Next Generation Bulletin 2 - May 2006

Submitted by LauraM on Thu, 08/27/2009 - 13:38

This issue begins with a picture of what it might look like when we have achieved progress in the five key areas that help build the youth work profession: standards and competencies; professional development and training resources; learning delivery systems; career ladders and compensation guidelines and research and evaluation systems.
Dale Blyth, University of Minnesota, begins this issue by helping us imagine the future of the youth work profession. Voices from the Field includes feedback given to Kica Gazmuri from frontline youth workers about these issues. Promising practices outlines some recent and ongoing efforts to collect information that will help us understand and be better able to support youth workers. Notable Projects, Studies and Events includes some recent publications and activities as well as some to watch for, and Learning from Other Fields focuses on what can be learned from child care. This edition concludes with commentary by Karen Pittman on Ten Ideas for Enriching the Profession.

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A Concise Case for Investing in Youth Workers

In order to strengthen supports for youth workers, it is critical that new champions join the effort. We must not preach only to the choir! This two-page case statement is designed to make a clear, concise, convincing argument for investing in youth workers, not just youth programs. We hope it is useful as you reach out to new groups of stakeholders to engage in this work, including business, education, higher education and more.

Youth-Worker-Case-Statement-March2010.pdf
Strengthening the Youth Development/After-School Workforce

Despite major advancements in the field, staffing – everything from recruitment, retention, supervision, to performance – remains a major challenge. There is a need to reexamine currently held assumptions about what it will take to build a strong, stable, committed workforce. What incentives? What opportunities? What requirements? For whom? In what combination? This brief report by Nicole Yohalem, Karen Pittman and Sharon Lovick Edwards highlights lessons learned over the past six years by the Forum for Youth Investment, Cornerstones for Kids and the Next Generation Youth Work Coalition, with an eye toward implications for funders. We summarize what is known about youth workers, why investments in this workforce matter, and what funders (private and public) can do to spark and support these investments. The goal is to support discussions about how focused attention on workforce development can be a part of funders’ individual and collective efforts to strengthen and expand after-school and youth development programs and systems.

Find the document here: http://forumfyi.org/content/strengthening-youth-developmentafter-school-...