Did you know that the 2009 Healthy Communities Healthy Youth Conference is less than a month away? Will you be in Cincinnati this year? I will! It’s not too late to register—you will even receive an Early Bird Discount by registering by October 15. Check out the HCHY Conference site for more details.
This year’s conference is full of interesting and exciting learning sessions. If you are as fascinated by surveys and/or data as I am (and really, who isn’t?), make sure to check out the following sessions:
Bringing Precision to our Passion in After School Settings: Management Skills and Measurement Tools for Program Quality
F320 Representatives from the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, Ready by 21 partners, & Kristin Johnstad , Search Institute
The presentation, which is geared toward youth policy makers and community leaders as well as afterschool program administrators, program managers and practitioners, will cover four main topics. First, we will provide a theoretically grounded, face valid definition of quality that is relevant across many youth-serving organizational contexts. Second, we will discuss the role that instructional leaders (e.g., principals) and program managers can and should play in supporting quality improvement efforts, including helping to build and sustain professional learning communities. Third, we will review different quality assessment tools and related supports, including the Youth Program Quality Assessment / Intervention (Youth PQA / I). Finally, we will offer practical advice that audience members can use in their own quality improvement initiatives.
Participants will come away from this session with an in-depth understanding of (a) the critical components of sustainable quality accountability and improvement systems; and (b) the management skills required to build, implement and maintain such systems. All participants will receive copies of the Youth PQA Form A (setting-level items), Form B (organization-level items), and management competencies framework. Participants will also receive a summary of how diverse systems have deployed the YPQA/I and accompanying training and technical assistance supports.
What Do We Do Now? How to Use the 40 Developmental Assets Data to Effect Change in Your Community
T118 Georgina Williams, LMHC, Los Alamos Public Schools
You will leave this session with practical ideas to implement in your community concerning how to use survey data to create programming and policy that improves community-based services to youth.
Search Institute Surveys: What, When, How, Why?
S513 Erika Klein, Search Institute
If you are new to Search Institute surveys, this session is for you. Surveys can be an important tool not only in measuring, but also for mobilizing and engaging a community around youth and asset building. In this session, Search Institute staff will discuss general information about the surveys; the applications and sectors that are appropriate for each survey; tips on when, where, and how to conduct all of the survey options; and logistics, costs, parental consent, and other pertinent considerations for each survey. Time will be given for a small group exercise, discussion, and Q&A.
Getting to Outcomes with Developmental Assets Across the State of Maine
F430 Matthew Chinman, RAND Corporation
Learn about the five year study funded by NIDA to examine the impact of blending the Getting to Outcomes process with the Developmental Assets framework in twelve communities across Maine. How can GTO be implemented? What does the technical support process look like and how will results be measured? What are the early findings?
Adaptation of Surveys across Cultures: The DAP in Japan
T110 Amy Wilson & Masako Iwano, Yamaguchi Prefectural University
This session will focus on the administration of the Developmental Assets Profile survey (DAP) to over 14,000 Japanese youth in 81 schools, including how the survey was translated and implemented, and how the results can be interpreted in an Asian culture. We will present the results of our findings, along with suggestions on how the DAP can be adjusted to be used across cultures, specifically East Asian cultures.
Building Asset-Strong Peers through Youth-Driven Initiatives
S516 Northeast Community Challenge Youth Coalition Representatives, Northeast Community Challenge Youth Coalition
Learn how the Northeast Community Challenge Youth Coalition, an award-winning youth coalition, develops and implements youth-driven initiatives that promote positive youth development. This session will illustrate how youth can be empowered to become change agents in school and community prevention planning and programming. Learn how they use Search Institute survey data and the Developmental Assets framework in strategic planning to develop projects that have implications for building asset-strong peers. The Youth Staff will provide an overview of their initiatives, which includes a project in response to a community problem that began as the power of one and became the power of many.
See you in November!
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