New Report: Youth Social Change Programs

Posted by on February 13, 2004

SOCIAL CHANGE PROGRAMS ATTRACT HARD-TO-REACH, ALIENATED YOUTH WITH MUCH SUCCESS, FINDS NEW REPORT FROM THE INNOVATION CENTER

In an audio press conference on Wednesday, January 28th, the Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development released research demonstrating that social change organizations can and do lead the way to better the lives of youth throughout the country.

Lessons in Leadership: How Young People Change Their Communities and Themselves, is the executive summary of research conducted by Social Policy Research Associates on youth development and civic engagement. It is one result of the Youth Leadership for Development Initiative (YLDI), a three-year initiative funded by the Ford Foundation and coordinated by the Innovation Center to study how young people benefit from involvement in civic activism. The research, based in-depth and multi-year site reviews, contains three major findings:

* Social change programs reach youth who are often not reachable by conventional youth development programs.
* These organizations matched, and often surpassed, traditional youth-serving organizations in providing youth with support for their development.
* Social change groups have created new and successful models for working with young people. They learn how to make decisions, act as leaders, and work in partnership with adults.

The Innovation Center is using theses findings to develop practical tools and training programs that can help organizations and funders work more effectively with young people. For more information about Lessons in Leadership and Extending the Reach of Youth Development Through Civic Activism, the full research report, or on the Youth Leadership for Development Initiative, I encourage you to visit our website at http://www.theinnovationcenter.org.