Positive Youth Development

What is
Positive Youth Development?

Positive Youth Development (PYD) is a research-based approach that guides communities by organizing supports and opportunities to help young people reach their full potential. At its best, PYD involves community collaboration with young people to create environments, relationships, and experiences essential for youth to thrive. Typically, it is implemented by youth-serving organizations and programs aiming to enhance effectiveness and achieve better outcomes in partnership with youth.
Positive Youth Development is an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth within their families, peer groups, schools, organizations and communities in a manner that is productive and constructive; recognizes, utilizes, and enhances youth’s strengths and assets; and promotes positive outcome for young people by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships and furnishing the support needed to build on their leadership strengths.

PYD is a commitment to the following principles:

Aim for positive outcomes
Use a strength-based approach
Promote youth engagement and voice
Utilize inclusive strategies
Foster collaborative, long-term community engagement

Positive Youth Development is an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth within their families, peer groups, schools, organizations and communities."

Training Overview

Who Should Attend

Positive Youth Development (PYD) training is for everyone, Positive Youth Development (PYD) training is designed for anyone who interacts with youth and young adults in any capacity. This includes individuals involved in housing support, mentoring, mental health, youth engagement, faith-based communities, businesses, media, and life coaching. We also encourage parents, guardians, grandparents, family members, friends, and mentors to participate. Our initiative aims to engage leaders from all sectors of the community

PYD is a community-wide effort focused on envisioning a better community, fostering collaboration, and engaging community partners.

A broader community collaboration can create both new opportunities for youth and supportive engagement from adults, setting the stage for resiliency and positive outcomes.

Successful youth development collaborations require reaching out to a diverse array of community partners and groups because today's youth are tomorrow's employees and networkers.

Intensive PYD Training – 3 Days (in-person)
This interactive training series is intended to introduce PYD to youth work professionals, volunteers, advocates, community providers and anyone working with youth and young adults. The training consists of seven topic areas:

Principles of PYD
Puberty and Adolescence
Youth and Technology
Youth Development Programming
Youth Voice and Engagement
Youth Work Ethics
Implication & Implementation of Practice

Intro PYD Training – 2hrs (virtual)

This brief introductory training will outline the basic principles of PYD. Participants will also learn about the Department of Children & Families approach to establishing a consistent and recognizable approach to adolescent practice that would improve the outcomes of transitional youth.

Upon completion of this training series, participants will be able to:

Identify the principles of the PYD approach

Strategize ways to put these principles into action
Identity the principles of the VITAL approach

The purpose of this training is to help guide communities in the way they organize supports, services and opportunities for youth and young adults to reach their full potential.

Benefits of Participation

Adults benefit by enhancing their own competencies, learning to better understand and value youth, and increasing their commitment and energy to their organizations.

Organizations benefit by improving their programs, gaining community recognition, and attracting funders.

Communities benefit by improving quality of life, coordinating youth services, and authentically.

We also encourage parents, guardians, grandparents and other family members, friends and mentors. Our initiative is a community wide effort.

Upon completion of this training series, participants will be able to…

• Identify specific challenges that some youth face when going through puberty and adolescence

• Explain risk taking in the context of brain development

• Describe current trends in teen online behavior

• Identify key features of the internet and its implications for online behavior

• Describe key competencies needed for youth workers to be effective

• Discuss how personal boundary issues arise and how to deal with them

• Identify common dilemmas experienced by youth workers and strategies to handle them

• Identify resources, services, supports and opportunities that youth have identified are beneficial

And More...

Empowering the youth!