Publications, Projects and Resources

Youth Work Core Competencies: A Review of Existing Frameworks and Purposes

On behalf of the Next Generation Youth Work Coalition and School’s Out Washington, staff from the Forum and NIOST collaborated on this review of 14 core competency frameworks in the Out-of-School Time field. Frameworks are compared in terms of content, structure and use.

Core Compentencies Review, October 2009.pdf
Stronger Staff, Stronger Youth Presentation

NAA, Next Gen and NIOST co-sponsored the Stronger Staff, Stronger Youth Workforce Track at this year’s NAA Convention in April in New Orleans. The track was so successful that many sessions had to close their doors due to overcrowding. Topics included an Overview, Core Competencies for Afterschool Professionals, Strengthening the Workforce by Strengthening Supervision, The Tipping Point: Credentialing with the Whole Field in Mind, Expansion and Innovation: A Look at Higher Education Opportunities, Expanding T.E.A.C.H.

StrongerStaff-StrongerYouth-PPT.ppt
Attracting, Developing and Retaining Youth Workers

In mid-November of 2004, a group of 35 youth development professionals representing diverse sectors of the field (youth workers, national youth-serving agencies, local and national intermediary organizations, Federal agencies and corporate and foundation philanthropies) agreed to come together as thinking partners in order to develop design ideas for a youth development workforce system. Held a the Wingspread Conference Center in Racine (WI), the conference was sponsored by the National Collaboration for Youth, National 4-H Headquarters and the University of Arizona.

MakingCase.pdf, Wing2pgSummary.pdf, WingReport.pdf
Capturing Promising Practices in Recruitment and Retention of Frontline Youth Workers

Research is clear that children and youth benefit from consistent, caring adults in their lives. Even though this is the case, local organizations continue to struggle to recruit and retain frontline youth workers. The National Collaboration for Youth surveyed its members and interviewed staff from local organizations to provide strategies they use to effectively recruit and retain staff who work directly with youth. Click here to view.

Understanding the Afterschool Workforce: Opportunities and Challenges for an Emerging Profession

In this report, the National AfterSchool Association summarizes the results of its survey of after-school workers, providing a detailed description of the workforce. These data, along with information from the Next Gen survey of youth workers, provides the most comprehensive illustration to date of the youth development workforce: who they are, what types of organizations employ them, and how – and if – they are supported by these organizations. Based on the results of these surveys, NAA suggests both policy and practice oriented strategies designed to strengthen the after-school field.

NAA-UnderstandAfterschool.pdf
Finding our Strength: Boston's Youth Worker Survey Findings

One of a series of briefs to be produced by the Next Generation Youth Work Coalition on the topic of the youth workforce, this report that was conducted by Achieve Boston on behalf of Next Gen details the findings of a survey of 316 youth workers in Boston. The report describes who these youth workers are, what their level of education is, what types of supports their organizations provide, their job mobility and job satisfaction, and other characteristics which begin to draft a portrait of what this workforce looks like.

NextGenBostonReport.pdf
Growing the Next Generation of Youth Work Professionals: Workforce Opportunities and Challenges

This report by the Forum for Youth Investment summarizes themes from eight focus groups conducted among 83 Illinois youth workers from both urban and rural locations around the state. Questions asked, and addressed, include the motivation for entering this workforce, youth work preparation, what workers need to feel supported, career challenges, and factors influencing decisions to stay in, or leave, the field.

NextGen-OppsAndChallenges.pdf
Youth Worker Workforce Featured!

In March 2007, Youth Today featured the youth worker workforce in an article titled, "Portrait of an American Youth Worker." The article focuses on who is the workforce, why people are youth workers and issues that face the youth worker workforce.

Career Pathways and Next Generation Youth Work Coalition

Cornerstones for Kids has once again funded support of the work for the Next Generation Youth Work Coalition. To kick off its first explicit round of policy work, the Next Generation Youth Work Coalition will work with identified networks/coalitions in seven "early adapter" states and cities across the nation (Baltimore/Maryland, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New York City, Vermont) that are already on the leading edge in addressing youth work workforce issues.

IdealSystemComponentsChart.doc, ClearPoliciesforCareerPathway.doc
Putting Youth Work on the Map

Over the past year, two comprehensive studies of youth workers were coordinated by the Next Generation Youth Work Coalition. Together, these two studies, conducted by the Forum for Youth Investment and the National Afterschool Association, capture the voices and perspectives of over 5,000 youth workers from across the country. Together they offer the clearest, most comprehensive picture yet of the youth work profession: who youth workers are, where they work, how they are supported on the job and what their aspirations are, for themselves and the field.

Putting_Youth_Work_on_the_Map.pdf, NextGen-PressRelease.doc