Community Youth Development: Programs, Policies, and Practices

"I am highly enthusiastic about this work….this volume will be a watershed event in the field of applied developmental science (ADS) generally and, more specifically, in the study and enhancement of youth development….The editors of this book are among the premier ADS scholars in the youth development field. Indeed, their leadership has been, I would guess, the reason they have been able to assemble such a "star-studded" group of contributors to this project."--Richard M. Lerner, Tufts University 

In the face of the public perception that youth are engaged in more violence now than at any other period in our nation′s history, what does it take to create a community that promotes positive opportunities for all young people? Or, in other words, how do we look at teenagers as resources to be nurtured, rather than viewing them as problems to be remedied?

Community Youth Development: Programs, Policies, and Practices focuses on positive methods for youth development that are rapidly supplanting the traditional deficit-oriented, problem-reduction approaches. Edited by eminent scholars Francisco A. Villarruel, Daniel F. Perkins, Lynne M. Borden, and Joanne G. Keith, this accessible volume provides practical tools and models for developing community-wide initiatives that strengthen protective factors, build competencies, and focus on thriving indicators. Examining the needs of multiple audiences, programs, and policies, each chapter contributes to an overall understanding of the "how" and "why" of community youth development.

A diverse and distinguished group of contributors formulate a comprehensive framework of positive youth development by examining

• African-American, Latino, American Indian, and immigrant youth issues
• The role of gender and sexuality in youth development
• Strategies for success with disabled youth
• Approaches to job and career development
• Key elements of community-based youth development
• Skills and characteristics of successful youth workers

Community Youth Development supplies readers with the essential information to successfully create an environment that provides optimal opportunities for healthy youth development. The editors gather together the top names from many of the most innovative programs in youth development to ensure authoritative, cutting-edge coverage.

Designed for upper division undergraduate and graduate students in human development, family studies, and education, Community Youth Development is also an invaluable resource for researchers, practitioners, and policy advocates for youth and community development.

Francisco A. Villarruel (Ph.D., 1990, University of Wisconsin, Madison) is an Associate Professor of Family & Child Ecology at Michigan State University and a Research Associate with the Institute for Children, Youth, and Families, a university-wide research and outreach unit promoting positive development of children, youth, and families in communities through the application of the scholarly resources of Michigan State. He is affiliated with the Julian Samora Research Institute, which generates applies knowledge to serve the needs of Latino communities in the Midwest. Since joining Michigan State in 1992, Dr. Villarruel has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in both the Community Services and Child Development programs. His research focus is on developmental contextualism, Latino youth and families, and positive youth development.

Daniel F. Perkins (Ph.D., 1995, Michigan State University) is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist within the Agricultural and Extension Education Program of the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to coming to Penn State in 2000, he worked in the Family and Child Ecology Department at Michigan State and the Family, Youth, and Community Sciences Program of the University of Florida. His research area is family and youth resiliency and policy, with a focus on strengthening the capacity of families, youth, and communities to be partners in building strong families, fostering positive youth development, and creating caring, safe, and productive communities.

Lynne M. Borden (Ph.D., 1997, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Division of Family Studies and Human Development at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Dr. Borden′s scholarly interests focus on the contribution and the relationship between multiple contexts such as structured out-of-school programs, schools, families and communities on positive development of young people. She worked as an elementary school teacher and middle school counselor before returning to academia to focus on issues relating to children, youth, and families. Since returning to academia, she has published over 25 refereed journal articles, as well as chapters for handbooks and encyclopedias of human ecology and developmental psychology.

Joanne G. Keith (Ph.D., 1977, Michigan State University) is a Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Family and Child Ecology at Michigan State University, where she has taught since 1977. Her appointment includes scholarship through research, teaching, and outreach. She has integrated these areas in a variety of state, national, and international professional experiences. Her current areas of outreach and research include: an assets-based approach to positive youth development; indicators of the status and demographic trends related to children, youth, and families at the national, state, county, and community levels; community collaborations on behalf of children, youth, and their families; and youth and families from an international perspective. Her interests include middle childhood, early and later adolescence, community youth development, assets/strengths-based approaches to youth development, and generations and family influences. She regularly teaches a graduate seminar, Positive Youth Development: An Asset-based Approach.