreation

PCYR Resource Archive

The following is the complete list of PCYR resource links. To receive new PCYR resources immediately, become a member of the PCYR email list by contacting mprice@prontario.org

Here is a link to http://www.un.org/events/youth98/backinfo/ywpa2000.htm There you will find a 32 page document that outlines a Resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on March 13, 1996. If you are looking for some nice information to strengthen a presentation or proposal you are preparing, consider the following.... - The United Nations considers youth to be ages 15 to 24 - 10 priority areas were identified in 1996, with Leisure-time activities being one of those ten - Members of the United Nations are working to see 'young people.... aspire to full participation in the life of society.... including participation in decision-making process; .... places and facilities for cultural, recreation and sports activities to improve the living standards of young people in both rural and urban areas - Under the educational priority, one of the proposals for action is an infrastructure for training youth workers and youth leaders - Under the employment area, one of the proposals is to provide voluntary community services involving youth and, where none exist, to have youth organizations involved in the designing, planning, implementing and evaluating of the programs - Under the hunger and poverty area, one of the proposals is to make farming more rewarding and life in agricultural areas more attractive - Under the drug abuse area, one of the proposals for action is to give priority to preventative measures....rural areas should be provided with adequate social-economic opportunities and administrative services which could discourage young people from migrating to urban areas....youth from poor urban settings should have access to specific education, employment and leisure programs, particularly during long school holidays - Under Leisure-time activities, there are four separate proposals for action. These are located on pages 23 and 24 of the document.
Here's a nifty little tool that asks you 47 questions in order to find out how your program rates in encouraging 21 areas of development for youth. Answering honestly can give you a really quick snap shot of areas in which you might wish your concentrate your program development in order to best support your youth participants. You do have to give your name and program name (you need to have an actual program in mind as all the questions relate to it). It was an easy survey to complete and you get the results of the assessment instantly. You can find the assessment too at http://cals-cf.calsnet.arizona.edu/fcs/assessmentTool.cfm and the descriptor of the 21 youth development areas at http://cals-cf.calsnet.arizona.edu/fcs/content.cfm?content=elementsDefined When you get your results, there are some additional resources listed which you can access and which you help you further develop that area (and they are nice pieces too).
The Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute released a document in 2005 titled 'A municipal perspective on opportunities for physical activity: Trends from 2000 - 2004.' It may sound like a heady title, and it's not a light scan at 103 pages, however it does contain some interesting information that can help inform our work with youth and physical activity, and can give us an idea of what challenges may life ahead. For example, those in municipalities of greater than 100,000 are finding it harder in 2004 to find information on physical activity opportunities than they did in 2000, yet those in communities smaller than that size are finding it easier (page 5). Hmmm. The perceived usefulness of the information in the larger centres has also decreased during that four year period, while it has increased in the smaller settings (page 7). Since 2000, more municipalities have been working with more schools, the workplace, health settings and not for profit groups to increase reach to and deliver physical activity programs (page 15). So, if your municipality is not, you will soon be in the minority. And, what might this information tell you... programs that support children to be active have decreased, subsidies for children's programming has decreased, and programs for children and youth at-risk have increased (page 16. Another hmmmm. And, while there has been good work done in order to increase access to community use of schools, municipalities in Ontario as less likely that the average Canadian municipalities to indicate they have an agreement regarding shared use of facilities with schools (page 30).Overall, lots of interesting information. You can look at, or print off, various portions of the document at http://www.cflri.ca/eng/statistics/surveys/capacity2004.php or you can go directly to the full document at http://www.cflri.ca/eng/statistics/surveys/documents/2004capacity.pdf
Here is a document that helps those in the business of hiring and supervising youth development staff be better informed and prepared when doing. Put out by the National Youth Development Learning Network, it provides a nice breakdown of how to recruit and how to retain staff. The full report is broken into easy-to-download individual files and can be found at http://www.nydic.org/nydic/CapturingFinalReport.htm
Here is a great 2005 report about teens and their use of technology. As one who works with youth, it may be helpful for you to know - when you are marketing your services to youth or notifying them about changes in programs - that - more than 50% of youth ages 12 - 17 in the States go online daily - 45% of youth have cell phones and, while email has been the most popular form of electronic communication, it is losing ground to instant messaging (email was referenced as a good vehicle to talk to 'old people,' institutions, or to send complex instructions to larger groups, and IM was referenced when getting in touch with friends) - 51% of teens still choose the landline when they want to talk to friends, 12% use their cell phone and 3% use text messaging (24% use IM) There's 57 pages of great information in this easy-to-read report put out by Pew Internet & American Life Project. Check it out at http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Tech_July2005web.pdf
Here is some great research from the Harvard Family Research Project on the benefits of out of school programming for youth. The content of the research is listed in the body of the article, with hot linked footnotes to the research from whence it came. A great way to build up any presentation to council or funding proposal in support of youth work. http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/afterschool/resources/issuebrief6.html
Here are some excellent resources on peer education models. They include a Training of Trainers Manual (200 pages), Standards for Peer Education Programmers (80 pages), and Theatre-Based Techniques for Peer Education (100 page training manual). These are through the Family Health International group out of the States. While the information is based on youth working on peer education around HIV AIDS topics, the materials and resources are excellent and highly transferable to other topics. You can find them all at www.fhi.org/en/Youth/YouthNet/Publications/peeredtoolkit/index.htm
The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) has been producing Progress since 1996. This magazine-style publication provides a wealth of information on different factors that influence the health and well-being of Canadian children and youth. This 7th edition reports on many indicators, including family life, economic security, physical safety, learning, and more. Because the report tracks this information over time, it helps identify trends, successes, and challenges. Specifically, you might want to check out the chapters on Community Resources (includes recreation), social inclusion, and tools (which include some fact sheets). You can find the full report, in downloadable chapters, at www.ccsd.ca/pccy/2006/
Here is a 12 page article in the Juvenile Justice Bulletin (US Department of Justice) about factors and prevention strategies related to youth gang involvement. Examples of prevention programs are provided, with a brief overview of each program's components. It's an easy read and has some good basic information that can be used in reports, presentations and proposals. You can find it at www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/182210.pdf
Some of you may be involved with youth mentor programs, or may be considering starting them. Rather than starting from scratch, here is an excellent set of resources to help you on your way. In addition to the resources on this particular page, there are additional resources on this site that you might want to wander around to. Check it out at www.mentoring.org/program_staff/afterschool/sample_tools.php
Here is a nice 16 page document called Lessons in Leadership: How Young People Change Their Communities and Themselves. It is an evaluation of a Youth Leadership development initiative, and speaks to findings in terms of youth and activities, and the benefits for youth for engaging in activism activities, recommendations for practitioners working with youth, and recommendations for funders of youth programs. You can find it at www.theinnovationcenter.org/pdfs/Lessons_in_Leadership_exec.pdf
SALTO-YOUTH stands for Support and Advanced Learning and Training Opportunities within the European Youth Program. One of its initiatives is to promote an understanding of cultural diversity. At this site, you will find a variety of information, including easy-to-implement tools (icebreaker type format - name of activity, for how many, equipment needed, process to use, etc). Just read the 'type' column and go to the ones that say 'exercise' or 'energizer,' and you will find some great ideas for introducing the concepts of cultural diversity to your group. Some have the debriefing components (how to debrief the exercise) and others do not. Check it out at http://www.salto-youth.net/find-a-tool/?search=&topic_id%5B%5D=3&SID
Here are two nice tools to help you work with youth development workers in sport and recreation. This first listing of competencies is a great resource for job descriptions and evaluation processes. You can find it at: www.nassembly.org/nydic/documents/Tool%20FINAL.pdf. This second resource is designed so that the information can be put on cards, laminated, and carried around for spot-check reference. Check it out at www.nassembly.org/nydic/documents/CompetCards%20for%20webNCY.pdf
If you are interested in working with culturally diverse youth as volunteers, here's a great resource put out by the Calgary Immigrant Aid Society (and with thanks to the Sprynter who passed this gem along). It has general information as well as specific information in this 37 page read about recruiting, training and retaining culturally Diverse Youth. It's worth the read at www.volunteer.ca/volunteer/pdf/CSC-CDYV.pdf
Here is an easy 13 page research read about donors to arts and culture in Canada. Many organizations have arts and culture as part of their big R recreation mix, and it is good to see who is supporting those activities and there may well be cross over to the other pieces of the big R recreation. This report is based mainly on the 1997 and 200 National Surveys on Giving Volunteering and Participation (NSGVP). Check it out at: www.hillstrategies.com/docs/Donors_report.pdf
The Growing Up in Cities association out of British Columbia has prepared a nifty little report about how children and youth (up to age 19) feel they are engaged in their municipal government structures. 94% felt their communities could be more child and youth friendly. Take a read of the fact-filled four page summary document at www.growingupincities.ca/english/docs/Broadcast_brief.pdf or consider doing a similar survey in your community by looking at the survey tool at www.growingupincities.ca/english/docs/municipal_survey.pdf
This resource is put out by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. It explains how teens' (12 - 19) experiences can influence their health later in life. It's a lengthy article (107 pages) but the information is useful when building the case for funders to support youth development programs. Click here and scroll down to the Report piece. Click on that and then on the next page click on the Full Report. If you don't want to print out the whole thing, interesting parts include three or four bullet points about youth relative to: their income and socioeconomic status, education, social networks and support environment, employment and working conditions, early child development, physical environment, personal health practices and coping skills, biological and genetic factors, health services, gender, culture, and mass media and technology. There is some good discussion that links asset development with positive youth development. All in all a good resource.
The Knowledge Development component of the Canada Volunteerism Initiative, hosted by Imagine Canada, provides research on the state of volunteerism in this county. Here is one of its pieces, "Supporting and Recognizing Youth as Community Volunteers." A very nice and easy 2 page read which can be found at www.kdc-cdc.ca/attachments/fs_froment_support_eng.pdf
This interesting 20 page research paper commissioned by Nokia from D-Code. D-Code, a research group that used to put out a monthly newsletter on trends for youth ages around 16 to 30, has recently reissued its newsletter and the Nokia research article is one of the first to be included. This resource may not have a lot to do with recreation programming with youth, but it does give great insight into 3 generations (Baby Boom, Nexus and Net) and their use of technology - what drives them, what irks them and what we know about them. It's a great sensitizer to help you help other adults understand the differences in some of the thinking of this generation. Check is out at http://www.d-code.com/newsletter/Newsletter_files/userid.pdf and PLEASE NOTE that, as with previous D-Code newsletters, they are gone as soon as the next one comes up so you either have to print it out or save the title User ID: Generations to be able to search for it later.
Here is a short 11 page read about the factors that contribute to Successful Youth Centres. This document was created by the Heartwood Centre for community Youth Development in Nova Scotia. www.heartwood.ns.ca/downloads/youth_gathering_places.pdf
In this special report, the Youth Leadership Institute (US) examines youth philanthropy (youth giving time, talent and money to their community) as it is now being practiced and recommends future directions for this new field. Changing the Face of Giving was written to help nonprofits, government agencies, and foundations focused on youth learn more about the spread, depth, and potential of the youth philanthropy movement. www.yli.org/philanthropy/files/changing_the_face.pdf It's a 56 page report, relatively easy read, and interesting if you are working with youth in a governance setting, on committees, or on fund raising ventures.
Check out some of the campaigns at Volunteer Canada, one of which is Global Youth Services Day. In 2005, it was held in April. You may want to get a jump on your planning for spring. Check is out at www.volunteer.ca/volcan/eng/iwork/global-youth.php?display=3,3,2
This is an interesting article on the evolution of hip hop and its application to youth culture. In addition to the written piece, if you have audio, you can also click on the video of the author speaking about hip hop and youth culture. Check it out at http://www.juyc.org/current/0401/hiphop.html
Here is an interesting 64 page resource put out by The Health Communication Unit at the Centre for Health Promotion, University of Toronto. It provides step-by-step outline on how to make change work in Youth Centres. 5 youth centres were involved in testing out the process (Dryden Youth Centre, Midland Youth Centre, Sault Ste. Marie Teen Centre, Smith Falls & District Club for Youth, and the Solid Rock Youth Centre. It's a nice, easy to read planning process and can be found at www.thcu.ca/yetp/pubs/pdf/making_change_work_YETP.pdf
This nicely presented document was put out by Quebec as a consultation paper on its Youth Action Strategy 2005 - 2008. It was just released in April and lays out a series of points that include a brief description of each section, a short presentation of the strategic choices relative to that section, and questions related to the strategic choices that help the reader consider what might or could be done. It's just a nicely framed and engaging style of report. The part in which you might be interested is Orientation 2: Improve the Health and Well-being of Youth. Check it out at http://www.jeunes.gouv.qc.ca/publications/strategie_consultation_en.pdf
Here is a great resource on evaluating youth programs, as put together by the Planning and Evaluation Resource Centre. The evaluation method is explained in easy-to-understand language. There are tools that take you right from planning the amount of time it will take to do an effective evaluation to understanding logic models (and there are a number of different examples of this approach and these pieces are great information to use when building a funding proposal), to developing evaluation tools and analyzing data. A great site to bookmark as it is a wealth of information, all of which you might not need today but might be useful over time. Check it out at www.evaluationtools.org
As many of you work with teenagers who may be in relationships with other teens in your programs, you might be interested in this article from New York City on approaches for communities and schools to use in preventing and addressing dating violence. It's an interesting read as it has some research information about the topic and some points for safety consideration that can be transferable to a recreation setting. You can get this article at www.pubadvocate.nyc.gov/documents/ACTINGLIKEADULTS-FINALDRAFTnoFJC.pdf and it is an easy 18 page read.
Here is the latest release of statistical information about adolescent obesity. In the past 25 years, obesity for youth ages 12 to 17 years has tripled, moving from 3% to 9% of that age population. This is the shorter version of the press release around general obesity in Canada (2004) http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050706/d050706a.htm and here is where you can download the PDF that relates specifically to child and adolescent obesity. http://www.statcan.ca/english/research/82-620-MIE/2005001/pdf/cobesity.pdf
Over the years there have been advancements made in working with youth through youth development. This report, produced by the Forum for Youth Investment, and co-authored by Karen Pittman, is called Preventing Problems, Promoting Development and Encouraging Engagement. It is designed to summarize the shifts that have occurred, to emphasize the common threads in several important fields and to spell out the implications of those shifts for those who work with or advocate for young people where they live, learn, work, play and contribute. It's a nice read at 38 pages, and a great tool to intro the concept of youth development to funders, decisions makers or community groups. Check it out at http://www.forumfyi.org/Files/PPE.pdf
In the age of technology, we can better use this resource by first understanding who and what our clients relate to. This link is a quick overview of findings from research into what youth think and like about various different websites - what turns them on, what drives them away, and what keeps them there. If you are really interested in this topic, you could buy the 128 page report or, if you just want to get a bit more acquainted with the topic of youth and websites, read the overview in the link and test your website against what it is saying that youth want. www.useit.com/alertbox/20050131.html It's a really easy and quick read.
The Health Communication Unit at the Centre for Health Promotion, University of Toronto, did some research as to what appeals to tweens, ages 9 to 14. While this information was designed to help health promoters create messages that will catch the tweens' eyes and interests, you can just substitute your recreation program promotion message and it will work for you too! The suggestions are short and simple and easy to follow. You could even create a check list to remind yourself each time to create something for this age group to make sure it will be attractive to them. You can find this resource at http://www.thcu.ca/infoandresources/tweensaudienceprofile.htm And, if you want some more detailed facts to use, check out the Analysis Data in the About This Profile section at the end of the report.
Check out this website from down under where they have loads of fun with icebreakers and games. Here is a great quote that is on this home page "Once the game is over, the King and the pawn go back in the same box" - Italian proverb. Check it out at http://www.wilderdom.com/games/gamesspecific.html
The American National 4-H Council, in conjunction with the University of Arizona, has a great web site, on which one of the pieces is 21 Elements of Youth Development. Each element is listed on the main page and is supported by a fact sheet of more information and/or an e-bulletin of information and/or training. It's a nice and easy read at http://msg.calsnet.arizona.edu/fcs/index.cfm
Here is a nice article from the Forum on Youth Investment which speaks to the benefits of 'quality' youth development programs, how it might be used, and whether it helps in obtaining funding support. Easy 7 page read at http://www.forumfyi.org/Files/focusv1i1jul03.pdf
This is an interesting read out of the States that speaks to how Foundations are viewing their funding programs for children and youth activities. You can use this information to a) better understand what potential funders may be thinking as they review your applications, and b) see where our funding bodies might be headed in the future. We certainly hope this latter piece has some truth to it as there is great interest in funding youth development south of the border! It may seem like a long read, but it's really not, there is just lots of big print! Check it out at http://www.cydjournal.org/2000Winter/weiss.html
Mission Australia's Research and Social Policy Unit has published a new snapshot on the importance of building resilience in young people aged six to 16. It outlines new evidence about brain development and key points of effective intervention. 'Many vulnerable/disadvantaged young people in this age group don't develop the skills, either through their family or schools, during these years which help them cope with problems as adults. This snapshot looks at some characteristics of Australians in the age range of six to 16 years, and their families, and highlights the importance of developing resilience at every stage of a young person's life. Although the research is Australian, the characteristics are broadly applicable to other communities. The snapshot can be downloaded in PDF format at http://www.missionaustralia.com.au/cm/resources/documents/snapshot_families.pdf
The COPS Collaboration Toolkit: How to Build, Fix, and Sustain Productive Partnerships - This toolkit provides practical guidance to law enforcement agencies as they develop and sustain partnerships that support community policing. The toolkit will benefit law enforcement personnel, community-based organizations, educators, youth, government officials, and others seeking to combine efforts to reduce crime and social disorder problems. It was created by the Department of Justice in the US in 2001 and can be found at http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/default.asp?Item=344 It has around 10 sections each around 8 pages in length, so you might want to start by just printing off the sections of interest to you
This program is for Ontario communities only, however the information included would be useful in any community. The Play Works Partnership (www.playworkspartnership.ca) is encouraging communities to apply to be recognized as 'youth friendly.' Agencies, municipalities, and/or youth groups can submit the application for their community. Whether your community chooses to apply or not, the youth friendly criteria is great information to start incorporating into youth development strategies in your neighbourhood. You can find the information and application form at http://www.playworkspartnership.ca/pdf/YouthFriendlyCOMM.pdf . Ignore the dates and application process, and you can use is as a self-assessment tool for your community.
Hear what middle and high school students say about what they do and want to do in afterschool time, and also hear what parents have to say about this time. While it's an American article, funded by the Wallace Foundation and written for a group called The Public Agenda, this article 'All Work and No Play?' is a great reinforcement of the need for play in young people's lives. Check out the executive summary at http://www.publicagenda.org/research/pdfs/all_work_no_play_exec_summary.pdf or you can get the full report by becoming a registered user (no cost) and downloading the report.
The Heartwood Institute in Nova Scotia supports youth development. Here is a paper with commentary from youth action teams as to how the Institute successfully incorporates youth in the picture, and the driver's seat, in a meaningful way. It's a good self-check list against your agency's or department's offerings. Check it out at www.youthinrecreation.org/pdf/ComYouthDev.pdf
While this URL is from a couple of years ago, it has some good information on older teens, and on those in their early 20's. The topics include finding work, volunteering, hanging out, finding it hard to cope, social and personal issues, youth crime statistics, and the impact of electronic media in the home. You can find this 20 easy read at http://www.vifamily.ca/library/transition/293/293.html
Here is a link to an executive summary (8 page) and a full document (many pages!) on the health and wellbeing of Canada's youth (a representative sample of 11, 13 and 15 year olds). This summary is a great sensitizer on youth in general, with the full document probing deeper into socio-economic inequalities, the home, the peer group, the school experience, health risk behaviours, healthy living, bullying and fighting, injuries and emotional health. You can find both documents at www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/dca-dea/publications/hbsc-2004/hbsc_summary_e.html
This one is out of the States and is an interesting read, especially if your community is struggling with youth violence The National Institute of Health recently convened an independent state-of-the-science panel to assess the current research on the prevention of violence and other risk-taking behaviors among youth. The panel reports that programs that use “scare tactics” to prevent children and youth from engaging in risky behaviors are ineffective and may exacerbate the problems.
For a copy of the press release, go to : http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/oct2004/od-15.htm - there is some media info that you can ignore in this, but the major points are there. This copy also references an 8 page newsletter that talks about the study in a bit more detail, and this is at http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epcsums/adolvisum.pdf . Finally, you can access a copy of the panel’s full text draft statement by visiting the following link: http://consensus.nih.gov/ta/023/023youthviolencepostconfintro.htm but note that this 35 page document is not yet formatted and a little challenging to read.
This document is a couple of years old but is a great synopsis of how to look at programming for youth by understanding ages, times of day, and anticipated outcomes. Finding Common Ground: Toward A Common Vision, Analysis, and Accountability for Youth, 2001, is a 15 page document that describes a tool — the Cube — that can help map and make decisions about youth investments based on essential knowledge about youth development and engagement. In different contexts, it can be used for program development, deliver, evaluation, and advocacy. Check it out at www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/findingcommonground.pdf
This resource speaks to key issues and challenges facing community leaders in creating and sustaining after school programs that engage the interest and participation of high school youth. Written in 2004 out of the US, much of the information can be seen as applicable to other countries. Part of the efforts of this 20 page document go towards encouraging community-wide strategies to meet the needs of youth after school. Check out this easy read at www.niost.org/AOLTW.pdf
Anne Robinson, Editor of the Leisure Trends Monitor, was kind enough to provide us with an excerpt of the summer Monitor that spoke to youth programs in recreation. You can find the excerpts at http://www.youthinrecreation.org/pdf/summer2004.pdf
Some of you may be interested to see the youth development strategy that the Municipality of Saanich, BC, created in 2003. A cornerstone to this strategy is the embedding of recommendations in the 40 developmental assets framework. There are a series of nice and easy to manage 2003-2004 action items for the recreation department, recreation centres, community services, parks services, and police services relative to supporting asset development. It's not a long read at 27 pages, as this report is a summary of a lot of good work that led up to its being written. You can find the report at www.gov.saanich.bc.ca/resident/community/services/youthstrategy%20.pdf
Here is a nice publication out of New South Wales, Australia, that walks you (and your youth group) through the steps to organize a large scale music event, although much of the info is transferable to organizing any type of public youth event. It includes info on finding a venue, contacting the bands, equipment needs, publicity and promotion, media releases, refreshments, police and security, money, and post event work. Some parts obviously reference the OZ requirements, but again the approach is pretty solid. Enjoy this 17 page resource at http://www.yapa.org.au/pubs/gig.pdf
Looking for new and innovative ways in which to engage youth? Consider including a component of 'youth activism' in your mix. This 16 page resource is an executive summary of the lessons learned when youth were engaged in programs that support civic activism. Key factors that shape young people, such as identity, relationships with adults, leadership opportunities, community involvement, safety, and skill building, were found in these programs and were found to be factors in attracting and retaining youth involvement. Of specific interest may be the connection that youth activism has to help create a link between a youth, his/her identify and his/her culture and ethnicity. The report contains recommendations for practitioners, youth serving organizations, and funders. Check it out at www.theinnovationcenter.org/pdfs/Lessons_in_Leadership_exec.pdf
This is an interesting 6 page outline from the Town of Hanna's (AB) Youth Advisory Committee requesting support for their work. It is a brief and well articulated approach to what the YAC is, what its goals are, what projects it wishes to have funded, and how it will measure its performance in meeting its project goals. A nice template to use when approaching funders, and it can be found at www.sacyhn.ca/pages/child_youth_council.html
The Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres researched what kept youth participating in recreational opportunities. OAYEC found that youth say that their top reasons for joining recreation programs is to have fun and learn new things. They also tell us that employability skills learning and the prospect of getting a job through recreation is part of their decision. Read this report and learn some things that you might want to build into your youth recreation program to attract them and keep them involved. You can find the report at http://www.oayec.org/pdfs/research/youth_recreation.pdf
This is an interesting 28 page manual from New South Wales (Australia) on developing a protocol for malls relative to youth customers. As a result of an increase in the numbers of youth being banned from local malls, this initiative set out to improve relationships between young people, security personnel and shopping centre management. The processes in this document can be generally translated into action in other facilities in which youth and other user groups might co-exist. Worth the read at http://www.yapa.org.au/yapa/policy/shopping.pdf
This is a very interesting website out of the Australian Department of Family and Community Services, Children and Youth Affairs Office. Released in 2004, the resources listed here show how an integrated approach has been used to interrelate youth development between community organizations and the school system. Some of the documentation is obviously specifically Australian based, however the theories, concepts and application methods of youth development are universal and transferable. A portion of this initiative rests on recognizing and valuing the contributions youth make. The Decision Tool: a Guide to Identifying Recognition Options is a great overview resource that outlines how organizations can work with schools to develop recognition programs, and what type of program to use. It is around 60 pages so you might want to scan it before printing. Guides 1, 2 and 6, which are around the same length and which can be individually printed off, are some good models of application of youth recognition processes and which can create a systemic approach to recognizing youth development at a community level. You can find all the resources at http://www.thesource.gov.au/find/youth_affairs/youth_research.asp#
Here is an interesting article on how urban parks help promote asset development in youth. Of particular interest is youth leadership development through parks and some information on experiential learning through parks. It's an easy read at 8 pages and helps build the case to help get youth into green settings. Enjoy the read at http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/311010_urban_parks.pdf
Here is a nice newsletter article, 6 pages, from the Forum for Youth Investment, as to how youth can move from a participant in an activity to creating action in the community. Much of what we do in recreation is a building block for youth action and there is a neat little chart that shows the Youth Engagement Continuum which takes youth serving agencies from a youth services approach through to youth development, youth leadership, civic engagement and youth organizing. A good piece for those developing or advocating youth councils and civic youth engagement. Click here for the resource http://www.forumfyi.org/_docdisp_page.cfm?LID=1441F739-6AA8-45D6-B51AE51188ADD9C0
Here is a 15 page report from the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues (Australia) about Multicultural Sport: Sustaining a Level Playing Field. This document outlines the state of community-based sport, the barriers to participation of culturally and linguistically diverse youth, and steps to remove those barriers. You can download the report at http://www.cmyi.net.au/uploads/downloads/cmyi/pdfs/Publications/Sport_sustaining.pdf
Here is a resource from the New South Wales (Australia) Commission for Children & Young People. This 4-part manual (of which you can print off each section individually) is designed as a check list to help organizations reflect on and take stock of how effectively children and youth are being included in their work, activities and decision-making processes. It's a nice easy read in a sequential 9 step 'why' to 'how' to 'how goes it' progression. You can find the resource at http://www.kids.nsw.gov.au/uploads/documents/tps_resources.pdf
Here is a paper recently commissioned by the National Children's Alliance on the need for Canada to develop a National Youth Policy Agenda. It is set out as a discussion paper as to why the agenda is needed, however it contains some good and solid information on youth development and their needs. You can enjoy this 16 pages document at http://www.nationalchildrensalliance.com/nca/pubs/2004/youthpolicypaper.htm
You may be interested in the papers being presented at a Colloquium on Community Safety. The papers range from Youth Violence, Youth Gangs, Preventing Violent Offending in Youth to Recreation and Youth Development, the Challenge of Promotion Inclusive Education, Sport/Recreation Youth Programming and Development, and Creative Inclusive Communities (for Toronto's Young People). The papers are between 15 and 30 pages in length and can be found at http://www.sa.utoronto.ca/area.php?waid=4
If you work with rural youth, then this resource will be of special interest to you. Prepared for the Rural Secretariat of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, senior members of 4-H Ontario were consulted to provide input into rural youth assets, barriers to participation in rural life, and strategies for improved youth inclusion. You can find this report at http://www.youthinrecreation.org/pdf/OntarioRuralYouthDialogue.pdf
Here are two reports by the Child Trends Databank. While this information comes from the States, it provides some interesting commentary on youth participation (past grade 8) in school athletics http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/pdf/37_PDF.pdf and youth participation in school music or other performing arts programs http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/pdf/36_PDF.pdf Both speak to participation trends and comment on aspects of participation that are influenced by gender, parental involvement and post secondary aspirations. These are not long reports, and provide summary graphics of participation.
The Fund for the City of New York has a keen interest in youth development. From this website, http://www.fcny.org/html/ , click on the Youth Development Institute and then on the Networks for Youth Development on the left menu. Then scroll down to see the Network Publications area and see the 3 books in the book category. These are very easy to read interpretations of how youth development can be initiated and supported between and amongst service providers. Click on the books to download a copy.
Here is a resource that encourages youth to take out a good book about physical activity. It is hoped that youth ages 10 - 14 years will read books with positive physical activity messages and then participate in those kinds of activities. Check out a fuller description of this project at http://216.13.76.142/PROntario/PDF/May04MediaRelease.pdf or the listing of books at http://www.lin.ca/lin/resource/html/ac1020.pdf
A very interesting document is out in the form of the World Youth Report 2003. Its main message is that young people must be given the tools to be effective agents of social change. The World Youth Report describes the situation of young people in 15 areas of concern, those being: education; employment; hunger and poverty; health; environment; drugs; juvenile delinquency; leisure; gender; participation; globalisation; information and communication technology; HIV/AIDS; armed conflict; and intergenerational issues. Of particular interest is the chapter on Leisure, which solidly builds the case for the need for youth 'play' and closes with 3 recommendations for countries to ensure: that communities are 'saturated' with opportunities for youth play as present mixes are not adequate to meet current demands; that there are infrastructures that can support youth play on an ongoing basis; and that public and political will is needed to support the need for expanded, not reduced, youth services. The report is available at: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/wyr03.htm The Leisure section is around 25 pages and is worth the review.
The following summary of the proposed competencies for a Youth Development Worker and a summary of a proposed recruitment and selection process might be of interest to you and to those who will be hiring for these positions. You can find the 'competencies' listed at http://www.nydic.org/nydic/documents/FinalCompetencies1.doc For a more extended list of competencies, please contact Norma McDonald-Ewing at Conestoga College (newing@conestogac.on.ca). For information on the 'recruitment and selection of YDW' check out http://www.nydic.org/nydic/documents/Prof_Series_2_3-19.pdf
This 36 page document is a really good read about the role of youth serving programs and organizations, how youth benefit from those organizations that are youth and learning focused, and the role the community should and could take in supporting youth development. It also includes a series of recommendations for Community, Youth Organizations, Schools, Funders and Policy Makers. It was created for the Public Education Network out of Washington, DC, and can be found at http://www.publiceducation.org/pdf/Publications/support_services/communitycounts.pdf
Check out this interesting administrative report to the City of Vancouver Council (British Columbia, Canada). The purpose of the report is to request support for the Vancouver Civic Youth Strategy. The CYS was adopted in 1995. This particular report recommends that the Council request the Park Board, the Vancouver School Board, the Vancouver Police Board and other City departments to work with Social Planning to fully implement the goals of the CYS. This is an example of an integrated and detailed strategy that may be able to be used as a template by other communities. You can access this report at http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20030626/csb2.htm
March is Nutrition month and the Dieticians of Canada have released a backgrounder about their Eat Well, Play Well initiative to promote healthy eating and physical activity during the school age years. Of particular interest are the snippets of information about physical activity and youth on pages 13 to 15 of this 38 page document. There are also some interesting suggestions of activities to promote healthy eating and physical activity that you can find at the end of the document. You can find this resource at http://www.dietitians.ca/child/pdf/backgrounder.pdf
The following resource has more to do with children than youth but, because it appears to be so well done and that -with creativity - many of the activities can be translated into youth specific ones, here it is. It's a nearly 100 page resource on fun social activities through which younger and older generations can learn to better understand and appreciate one another. This resource is worth a pass on to the children's' or older adults' program in your area. Check it out at http://intergenerational.cas.psu.edu/Docs/Sourcebook.pdf
This is from the Forum for Youth Investment and is about after school activities for high school aged youth. Of particular interest may be the program snap shot, which isolates sample programming approaches for 9 year olds versus 16 year olds. It's an nice, neat one page summary of examples that can be used to help people understand the difference in programming for children and for youth. There is also some commentary on some specific program models for this age group, their impacts and their successes. At an 8 page read in newsletter format, it's worth the paper to print it and the article can be found at http://www.forumfyi.org/index.cfm
The Fort Worth Independent School District introduced Community Learning Centers during the 2001 - 2002 school year. In 2002 - 2003, an evaluation was done to track how the after school student program - comprised of additional academic activities (tutoring, study skills, homework help), character development activities (e.g. leadership, community service, drug and violence prevention and health education), and recreational activities (fine art, crafts, sports, board games) - affected school performance. This paper is included as it evidences correlation between character development and recreational activities and increased school performance. While it is an evaluation paper, its 25 pages or so are not overly technical. Click here to access it http://www.rpts.tamu.edu/
Plan for your next youth group meeting or summer staff training with this group of gems. Here is a link to icebreakers and games for a variety of ages (not all tested by Sprynt so content may vary). http://www.wilderdom.com/games/gamesspecific.html
Here is a nicely done website to help inform you about youth issues related to violence including bullying, harassment, and dating violence. It is called the Teen Relationships Project and is operated by The LaMarsh Centre for Research at York University. From the home page at http://www.arts.yorku.ca/lamarsh/projects/trp/index.html check out the 'what we've learned' and the 'annotated links' sections.
This tool may be considered more generic in nature (as compared to youth specific) but it is good for use with youth (and also children and has applicability to adults and seniors too). It's a great resource to help front-line coaches, leaders or instructors improve their ability to attract and retain participants of various ages in physical activity and it offers leaders advice about moving barriers, developing skills, and enhancing motivation for life-long participation in physical activity. Developed by representatives from Parks and Recreation Ontario, OPHEA, THCU, York University, OASES, the Ontario Fitness Council and others the toolkits are now available on the Active Ontario web site: http://www.active2010.ca/ From this site, just click 'go to table of contents' and peruse the pieces you want to download. It's worth the paper!
Put out by the Forum for Youth Investment in September 2002, this is a 38 page report on "Rethinking Leisure Time: Expanding Opportunities for Young People and Communities." It not only gives a lot of good information about what is youth leisure and how it is actualized, it builds a good case for it. Good fodder for making the case for youth recreation to decision makers and funders. Enjoy it at http://www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/
Citizen Re-Generation: Understanding Active Citizen Engagement Among Canada's Information Age Generations is a report completed by D-Code with contributions from the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy. The Information Age Generation (IAG) is from 15 to 34 and the report speaks about civic engagement such: charitable giving; volunteerism; voting; participation in political parties; activism; recreation and social participation; faith-based participation; and employment. It comments on influences on engagement such as: diversity; life stage; population mobility; technology; and media. It's a long print at around 120 pages, but you can print out the parts that you want, such as youth volunteerism (pages 25 - 42) or recreation (pages 64 - 71). The two page executive summary is also good and can be found at http://www.d-code.com/pdfs/CitizenReGen2003.pdf
Statistics Canada occasionally produces information about trends and research comparisons. Here is a quick release about Adolescence Self-Concept and Health into Adulthood. It gives a really really really brief comparison between studies in 1994/5 and 2000/01. Even those of us who don't like research can understand and use this info. Click here for the quickie coverage. http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031119/d031119b.htm
In October, the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples released its Final Report on Urban Aboriginal Youth: An Action Plan for Change. Of interest may be parts IV and V, one speaks to Key Principles for Effective Services Delivery, and the other speaks to The Needs of Youth with a specific area 1.3 on Sport, Education and Recreation. Here's the PDF at http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/2/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/ABOR-E/24app-e.pdf
If you are interested in ways in which adults can meaningfully and proactively support youth, then this is a really nice easy and quick resource for you to read and use. Adapted from Search Institute materials, and with a school flavour that can be adapted to pretty much any youth-related environment, this is a tool that you can use to help educate staff, volunteers, and elected officials on ways to engage youth. It's here at http://www.soundout.org/article.101.html
This is a lengthy but very good curriculum on how to engage youth in leadership and learning within their school and their community. It was developed by the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University. While it is created as a curriculum for middle school students (it has 48 - one hour lessons in it), the information is laid out in a very easy to use format and -for shorter learning purposes - different pieces can be extrapolated and worked on independently. A really nice resource, worth the paper it takes to print out. Check it out at http://gardnercenter.stanford.edu/pdf/YELL_handbook.pdf
This piece, called Finding Out What Matters for Youth: Testing Key Links in a Community Action for Youth Development Framework, works to show the link between youth development and its impact on having positive outcomes for young adults. For example, youth with poor developmental outcomes at the end of high school are 156 percent more likely to have poor outcomes as young adults. In contrast, youth with good developmental outcomes are 41 percent more likely to thrive as young adults. It is a bit of a heady read, but it nicely links research and observations. At around 75 pages, you can find it at http://www.ydsi.org/YDSI/pdf/WhatMatters.pdf This report was prepared for Youth Development Strategies Inc and the Institute for Research and Reform in Education.
Here is a website link from the United Way of Greater Toronto to the Four Fold Youth Development Model of program evaluation (just keep scrolling the list until you get there). This model, developed by 4-H in the States, had a series of great resources and tools attached to it. You can enter the site as a registered contact and then view the four fold approach and the many resources that you will find there. It's a bit challenging to manoeuvre through the site, but it's worth the trip. You can find it at http://www.unitedwaytoronto.com/peod/instruments2.html
Here is a nice resource out of British Columbia on how to assess how your organizational is faring in being culturally competent when presenting programs. This easy-to-use assessment tool was developed by the Vancouver Ethnocultural Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Children and Families. If you are looking to ensure that your youth programs are open to the various cultures represented in your community, you may want to take a quick review of this tool which can be found at http://www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/publications/cultural_competency/assessment_tool/tool_index1.htm
Here is a nicely done tool to help you evaluate your peer mentoring programs. It is for youth who are in a youth/adult mentoring relationship and is for those ages 9 and up. The tool is very well laid out, easy to use, and shows how to interpret the information collected from the youth. It's 40 pages long but worth the file or print if you run mentoring programs or may do so in the future. Go to this website http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/publications.asp?search_id=7 and scroll down a couple until you hit the resource with the following descriptor: Measuring the Quality of Mentor-Youth Relationships: A Tool for Mentoring Programs, by Linda Jucovy, (August 2002, 40 pages).
This is a link to a new resource - Fire It Up! - Is a toolkit for youth action, produced by the Youth Action Network 2002. A great manual with lots of in depth information on how youth can make positive changes in their communities. It's a long read (88 pages), but it provides many tools to help empower youth. To download this manual click on http://www.youthactionnetwork.org/rac/index.html .
The American Psychological Association produced a 40 page resource for professionals working with adolescents. This 2002 resource gives a nice overview of the physical, cognitive, emotional, social and behavioural development of young people and gives some helpful hints for professionals as to how to positively interact with youth. A good read at http://www.apa.org/pi/
More and more youth are out at the skateparks. This is an activity around which an increasing amount of discussion is taking place. So, here is a website that might help you: learn more about boarding as an activity and as a specific youth culture; look at various different approaches to providing this activity (e.g. temporary, permanent, portable); and how to get a skatepark started in your area. It's an excellent resource website where you should be able to find the answers to most of your questions. Here it is at http://www.skatepark.org/
Here is a March 2002 report titled the Rural Youth Discussion Paper which has some good commentary on what youth feel about living in rural Canada, and what their needs and interests are. This link takes you to the index page and, if you scroll down, you will see there is an area which specifically speaks to recreation and social activities infrastructure. It's not a long read and it does contain some good information on strategies to retain older youth in rural areas. http://www.rural.gc.ca/researchreports/youth2002/toc_e.phtml
Here is an interesting, and quick read, on youth, extreme sports and how these activities begin to meet the developmental needs of youth. The host site, Youthography, deals in youth culture and issues out of the US. This URL is for the on-line version of the document but it's easier to read in the 'print ready' option. http://www.youthography.com/
Here is some really interesting research that YTV has done. The Annual Tween report focuses on "tweens" aged 9 to 14 and "kids" aged 6 to 8. The first issue, Wave 1, was published in 1995 with the help of Creative Research International. Every year from May until July, information is gathered on a wide variety of key topics such as leisure activities, amount of regular allowance and media habits. Since Wave 1, YTV has polled over 4,444 tweens and is committed to continually monitoring their motivation, attitudes and gender differences. In 2002, YTV decided to track this information bi-annually and to focus on a specific topic every second year. The 2002 report is the first Special Edition Tween Report which focuses on "kidfluence." You can find it here http://www.corusmedia.com/ytv/research/index.asp#TWEEN
This report is the compilation of a 6 year American study that worked with 6 communities to help build and sustain a community-wide infrastructure to support positive youth development. There were 10 key and critical lessons learned from that undertaking. You can connect to the on-line report by clicking here http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/115_publication.pdf and from there you can download the 40 page report (or go to the index and check out the specific lesson you want to print off).
Here's a nice schematic outline of the progression of youth participation from minimum to maximum levels. This one page is very easy to understand and share with others about the different ways in which adults engage youth. Click here to access the PDF file.
The Laidlaw Foundation is very supportive of increasing and enhancing opportunities for youth in recreation. At the end of 2002 a full day was hosted by the Foundation to help exchange information on 'making the case for youth recreation' and to obtain some direct feedback as to possible future directions. There was a series of expert presenters, whose presentation copies are now available online at www.laidlawfdn.org where you can go to the Youth Resources section and download the PFD titled Action Speaks Louder - Making the Case for Youth Recreation.
This is a resource guide on starting a peer mentoring program for youth in sport and recreation. This guide was developed through the Boys and Girls Clubs of Ontario and the Ontario Provincial Consortium on Youth in Recreation in 2001 as part of an International Year of the Volunteer funding initiative through the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation. This resource complemented a series of one day peer mentoring workshops that were held at that time (you can ignore the reference to the workshops and just use the resource as a stand-alone document). Here it is at http://www.nanrec.ca/upload/documents/nan_recresman1.pdf
Here's a report from the Canadian Council on Social Development and the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations. Whether or not you work or volunteer for a not for profit agency, this information might be of interest to you as, if you are a municipal representative, it has implications of what kinds of funding and financial challenges currently, and are anticipated to, face these groups. Ripple effects are something that can affect us in interesting ways so you may want to check out the 'summary' or components of the 'full' report found at http://www.ccsd.ca/pubs/2003/fm/
This paper, authored for the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, is about working to ensure your group, agency, organization or program is inclusive. Inclusive can mean a lot of things and wear a lot of different hats. It can mean including youth in governance models, or looking at different demographic representation, or just causing us to look at ways to include groups that may not be presently represented in the work that we do. It's around a 6 page read but very easy and it's called Towards and Inclusive Organizational Culture - Applying a Diversity Lens and can be found at http://www.ccic.ca/e/docs/002_dev_inclusion_applying_diversit_lens.pdf
Here is an interesting article from the Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres about work-related implications for youth vis a vis the secondary education double cohort this year. A summary report can be found here and there is a link on that site to the full report.
Here's an Ontario-based internet resource for your consideration. Enid Slack Consulting Inc. was commissioned by The Laidlaw Foundation to prepare a report on Municipal Funding for Recreation (Ontario). It is an excellent resource to get a snapshot of what investments have been made in recreation and culture in the past ten years or so and in doing some comparisons between the first and the end of that period. This PDF document is 44 pages long and can be downloaded from http://www.laidlawfdn.org/files/children/recreation-funding.pdf
Here is the latest Evaluation Exchange reviews findings which speaks to outcomes for youth in 'out of school time' activities [anything from sports, community programs, arts, etc.] . This issue also includes articles on what is known from existing research and evaluation about the results that are possible from out-of-school time programming, expert commentary on what the future out-of-school time research and evaluation agenda should look like, and information about hands-on research and evaluation tools and resources. The issue is available at: http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/eval/issue21/index.html
VECTOR means Video Exploration of Careers, Opportunities and Realities. There are around 20 portals on the main page to other websites on mentoring, money, careers, support groups, etc. Use this as a reference to inform your work with youth or let youth know that this resource exists for them too. Enjoy! http://www.vector.cfee.org/
Here is a resource site which contains information on approaches to mentoring and coaching. While it is focussed on adults, there are many resources that are transferable to creating youth mentoring or coaching programs. It's a Canadian site with a variety of content in a variety of areas. Well worth a 15 minute site orientation visit at http://www.mentors.ca/peer.html
The Laidlaw Foundation has just released 3 new working papers on social inclusion. One may be of particular interest to you and it is "The Role of Recreation in Promoting Social Inclusion" by Peter Donnelly. A synopsis of all 3 papers can be found at http://www.laidlawfdn.org/ (go to the Children's Agenda Resource Section) and this synopsis is 30 pages long. Peter's report is around 38 pages in length and can be also be found in full on that page.
CYD, Community Youth Development, is a movement that supports the democratic belief that healthy communities engage both youth and adults in their local ventures. Carlos, a 17 year old quoted in this 10 page document, says "When I participate, I change myself, my family and my community." This really is youth development at its best. Of particular interest in this document are the last two pages which show how assumptions can move to become strategies with specified outcomes and measurable impacts. A neat little chart explains it all at http://www.cydjournal.org/2002Winter/Framework.pdf
Immigrant Settlement and Social Inclusion: Please don't let the title of this resource scare you off. It really is quite a nice read of one of the Laidlaw Foundations 'working papers' on social inclusion in Canada. Specifically, a couple of pages of this 44 page report speaks to the social inclusion of immigrant children and youth. If you want to print just these pages, print off pages 19, 20 and 21. The full document can be found at http://206.191.51.193/files/children/richmond.pdf
In 1996, the Innovation Center in partnership with National 4-H Council began a journey with partners in diverse communities across the United States to find, test, adapt, and document tools and approaches for creating positive community change and building partnerships between young people and adults. This experience is shared in the form of the Building Community Tool Kit. For free sample excerpts of this resource, or for other great resources from the Innovation Centre, go to http://www.theinnovationcenter.org/bullitems.asp?ID=8&ID_Area=3
Here is an interesting set of pages from the Town of Princeton, BC website which has a sub-section on asset development. It lists some really simple ways in which children, youth, adults, and groups can help build assets in their communities. Really easy stuff to read, to circulate and to incorporate in to promotional literature. http://www.town.princeton.bc.ca/
Here is a very nice piece, done by the City of Windsor, Ontario, that provides an information piece about a local skatepark. In this 2 page Summer 2000 PDF, you'll find a couple of notes about liability issues and research, graffiti art, the evolution of boarding, and the community development aspect of the park development. All in all a very quick positive educational and promotional piece. Click here http://www.citywindsor.ca/
A volunteer toolkit with a rural twist: Have you been looking for tools to: give you some new ideas for engaging youth in volunteer activities?; help you measure the value of volunteers?; objectively look at the health of your organization?; show you how to use your existing networks? The intent of The Ontario Rural Council (TORC)'s "Valuing the Rural Volunteer" toolkit is to stimulate rural volunteerism and support rural organizations. But it is really a universal toolkit for rural and urban volunteers alike that can lead to the development of new skills. Anyone interested can view and download all or part of the kit from the TORC Web site at http://www.torc.on.ca/index.shtml
The Center for Youth Development and Policy Research (USA) has authored a series of articles on youth development mobilization strategies. In basic terms, they have looked at what youth development is, the cost of youth development, how youth spend their time, what should be spent, and what are the anticipated returns on investment when the spending takes place. It's a great example of how to gather and interpret information to validate the need for and benefits of a youth development approach. Click here for the site and go to the Cost of Youth Development on the left side to access the series of articles there http://cyd.aed.org/ydmobilization.html.
This is the site for the National Recreation and Parks Association out of the States. It has a monthly publication on all things related to recreation and the December 2002 edition has a really interesting article called, "Programming For the Future..Parks, Recreation, and Youth Development." A nice easy read which gives some idea of the direction which public recreation (and others) and play in youth development through recreation and sport activities. http://www.nrpa.org/story.cfm?story_id=1279&departmentID=18&publicationID=11
The Centre for Excellence for Youth Engagement, affiliated with Health Canada, has some excellent and easy to read articles on youth engagement, the how's, why's, where's, etc. On this page, you can click on the left hand side for resource-based information or articles or interest. Well worth the read at http://www.tgmag.ca/centres/
The Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres has developed a PFD "tool kit" on how to add a youth volunteer program to youth employment centres. The information and philosophies are also relevant to other youth-specific services so it's worth a check out of the easy to read 22 pages at http://www.oayec.org/pdfs/youth_volunteer_Toolkit.pdf
Karen Pittman is one of the leading experts on youth development. Here is a recent article she authored on Communities Supporting Youth and Youth Supporting Communities. An easy 6 page read. http://www.cydjournal.org/2002SprSum/Anthology_Pittman.pdf
Youth Cultural Competence (YCC): Using the Power of Youth Popular Culture, Youth Involvement and Positive Peer Influence to Reach and Engage Youth was released by The Youth Development and Research Fund Inc. The report is available FREE in PDF format on http://www.ydrf.com/ or you can order a hard copy. The report is based on in-depth research of ten programs that are effectively recruiting, retaining and engaging youth in workforce development, education and arts programming. The report provides a detailed look at how YCC is being used to enhance program design and outcomes. If you don't want to print out the whole thing, then just print out Part Five which gives you a great youth cultural competence self-assessment tool.
This report released by Independent Sector and Youth Service America illustrates the strong impact of youth service on the giving and volunteering habits of adults. “Engaging Youth in Lifelong Service” reports that adults who engaged in volunteering in their youth give more money and volunteer more time than adults who began their philanthropy later in life. Visit http://www.independentsector.org/ (To download the PDF file –User name: media; Password: worldinfo).
The D-Code Newsletter comes out monthly with interesting and relatively short pieces about youth (late teens to 30's). It presents information on values, beliefs, interests and trends and is a great section to bookmark. Click here for more information. http://www.d-code.com/newsletter.html
If you are interested in research on aspects of engaging youth in civic activism, this resource is for you. In basic terms, it comments on how youth can be more meaningfully involved in society around them. It's not a lengthy read, around 15 pages, and it contains some good information to develop the case to support youth involvement in community affairs. http://www.theinnovationcenter.org/images/products/01240215092930_YLDI-Broad eningtheBoundsofYouthDevelopment.pdf
Here is a link to an interesting site which has an on-line youth program assessment tool. In addition to having a tool for programmers and adults, it also has a really nice and easy assessment tool for the youth to fill in also. Worth a check out. While you may not wish to register for it, the tool is a good example of what you could include in any tools you are developing on your own. http://www.uwex.edu/ces/4h/paat/index.html
The Exchange is a newsletter of the Family and Youth Service Bureau of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Here is a nice read of how to support youth by educating communities. While you can skip over the US policy relative info at the beginning, there is a neat 10 Little Things That You Can Do For Youth Next Year on page 3, some great commentary on youth development on pages 5 and 6, and a brief outline of the steps to go through to educate your community. Easy and straight forward. Enjoy! http://www.ncfy.com/pubs/may99.pdf
In the event that you didn't see this short two page article on youth obesity, here it is. Good for fodder for proposals to support physical activities for youth. http://www.centre4activeliving.ca/index.html
This site has some great and easy to read/understand resources on youth engagement. Click here for some general information on why to engage youth, but make sure to visit the additional two resource links on the top right hand side of that page to learn about degrees of involvement and how to foster participation.
Recently the Laidlaw Foundation commissioned a report on Perspectives of Social Inclusion, including: - Social Inclusion and Child Development; - Does Work Include Children? The Effects of the Labour Market on Family Income, Time and Stress; - Ethical Reflections on Social Inclusion; - Social Inclusion as Solidarity: - Re-thinking the Child Rights Agenda; - Social Inclusion Through Early Childhood Education and Care; - Feminist Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Children's Well-Being. You can find these reports in Adobe format and bookmark this page as another 7 reports will follow, including The Role of Recreation in Promoting Social Inclusion http://www.voicesforchildren.ca/report-Sep2002-1.htm
It seems, at times, we are all looking for examples of tools to help us evaluate youth programs. Here is an example of such a tool. While we have not used the tool to test it out, you can see that it appears to provide a number of nice "areas" to consider assessing your program, and it also includes both an adult and a separate youth tool. You may want to check this out at http://www.uwex.edu/ces/4h/paat/index.html
Here's an interesting link to a variety of games to use as icebreakers or activities with children and youth. Some may be very familiar to you, others may be new. The nice thing is that they are all in one location and easily printable (if you go into a section where there are questions and answers, don't forget to click on the answers area too so that you can print them off!). Please note that not all games and activities have been reviewed and that SPRYNT is not responsible for approving any content at this site. http://www.funandgames.org
Here is a study on the Impacts of Youth on Adult Organizations from the States titled "Youth in Decision Making." As it's a lengthy read (65 pages forthe body alone), so you might want to print off just pages 6 - 18 which will give you the index, intro and executive summary of the report. http://www.theinnovationcenter.org/images/products/01240215104234_YouthinDec isionMakingReportRevised9-01.pdf Or you could print off this nifty little 5 page brochure called "Research Highlights" from the same study. http://www.theinnovationcenter.org/images/products/01240215110725_YouthinDec isionMakingBrochureRevised9-01.pdf
Here's a nice 25 or so page read of the 2002 Canadian Public Opinion Survey on Youth and Sport from the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. This July report provides some good information on: the impact of sport on youth values; values promoted by community sport; broader community benefits; problems facing sport; and a copy of the survey tool used. Worth a check out at http://www.cces.ca/pdfs/CCES-RPT-2002Survey-E.pdf
Here is a quick snapshot on what youth in Canada today look like: what their interests are, their habits, their hobbies, their values and their beliefs. This was an independently commissioned paper which is an easy read and worth the 23 pages to print it off. http://216.13.76.142/PROntario/pdf/youthannerobinson.pdf
This research study, done for the City of Regina, on Recreation Behaviour of Youth in Region: A Study of Participation and Needs, was done in 1996 but is still a worthwhile read. It is a lengthy document, full of tables and such, so you might want to start by just printing out the executive summary listed here. http://www.lin.ca/lin/resource/html/al035%5B0%5D.pdf You could then check out some of the more interesting tables to see some of the gender differences in programming interests - check here for such an example http://www.lin.ca/lin/resource/html/al035[4].pdf or you could view and print the whole document from here http://www.lin.ca/lin/resource/html/al035[0].pdf - note that you need to print out each section separately. The whole document will take over 100 pages so don't get caught without paper!
Here is an interesting series of articles developed in 2001 by the American Medical Association. It is a Parent's Package, designed to provide parents with very general and easy to read information about teens and a number of activities with which they may become engaged (e.g. violence, cigarettes, depression, physical activity). Each issue is presented in a 2 page brochure format with a paragraph overview, some quick facts, some tips for parents and some additional resources. The tips are transferable learning and understanding pieces that may help you be a bit more informed about working with youth who may be personally experiencing some of these issues. 31 pages to print out or just print those topics in which you are interested. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/upload/mm/39/parentinfo.pdf
Here is a facilitator's guide to work with high school students and encourage them to take an active role in addressing the problem of tobacco use. While health or tobacco issues may not be part of your program, there are some good generic approaches and techniques you might want to consider. You need adobe and it's 86 pages long and can be found at http://216.13.76.142/PROntario/facilguidev101web.pdf
Health Canada has released the Physical Activity Guide for Children and Youth. You can access this document (need Adobe) at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/.
Here's a great website from British Columbia which deals with all aspects of working with youth, of engaging youth, and of providing resources for consideration when developing youth initiatives. http://www.mcs.bc.ca/yps/home.htm
Here is the Virginia Beach Youth Plan. It was adopted in 2000 and, in addition to being a nice easy read, also includes some good guiding principles, vision statements, and workable short, medium and long term goals, desired outcomes and useful reference information. It's 50 pages long but worth the read if you are embarking on a similar project in the future. It's a nice template to follow.
Here is a good read on how to reconnect youth with their community through using a positive youth development approach. It is 64 pages and you need Adobe to open it, however it is nicely written and a generally easy read. If you want a couple of good questionnaires to use on leadership and how to determine your organization's state of readiness to deal with implementing a youth approach, then go to Appendix A and B and print just those pages off. The final five or six pages are listings of some great youth development publications. This resource is from the United States and was produced in 1997. http://www.ncfy.com/Reconntg-YC.htm
If you want a nice 12 page outline on how to kick start youth development, check out this website. It's from the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth Work and has an excellent step by step process for you to follow. http://www.ncfy.com/Trans-YD-Action.htm
Community Youth Mapping - Here's an interesting concept called "community youth mapping", where youth go out and find out what's in their community for them. There's general info on mapping and an easy-to-understand 10 step process outlined on this web site. Enjoy!
Interested in what girls and young women are thinking about? Here are some sites which can provide some inside into this generation. In some cases, the site is designed specifically for use by girls/young women (good in that it can give you some ideas about what's hot and what's not). In others, it's also designed as a resource for adults with research and other information you may find helpful. The first site is Canadian, the others American but, as you will find when reviewing them, a border doesn't make all that much difference! http://www.caaws.ca http://www.girlpower.gov http://www.girlzone.com http://www.girlsite.com http://www.girlsinc.org
Youth Summit Findings - Here is a summary of the findings from the Youth Summit hosted in 2001 by the Foundation for Active Healthy Kids and the Ontario Physical and Health Education Association. Of particular interest are the comments youth have about their lives in relation to physical activity and healthy eating. A series of recommendations are also worth reviewing. It's 26 pages long and you need Adobe to open it. Click Here.

Training Briefs - On this page you will see one of the categories as "training". Click on that and it will take you to a number of Training Briefs, all in PDF format. Each has a different focus and they all seem to be between 2 and 4 pages long. Could be a nice little library for you on this subject!
Youth Development Strategy - This document is about a recent youth development strategy in New Zealand (some really nice solid information about the principles of youth development and their application). It's 52 pages long and you need Adobe Acrobat to open it.
Recognition for Young Volunteers - Annually the Province of Ontario solicits nominations to recognize worthy young volunteers. The deadline for this year's submissions is March 15th. Here's the site where you can find out more about this and other volunteer recognition awards.
Youth Interested in Getting Involved Their Communities - Here is an article from the States. It is interesting in that it speaks to the fact that youth are interested in getting involved in their communities and what will stimulate their involvement. The article also includes a web site link to a youth web site (which may be of interest for those of you looking to develop one of your own).
Organizations in the youth Development Field - Here is an interesting article on the role of local Intermediary Organizations in the youth Development Field.
The Role of the Determinants of Health - This article is a bit dated (1999) but you may not have seen it yet and it's quite insightful. It was authored by the Health Canada and is entitled Healthy Development of Children and Youth: The Role of the Determinants of Health. It's 30 pages long, you need Adobe to read it.
Canadian Research Policy Networks Inc. (CPRN) - Here is an interesting resource from the Canadian Research Policy Networks Inc. (CPRN). The resource may seem a bit "heady" as it's a literature review of youth and citizenship, but it's an interesting read in terms of looking at youth within the context of the larger community.
Programs That Work - A nice read on the concept of youth development, 15 pages printed out.
Hearing the Voice of Youth - Here's an interesting research paper on youth participation in selected Canadian municipalities called "Hearing the Voice of Youth." It records consultations with youth on their issues and how communities are identifying and responding to youth needs. This is a 60 page PDF file (you need Adobe Acrobat to open it) that includes all appendices. Download the whole document or print off only those pages that interest you!
Youth Recreation: A Pathway to Citizenship - The CPRN is in the process of looking at recreation in terms of its relationship to youth and citizenship development. This is a much shorter read, because it is just speaking to the process they will be undertaking, but there are some nice references and footnotes that are usable in any funding application or presentation on youth services.

Let's Get Moving - Here is some information on Let's Get Moving, a process to encourage child and youth involvement in physical activity.
Children with Special Needs - Here's some information on children with special needs. While SPRYNT is dedicated more to youth service providers, many of you may be interested in this information released on November 20, National Child Day and, specifically, its reference to recreation programs. About 461,000 children aged 6 to 11 have physical, intellectual or learning disabilities, emotional problems, chronic health conditions or a combination that leave them at risk of being excluded from many opportunities the majority of Canadian children take for granted, says the Canadian Council on Social Development report. The biggest needs were for resources for children with emotional and mental health problems, followed by recreation programs and school services. You can view both the summary report and the full report.
Engaging the Next Generation - Here is an interesting article on How Non Profits Can Reach Young Adults. The link is to the Executive Summary to this report (3 pages) and you can click at the end of that report to download the whole thing (36 pages). It's been prepared by the Ad Council in the States and the full report deals with:who are we trying to reach; what makes young people volunteer; how to attract volunteers; and how to develop a communications plan. It's a nice read with a good overview of the youth culture.
Community Cooperation for Change - Dufferin Mall (Toronto) was experiencing challenges in addressing youth issues at that community location. A strategy was formulated to work with local youth to provide services to more directly and effectively meet their needs. Here's a summary of that interesting developmental process.
Turning it Around For All Youth - Hello all! An interesting article that speaks about moving youth from stages of "risk" to competencies in "resilience." Brought to you by our friends from ERIC!
Leisure Information Network - There seems to be a great deal of interest in research articles and in program information. We suggest that you use the Leisure Information Network to help you get information you seek on parks, recreation, sport and leisure services. At www.lin.ca you will find a searchable recreation data base, a listing of relevant training and development activities, and a myriad of other resources and options. If you haven't already done it, bookmark LIN now.
Determining the Effectiveness of Youth Programs - Here's a tidbit from ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, New York N.Y., about Determining the Effectiveness of Youth Programs.
Managing Youth Programs: A Critical Gap in the Research - And yet another ERIC contribution on youth programs ... this one is about assessing gaps in research surrounding the topic of Managing Youth Programs.
How to Include Women and Girls in Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity - This is a solid article from Australia on how to work to include women and girls in sports and recreation activities. There are some points to note and then a series of best practice examples within Australian groups to show how they have applied the policy and concept to practice.
National Meeting Youth Needs with Community Programs - The Educational Resources Information Center (USA) puts out Digests of various and sundry articles related to learning situations. These Digests are snippets of full reports which give a flavour for research having been undertaken. The Digest may be technically written however the content is quite good.
National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: Participation in activities - Here is a Statistics Canada site that speaks to the benefits of sports and recreation for children and youth.
Literature Review on Youth and Citizenship - Many of us work with youth through holistic or all encompassing program approaches. Today, September 10, 2001, a report on the status of youth as citizens - e.g. contributing members of their communities - was released. Click above to get a copy of the press release on the report, called a Literature Review on Youth and Citizenship, the executive summary, the report highlights, and the full report (131 pages in length).
Child and Youth Friendly Community Project- The Society for Children and Youth in B.C. is a volunteer advocacy group for children and youth in that province. Recently, they have begun working on a Child and Youth Friendly Community Project to help service providers become aware of and understand what is needed to help make communities more child and youth friendly. Visit this website to get information on what to consider, how to embark, and what examples there are of friendly sites presently in operation. A very nice resource location. It also links to the Society's website.
Developing our Future: Austin Neighbourhood Teen Program - This article, “Developing Our Future: Austin Neighbourhood Teen Program” is an article written for the National Recreation and Parks Association in the USA. It is reprinted with permission.
Dr. Peter Witt - We were fortunate to have Dr. Peter Witt of Texas A&M University as a keynote speaker at the MBA Symposium. Here is a link to the articles on youth development and recreation programs he has authored.
National Youth Development Information Centre - Again in the States, there is an organization called the National Youth Development Information Centre that supports positive youth development. Interesting articles, resources and links can be found here.
National Consortium on Recreation and Youth Development - In the United States, there is a group of academics that have created the National Consortium on Recreation and Youth Development. This links you to information about this group and to research articles that it has undertaken.
Volunteering in Canada - Research has found an increasing number of youth being involved as volunteers in Canada in the past 10 years. Volunteer Canada is promoting youth volunteerism and a portion of its website is dedicated to working with youth as volunteers.
Youth As Decision Makers - Summary - Here is the summary document of the Laidlaw Foundation's resource called "Youth As Decision-Makers." This summary document is around 10 pages long.
Youth As Decision Makers - Full Document - Here is the full document of the Laidlaw Foundation's resource called "Youth As Decision-Makers." This full document is around 60 pages long.
From Slides to Half Pipes - Here is an interesting article on Skate Parks found in the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association Magazine (reprinted with permission)
Community Coaching in Ontario - Here is a study of community coach attitudes and education resources available to coaches in Ontario (reprinted with permission)
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids - Here's an interesting site on how quality after school programs help children and youth during crime "prime time". Click on the site and look for "Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, America's After-School Choice: The Prime Time for Juvenile Crime
Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) - You've probably all heard the news about Canada's scorecard on children and youth in poverty over the past ten years. Of note is the increasing concern that children and youth from lower income backgrounds have less access to affordable and accessible recreation opportunities. Click here to check out the particulars.
Together With Youth - Parks and Recreation Ontario created "Together With Youth", a resource guide to working with at-risk youth in sports and recreation settings. You can download the document here.