(from February 1994, Youth Update newsletter) There Seem to Be Two Kinds of Money Managers in The World.

First are the ones you read about in the personal finance how-to books. They have a family budget, and they actually try to follow it. They balance their checkbook every month (and it works the first time), they pay all their credit cards on time, they start saving for college when the baby is born, and they think of every major purchase as an investment. These folks may not have lots of money now, but they'll probably have more later!

The other money managers don't necessarily have less income or greater expenses on the average, but their financial picture is quite different. Regardless of how much money they make, they live paycheck to paycheck. Their finances are characterized by one crisis after another. They may have a budget in their heads, but "something always comes up," so they're always playing catch-up. Credit card balances are high, and they always vow to start saving "after my next pay raise." Yet all the unexpected expenses, bank overdrafts, and interest payments keep them from building up the emergency fund they've always wanted.

While most of us recognize the first approach as far better, the second picture is a disturbingly accurate analogy for the way our society has been taking care of an investment that is far more valuable than money: our children and teenagers. Instead of doing everything we can to guarantee a good "return on our investment," we have spent tremendous amounts of energy just trying to recover from the damage that has already been done.

This "crisis mentality" is evident everywhere-just read the newspaper headlines every day. We're spending our resources to intervene in crises such as teen violence and dropouts and pregnancy and drug use and suicide and . . . the list seems almost endless. "If we could just get rid of all these bills, " we tell ourselves, "we would be able to manage our 'investments' wisely. "

It has become clear that a powerful approach for raising healthy young people is to focus energy and effort on positive youth developmentÑthat is, "building assets" for and with young people. This approach calls for shifting attention away from a concentration on stopping or preventing problems to increasing young people's exposure to the positive and constructive activities known to promote healthy, responsible, and compassionate choices.

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Building Assets Works! Why The New focus? Because it Works.

If communities, congregations, families, schools, youth organizations and others can learn-or reaffirm-their role in "managing their investment" in youth, then we'll be more like the money managers who avoid the crises because a strong system and structure is in place to help get through the tough times.

Research underscores the value and potential of a focus on building assets among youth. About 600 communities across the United States have conducted a RespecTeen-sponsored survey of youth, in which the presence and effect of 30 "developmental assets" were measured. These include family support, discipline, positive activities, church involvement, commitment to education, positive values, and life skillsÑthe kinds of things young people need to grow up healthy. The research turned up both good news and bad news:

Bad News-

A major reason that our society is faced with so many crises among our youth-from violence, to pregnancy, to school dropouts, to suicide-is that society no longer provides them with the developmental infrastructure (the assets) they need to grow up healthy. In fact, the average teenager has only about 16 of the 30 assets. In short, far too many young people don't have the kinds of things they need to help them grow up healthy. This depletion of assets occurs in small towns as well as larger communities.

We will have little success in "fixing the problems" among our youth unless we rebuild the foundation. Until we start helping young people expand the assets in their portfolio, we will continue to see "overdrafts" in the form of troubled teenagers. We must invest early and often so young people will have the resources they need to cope with the ups and downs of growing up.

Good News-

But the news isn't all bad. Research shows that when young people have enough assets in their lives, they are much more likely to lead healthy, positive, productive lives. These young people simply do not make as many harmful decisions as youth who don't have these assets. They have fewer problems with drugs, violence, sexual involvement, and depression. Furthermore, they experience greater success in school and volunteer more often to help other people.

The numbers tell the story: If 9th-12th grade youth have only 1-10 of the 30 assets in their lives, they are involved, on average, in 5.8 of 20 at-risk behaviors. But if you increase the number of assets to 11-20, the level of at-risk involvement drops in half to 3.4. This same pattern continues so that the average 9th-12th grade student with 26-30 assets is involved, on average, in only 0.8 of the 20 at-risk behaviors.

Take, for example, the specific area of problem alcohol use. Teenagers with ten or fewer of the 30 assets have a 46 percent chance of being at risk in the area of alcohol use. If they have 11-20 assets, only 25 percent are at risk. If they have 21-25 assets, the chance drops further to 10 percent. And for those young people gifted with 26 or more of the 30 assets, the likelihood of at-risk alcohol use falls all the way down to 3 percent. Similar patterns occur for almost all types of at-risk behaviors, including drug abuse, sexual activity, depression, school problems, and more.

In short, increasing assets that young people experience decreases the crises they face, so the crises don't consume everyone's energy. Thus, by promoting assets, we can spend less time fixing problems*. (*These important findings are documented in two RespecTeen-supported reports by Search Institute: The Troubled Journey: A Profile of American Youth and Healthy Communities, Healthy Youth.)

Even Better News-

The assets aren't complicated to understand. They don't necessarily involve spending lots of money. Many assets are things that caring and committed people have been doing for years:
These are things that happen week after week and year after year in families, congregations, schools, and communities. These are the things that make a difference! It makes a real difference when . . .
As simple as some of these things may seem to be, many young people never experience them. They don't have relationships with caring adults. They have few opportunities for constructive activities. And they have never developed the personal commitments, values, and skills that they need. For too many youth today, our society and their own families no longer provide these basic keys to healthy development. The simple fact is that nearly all young people need more of these key developmental assets than they now have. Even in economically sound communities, assets are not as common as they should be.

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Themes for Building Assets

As this commitment to building assets grows, youth, schools, congregations, Lutheran Brotherhood branches, and whole communities will discover that building assets in youth will free us as a society from spending all our time and resources to deal with crises and problems. As the new model unfolds, several themes will become central:

Everyone Has a Role to Play.

The African proverb is really true: "It takes a whole village to raise a child." Every individual and every organization has an important role to play in building assets. It's not enough for young people to hear a positive message at home or at school or church or the mall. They need to hear the same message reinforced in all areas of their lives.

Building Relationships Is Key.

Many of the assets don't require lots of money. What they do require is time and commitment. Young people need caring adults and friends who support them, encourage them, and guide them. Parents play a key role, but everyone in the community can contribute by making the personal commitment to relate to youth.

Positive Youth Involvement Makes a Difference.

Much energy has been invested in the past to just saying NO. Building assets involves giving young people something to say YES to. Communities and organizations across the country are discovering the value and potential of involving youth in leadership, service, and other positive activities through which they contribute to their community and world. Lutheran Brotherhood has become a national leader in promoting youth leadership and citizenship, and encouraging youth and family community service.

Creating Healthy Communities.

Ultimately, developmental assets are most effectively instilled in youth when many sectors in a community come together to develop a vision for positive youth development and work together to surround every child and teenager with repeated exposure to the assets of support, discipline, structure, and values. People in every community and at all levels must begin articulating this vision of healthy communities so that it can take hold in the minds and work of people across the nation.

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