jkn

Youth Development and Community

DevelopmentPromises and Challenges

of Convergence

Michele CahillYOUTH DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE

FUND FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK

with a Youth and Community Development

Case Study

THE FORUM FOR YOUTH INVESTMENT

WITH THE SUPPORT OF

THE FORD FOUNDATION

Youth Development and Community

DevelopmentPromises and Challenges

of Convergence

Michele CahillYOUTH DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE

FUND FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK

with a Youth and Community Development

Case Study

APRIL 1997WORKING MEETING

THE COMMUNITY & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SERIES, VOLUME 2PUBLISHED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE FORD FOUNDATION

The Forum for Youth Investment was created to increase the quality and quantity of youth investments andyouth involvement by promoting a big picture approach to planning, research, advocacy and policy devel-opment among the broad range of national organizations that help constituents and communities invest inchildren, youth and families. To do this, the Forum commits itself to building connections, increasing capac-ity and tackling persistent challenges across the allied youth fields.

The Forum offers its members tools, intelligence, training, international perspectives and individual sup-ports. It creates opportunities for youth investors to come together in neutral forums to tackle persistent chal-lenges such as shaping public perceptions of young people and strengthening the links between preventingyouth problems and promoting youth preparation and development. It helps identify, facilitate and broker rela-tionships among members, offering them new lenses for looking at old issues, supports to turn the ideas intoaction and vehicles to reflect on lessons learned. It works to ensure that the information, tools and insights gen-erated by the Forum and its members are shaped by and useful to local communities and practitioners. It asksmembers to contribute commentary, products and time toward the creation of a shared information base. Allthis work is done in full partnership with Forum members, with the aim of increasing collective learning andaction on big picture issues issues that cross traditional sectors and lines, and which are beyond the capac-ity of any organization to tackle alone.

ABOUT THE FORD FOUNDATIONSCOMMUNITY YOUTH DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE

Using the positive youth development framework and guiding principles, the Human Development and Repro-ductive Health unit of the Ford Foundation launched the Community Youth Development Initiative. The termcommunity youth development is used to define the process of young people and adults working in partner-ship to create the necessary conditions that will result in the successful development of young people, their peers,families and communities the integration of youth development and community development. The Forumswork with the International Learning Group on Youth and Community Development is one of several projectsfunded by the Ford Foundation as part of its Community Youth Development Initiative.

The initiatives goal is to enhance the ability of young people from economically disadvantaged communi-ties to successfully transition from adolescence into responsible adulthood, economic self-sufficiency andengaged citizenship by building the capacity of low-income communities to create supportive environments.

Printed in the U.S.A. September 2001

ISBN No. 1-931902-02-X (Volume 2)

SUGGESTED CITATION: Cahill, M. (1997). Youth Development and Community Development: Promises and Challenges of Con-vergence. Community & Youth Development Series, Volume 2. Takoma Park, MD: The Forum forYouth Investment, International Youth Foundation.

2001 by the International Youth Foundation (IYF), 32 South Street, Suite 500, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 USA. T: +1.410.347.1500, F: +1.410.347.1188. All rights reserved. Parts of this report may be quoted or used as long as the authors, theForum for Youth Investment and IYF are duly recognized. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted forcommercial purpose without prior permission.

Please contact the Forum for Youth Investment at 7014 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, Maryland 20912, T: 301.270.6250,F: 301.270.7144, www.forumforyouthinvestment.org, for information about reprinting this publication and information aboutother publications.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT:PROMISES AND CHALLENGES OF CONVERGENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

CASE STUDY:YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, INC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

APPENDIX: WORKING MEETING PARTICIPANTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

COMMUNITY & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SERIES iii

PREFACE

COMMUNITY AND YOUTHDEVELOPMENT

Exploring Common Ground

COMMUNITY & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SERIES v

Communities are dependent uponthe minds, hearts and hands oftheir young people and youth aredependent upon the viability, vitality,protection and attention of their com-munity. These would seem to be com-mon-sense statements, but in manycountries, including the United States,this vital interdependence of youthdevelopment and community develop-ment is too often ignored.

The past few years, however, havewitnessed a major upswing in interestin the relationship between youth andcommunity. Youth developmentresearchers are looking for improvedmeasures of community influence andindicators of healthy environments.Economists and demographers aremeasuring the impact of youth skillsand behaviors on community viability.Youth advocates are looking for morepowerful ways to show that youngpeople can be key catalysts for change

in their communities. Youth serviceproviders are increasingly recognizingthe importance of involving youth in community development andcommunity actors in youth develop-ment. (Community youth develop-ment, the term now used by the National Network for Youth, 4-H and other youth-serving organiza-tions to refer to a blended set of youth and community commitments,reflects this shift.) And growing num-bers of community developmentorganizations are responding to the increased need for youth servicesand opportunities.

The overlap in the timing of theserevelations is important. It has createda sense of excitement and possibilityand sparked some innovative programsand initiatives. But the long-termimplications of this overlap theextent to which heightened concernabout youth and community develop-

PREFACE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

ment will translate into shifts in prac-tice within the two broad sectors are less clear.

The Ford Foundation and the Inter-national Youth Foundation both havedeep commitments to improving theviability of youth and communities.Equally important, both stronglybelieve that 1) it is critical to engageyoung people and adults in partner-ships to create the conditions necessary

for youth and community develop-ment and 2) this engagement needs tobe a priority for both place-basedorganizations (e.g., community devel-opment corporations [CDCs]) andpeople-based organizations (e.g.,youth-serving organizations). The twofoundations, therefore, have made acommitment to explore this commonground together through joint meet-ings, publications and projects. Wewelcome others on this journey.

vi COMMUNITY & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SERIES

INTRODUCTION

COMMUNITY AND YOUTHDEVELOPMENT

Complementary or Competing Priorities forCommunity Development Organizations?

COMMUNITY & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SERIES 1

On April 16-18, 1997, the FordFoundation and the Interna-tional Youth Foundation (IYF) cospon-sored a working meeting in Princeton,New Jersey, to encourage the emergingpartnership between youth develop-ment organizations and communitydevelopment organizations.

Representatives of 50 foundations,youth-serving community-basedorganizations, community develop-ment corporations (CDCs), policyresearch organizations, advocacy groupsand youth leaders attended the two-dayworking meeting. The primary ques-tion: How can and do organizationsthat have community and economicdevelopment as their primary goal con-tribute to the protection, preparationand participation of young people?

The papers, case studies and panelsprepared for the meeting provided par-

ticipants with a deeper understandingof how, historically, young people andyouth services have factored into themissions, strategies and services of theseorganizations that are currently shiftingor expanding efforts to address andinvolve youth. We initiate the Commu-nity & Youth Development Series withthree publications that were generatedfor or sparked by this meeting.

First in this workshop series is Com-munity Development and Youth Devel-opment: The Potential for Convergenceby P. Jefferson Armistead and MatthewB. Wexler of the Local Initiatives Sup-port Corporation (LISC). Thisthought-provoking paper, whichbuilds on a presentation made at aDecember 1996 Wingspread confer-ence, is accompanied by case studies ofthree community development corpo-rations that have significant youth pro-gramming and involvement.

INTRODUCTION YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Second in the series is Youth Develop-ment and Community Development:Promises and Challenges of Convergence,a persuasive overview of theoretical andpractical evidence of youth and com-munity development as convergentgoals or strategies prepared by MicheleCahill, Director of the Youth Develop-ment Institute of the Fund for the Cityof New York. Accompanying this pieceis a case study of Youth Development,Inc., a youth-serving organization thathas now established a CDC.

The third report, Beacons: A Unionof Youth and Community Development,is a compilation of three case studies of

New York City organizations that have started Beacons, school-basedcommunity centers that offer youngpeople and families a wide array ofopportunities to engage in youthdevelopment and community build-ing. The case studies show how three organizations with different ori-gins a CDC, an immigrant familyadvocacy organization and a child andfamily services organization approach a similar challenge. Thesecase studies, as well as those in theother publications coming out of thismeeting, were prepared by Judith Sil-ber, with the assistance of ShawnMooring and Annetta Seecharran.

Inca A. MohamedProgram Officer

Ford Foundation

Karen J. PittmanSenior Vice President

International Youth Foundation-US

2 COMMUNITY & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SERIES

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ANDCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

PROMISES AND CHALLENGESOF CONVERGENCE


Since 1990, a growing number of efforts in U.S. cities haveattempted to intersect youth develop-ment and community development.Such work suggests a potential forconvergence that could increase thepower of both community revitaliza-tion and youth development strategies.It also raises a fundamental questionfor practitioners, researchers, activistsand policy makers. How can youthdevelopment approaches enhance com-munity development and, likewise,how can community developmentstrategies promote youth development?

EVIDENCE OFEXISTING ALLIANCE

Addressing this question requires iden-tifying current types and indications ofexperiences that suggest such a conver-gence. The most prevalent ones are:

youth development organizationsare broadening their missions andtheir activities to include commu-nity building;

youth participation efforts areincreasing in scale, scope of contri-butions, and degree of responsibil-ity; and

community development corpora-tions are expanding their involve-ment with youth and withcommunity institutions that focuson youth, including schools.

Do these experiences signal a pivotalshift in community development andyouth development work? Will theystrengthen both? Undertaking severalexplorations will answer these questionsand assure an informed judgment.

First, it is essential to describe theseemerging experiences. For example,

what are illustrations of the initiatives,strategies, projects, activities and orga-nizational changes that characterizethese experiences? What organizationalshifts do they demonstrate? How dothe origins of the organizations affecttheir approaches to youth developmentor community development?

Second, identify the rationale forconvergence. Namely, what are the rea-sons supporting and driving the expan-sion of this activity and the linking ofcommunity and youth development?

Third, review past experiences.What do we already know from pastexperiences with strategies that uniteyouth development and community

development? What were their origins,strengths and limitations? What obsta-cles existed to the integration of com-munity and youth development?

Fourth, identify assets and persistentproblems. What are organizational and sectoral strengths that could bebuilt upon to foster a convergence?What limitations must be heeded and overcome?

Fifth, and lastly, promote genuinechange and sustainability. Considerhow youth development approachesactually enhance community develop-ment and how community develop-ment strategies can promote youthdevelopment. Consider how efforts at

A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ANDYOUTH DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE?

ASSESSING THE POWER AND POTENTIAL

1.Describe the Emerging Experience. Delineate examples, theirapproaches and the organizational changes they seem to reflect.

2. Identify the Basis for Convergence. Distinguish the reasons for thisactivity and the meeting/alliance of youth and community development.

3.Review Past Experience. Appraise past experiences with strategiesthat have linked youth and community development their origins,strengths, weaknesses and barriers faced.

4. Identify Assets and Problems. Outline organizational and sectoralstrengths and drawbacks that might affect a convergence between youthand community development.

5.Push for Change and Sustainability. Consider how youth andcommunity development actually enhance each other and how topromote viable efforts linking the approaches and strategies.

PROMISES AND CHALLENGES OF CONVERGENCE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT


these linkages can be transformative adopted not merely as discrete modelprojects but sustained as thriving move-ments. Are there emerging principlesthat can guide strategies for lasting con-vergence? Ultimately, all these questionsrequire extensive investigation. The fol-lowing merely offers an initial appraisal.

AN EMERGING FIELDOF EXPERIENCEChanging Missions,Changing Deeds

Today, national youth developmentorganizations and intermediaries, aswell as local community-based youthdevelopment organizations (CBOs),are engaged in efforts to expand theirvisions and practices to link youthdevelopment and community develop-ment. Notably, the National Networkfor Youth, Inc., and the National 4-Hhave together articulated a concept ofcommunity youth development asthe underpinning of their work.Community youth developmentnow serves as both a reconsideration ofthe work of these organizations and aframework guiding staff and organiza-tional development and programdesign. The National Network forYouth describes it as a:

holistic, systems- and strengths-basedapproach to working with youngpeople. [Community youth develop-ment] values and respects young peo-ple, addresses the whole personrather than one aspect, and involvesfamilies, communities and other sys-tems of supports to create healthyyouth, strong families and responsi-ble communities (Lane, 1996).1

Public/Private Ventures (P/PV)reflects a similar effort. It has joinedwith community organizations in sev-eral cities to increase neighborhoodsupports for youth development in theCommunity Change for Youth Devel-opment (CCYD) initiative. P/PVdescribes CCYD as a theory-basedcommunity-change initiative that:

. . . enables communities to createstructures that embody a theory inthis case, a theory of what youth musthave for healthy development.CCYDs theory is reflected in its fivecore concepts: 1) personal support andguidance from caring adults, 2) workas a developmental tool, 3) construc-tive activities that fill critical gapperiods, 4) active youth involvementin program and community activi-ties, and 5) continuity of attention tothese four areas from early adoles-cence to adulthood (P/PV, 1995).2

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROMISES AND CHALLENGES OF CONVERGENCE


1 Lane, R. (1996, Summer). On the Journey to Community Youth Development. New Designsfor Youth Development, 12 (3), 1418.

2 Making Urban Communities Better Places to Grow Up In. (1995). Philadelphia: Public/PrivateVentures NEWS.


Building Youth Supportsand Opportunities

So, too, much of the involvement bycommunity organizations and com-munity development corporations inyouth development focuses on build-ing neighborhoods that promote posi-tive youth development throughgreater supports and opportunities forchildren and youth. Through theirleadership and active participation in arange of community initiatives, com-munity-based youth organizations areidentifying such opportunities andsupports as evidence of communityviability. Furthermore, they aredemonstrating the importance of theirroles as vital agents for providing,organizing and/or mediating them.

In New York City, the Beaconsschool-based community centers rep-resent the largest annual municipalinvestment of non-categorical funds inyouth development. Through Bea-cons, lead youth development CBOswithin the community keep schoolbuildings open for use in the after-school and weekend hours, as well asduring the summers. They provide safespaces where community members canconvene and develop projects toimprove their neighborhoods.

Overwhelmingly, these BeaconCBOs identify community building as

a critical goal alongside youth develop-ment. They want the Beacons to serveas an impetus in many areas, includingbuilding a climate of safety; increasingthe number of adults focused on help-ing children and youth achieve posi-tive educational and social outcomes;building positive peer groups amongyouth; strengthening youth leadershipthrough opportunities for participa-tion and decision making; and stimu-lating and supporting neighborhoodimprovement. Experience over thepast five years has shown that meetingthis community-building goal requiresCBOs to engage in a variety of strate-gies that go beyond provision of serv-ices. In fact, the Beacons that havebeen the most effective in mobilizingcommunity support for youth activi-ties, and that have involved the hardestto reach teens (e.g., teen parents, gang-involved youth), have utilized out-reach or community-organizing staff(Cahill, 1993).

3

For many CBOs whose origins arein recreation, individual developmen-tal activities, or child and family serv-ices, outreach and organizing reflect afresh and challenging dimension. Atleast seven other cities are adaptingBeacons as a strategy for increasingcommunity-level supports for youth.For them, a fundamental challenge hasbeen identifying CBOs that havestrong youth development capacity


3 Cahill, M., Perry, J., Wright, M., & Rice, A. (1993). A Documentation Report on the New YorkCity Beacons Initiative. New York: Youth Development Institute, Fund for the City of New York.


and the motivation to change in waysthat support community building.

Advancing Active YouthContribution

YouthBuild, the most extensive U.S.program to integrate youth develop-ment with housing and neighborhoodrevitalization and employment, is rooted in valuing youth voices.YouthBuild values the contribution of youth in decision making and incommunity development.

It also exemplifies a youth participa-tion movement that is rapidly expand-ing in scale, scope of contributions and level of responsibility. Nation-wide, through their extensive involve-ment in community planning, serviceand action, young people are challeng-ing two deep-seated notions: 1) thatduring their formative years, youngpeople have little to offer their com-munities and 2) that young peoplehave minimal attachments to pro-social values, and therefore cannot betrusted with meaningful responsibili-ties. Youth have demonstrated theirwillingness to work hard to reclaimparks from deterioration and drugdealing, to staff summer play streets, totutor peers and younger children, torehabilitate housing and to registerneighbors to vote. Young people have

also taken on new roles in communityplanning, including participation inneeds and assets mapping.

The Center for Youth Developmentand Policy Research at the Academyfor Educational Development hasdeveloped YouthMapping as a com-munity and youth development strat-egy that emphasizes young peoplesunique qualifications in a critical areaof community planning. YouthMap-ping engages youth in canvassingneighborhoods, block by block, gath-ering information about what is avail-able in their communities forthemselves and their peers. The Centerstates that:

In essence, YouthMappers becomelocal ethnographers asking andanswering questions from a youth-oriented perspective providinginsight into the communities inwhich they live, the culture of whichthey are a part, and the other youngpeople with whom they interact(CYD, 1995).

4

Notably, in a number of YouthMap-ping communities, many of the partic-ipants are only 11, 12 and 13 years old.

On a smaller scale, in New York Citya number of community developmentcorporations (CDCs) have partici-pated in youth-driven community


4 YouthMapping. (1995). Center Connections, 3 (1). Washington, DC: Center for Youth Devel-opment and Policy Research, Academy for Educational Development.


assessments. From these experiences,the CDCs have gone on to expandother roles for youth, including foster-ing their involvement in environmen-tal reclamation and transportationprojects. For example, in Brooklyn, agroup of 12 teens who are members ofYouth on the Move a leadershipgroup sponsored by a CBO sur-veyed hundreds of young people, ages9 to 18, in their Red Hook commu-nity. They asked them to identifyissues which concerned them abouttheir neighborhood. Subsequently,these young leaders analyzed the sur-veys. They presented the results incommunity forums and followed upwith officials from the public housingauthority, the police and the board ofeducation to address policies with neg-ative impacts on youth.

For the CDCs and CBOs involvedin this work, youth assessments havebeen catalysts for organizationalchange. Many have added young peo-ple to community advisory councilsand community collaboratives. Severalwere faced with the troubling fact thatthey had given inadequate thought tothe issues raised in the assessments andthe demands that might ensue forchanges in fund development and allo-cation of resources. One CDC evenrevised a federal environmental grant itwas developing to write in new rolesand funded positions for youth.

Increasingly, young people are alsoactively engaged in public policy issues

at the local, state and national levels.In St. Charles, Missouri, a youth staffmember of Youth in Need and boardmember of the National Network forYouth led a successful state-wide advo-cacy campaign to defeat a balancedbudget amendment to the MissouriConstitution that would have resultedin large cuts to spending for highereducation and social services. In anindependent campaign, operated outof her apartment, this advocate andfellow organizers engaged over 2000young people in the successful effort.Similarly, in Oakland, California, agroup of high school students, who aremembers of various community-basedyouth organizations, actively recruitedvoter signatures to get Kids First aninitiative to expand funding for chil-drens services on the ballot. Theysaw it through to a winning vote.

Ultimately, youth involvement inpublic policy is not just an interestingidiosyncratic development. It is a criti-cal element in positive youth develop-ment and civic life, affecting bothyouth and their communities. A pri-mary outgrowth of such engagement isthe added diversity of voices informingpublic policy. In several communitieswhere young people have surveyedtheir peers about community con-cerns, there were already existing adultpartnerships or collaborations focusedon reducing drugs and violence. Theyouth surveys, however, consistentlyrevealed that teens have very differentexperiences with drug dealers, gangs



and the police than adults do. In addi-tion, children have different experi-ences than do teens. In manyinstances, community safety plansdesigned by the adult partnerships didnot address key risks and threats expe-rienced by teens and children; thesewere invisible to the adults. The sur-veys also consistently noted that,across communities, experiences withthe police vary dramatically with age.In some instances, policies developedby adult community residents and thepolice have been counterproductive asthey stigmatize all teens and alienatemany. By adding the voices of youngpeople to the dialogues about commu-nity safety, neighborhood partnershipshave been challenged to alter theirstrategies and address the differentexperiences in their communities.

Involvement by young peopledirectly in these dialogues has also chal-lenged some adult perceptions of teensas hostile and threatening. Instead,youth are now perceived as offeringinsights and information that can leadto more effective solutions to commu-nity problems. One director of securityfor a public housing authority statedthat he should have asked for theyoung peoples advice a long time ago,but he believed they were up to nogood because of the way they dressed.

The impact on young people hasbeen equally strong. In an evaluation

of the Red Hook Youth on the Moveprogram, youth community plannersreported increased knowledge abouthow government works, greater under-standing of problem-solving methods,more confidence and new skills, suchas public speaking. They noted strongcommitments to education comple-tion and working for positive commu-nity activism. In addition, many teensreported a new or heightened aware-ness of themselves as leaders and mod-els for children in their neighborhoodsafter learning of the views and con-cerns of so many young people (Baker,1996).

5Meanwhile, young people in

the Oakland effort indicated bothstrong commitments to continuedinvolvement in public policy dialoguesand expansion of career options toinclude public life.

In reflecting on youth participationin community planning and publicpolicy advocacy, it is important to remember that such involvement is rooted in and supported by the community-based organizationsthat encourage and foster it. Addition-ally, youth participation is clearlynurtured by staff who help young peo-ple sustain their involvement, reflecton their experiences and overcomeobstacles. This demands new types of youth-adult partnerships andchanges in organizational cultures,including management and decision-making practices.


5 Baker, A. (1996). Evaluation of Youth on the Move. Unpublished evaluation report.


A BASIS FORCONVERGENCEShifting Views of Youth

In the United States, there could be noconvergence between communitydevelopment and youth developmenttheories, programs and practices with-out a recent major shift in thinkingabout young people and their commu-nities a shift spurred largely by thearticulation of a conceptual frameworkof youth development.

While youth participation and com-munity-wide supports for positivedevelopment make intuitive sense,throughout the 1980s, public policyand much of professional practice in youth work approached youth asindividuals needing interventions.And such interventions occurred onlyif and when youth failed or were identified as at risk of failing.Communities viewed youth as eitheron track or at risk, and becameconcerned only when they exhibitedproblems or their behavior posed highcosts. Two factors supported a climatefor change: evidence from large numbers of evaluations of preventionprograms indicating the severe weak-nesses of individual, deficit-orientedservice intervention approaches and

research findings on youth develop-ment and resiliency.

First, interventions that engage youthin forming relationships with adults,mastering a skill, and contributing totheir well-being and the well-being oftheir community were found to behighly effective in preventing droppingout of school, substance abuse, juveniledelinquency and teenage pregnancy.These effective strategies also situatedservices for youth in a community con-text and built on the existing strengthsin neighborhoods, including familiesand community-based organizations(Dryfoos, 1990).6 Second, researchfindings on youth resiliency in high-risk environments highlighted the needfor social interventions that take ayouth development rather than a youthdeficit orientation. Indeed, youthdevelopment theory views youth ascentral actors in their lives, and definesyouth development as:

. . . an ongoing process in which allyoung people are engaged andinvested, and through which youngpeople seek ways to meet their basicphysical and social needs and tobuild the competencies and connec-tions they perceive as necessary forsurvival and success (Pittman &Cahill, 1992).7


6 Dryfoos, J. (1990). Adolescents at Risk: Prevalence and Prevention. New York: Oxford UniversityPress.

7 Pittman, K., & Cahill, M. (1992). Youth and Caring: The Role of Youth Programs in the Develop-ment of Caring. Commissioned paper for the Lilly Endowment. Center for Youth Developmentand Policy Research, Academy for Educational Development.

Developmental psychologists havedefined these core needs to includesafety, a sense of belonging/groupmembership, a sense of self worth/contributing, a sense of independence/control over ones life, a sense of closeness/relationships, and a senseof competence/mastery. Consensus on competencies defines these as a range of skills, behaviors and capaci-ties that are needed for adult success.For example:

Wynn et al. (1987) suggest thatthere are four capacities that ado-lescents must acquire (and thatadults need) to function in soci-ety: physical vitality, the ability tosustain caring relationships,resourcefulness and social con-nectedness.8

Pittman and OBrien (1989) sug-gest that there are five essentialareas that define preparation for adulthood: 1) academic educa-tion, 2) health, 3) work exposureand experiences, 4) personalgrowth and development and 5) social responsibility and social awareness.9

Equally important, developmentalpsychologists have also described howthe primary tasks of adolescence forming an identity and gaining skills are achieved through relationshipsthat youth form, the experiences thatthey have and the meaning they drawfrom these (Connell, 1992).10 Both thedefinitions of adolescent needs andcompetencies and the key tasks of ado-lescence suggest the importance ofcommunities as settings and vehiclesfor development.

A Communitys ClearcutImpact on Youth

Community, however ambiguous aterm, is unquestionably vital to thegrowth of young people. It is oftendefined using philosophical, political,sociological, geographic or economicterms, but there is broad consensusthat community usually refers tosettings, contexts and social relations.In many cases, community and neigh-borhood are used interchangeably torefer to a geographic area and its peo-ple and resources within it. In com-munity planning, however,



8 Wynn, J., Richman, H., Rubinstein, R. A., & Littell, J. (1987). Communities and Adolescents.An Exploration of Reciprocal Supports. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children, The Univer-sity of Chicago.

9 Pittman, K., & OBrien, R. (1989). Youth at Risk: Youth-Serving Organizations have Much ofWhat Youth Need. Youth Policy, 11 (9), 9-15.

10 Connell, J. (1992). The Importance of Learning About and Building on the Policies, Programs andEffects of Voluntary Youth-Serving Organizations. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures.

11 Cahill, M. (1996). Schools and Community Partnerships: Reforming Schools, Revitalizing Com-munities. Chicago: Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform.


community often refers to the rela-tionships among places, social rela-tions, and economic and politicalforces (Cahill, 1996).11 Ultimately,aspects of community life that affectyoung peoples development includesafety, opportunities for positive rela-tionships and a sense of belonging,economic opportunity, adequate phys-ical development and infrastructure(such as housing, transportation, openspace and amenities), labor marketconditions and schools. Pittman sum-marized research findings on commu-nity context for youth this way:

Whether and how young peoplemeet their basic needs and apply thecompetencies they develop dependsin large part on the strength and direction of influences in theirlives. Research and theory suggestthat family, peers, school, commu-nity groups, religious organizations,places of employment, plus largersocial forces such as neighborhoodresources and the job market are all important determinants of youth development (Benson, 1990; Bogenschneider et al.,1990; Felman & Elliot, 1990;Ianni, 1989).12

As the settings and contexts foryoung peoples development, commu-

nities may have very different levels ofeconomic and social resources. Theyinclude the collective investment byadults of their time and talents in rela-tionships with youth, and the ability ofthose relationships to meet adoles-cents developmental and materialneeds. This ability is greatly influencedby specific community conditions, andit is clear that more affluent communi-ties provide a richer array of develop-mental activities and supports foryoung people than do communitieswhere many families live in poverty. In1991 Pittman found that:

Preliminary evidence suggests thatthe programs in these neighborhoods,while they exist, are fewer, less well-funded and more narrow and prevention-oriented in focus thanthose in more affluent neighbor-hoods. The Littel and Wynn (1989)study of two Chicago neighborhoods(affluent Greenwood and low-income inner-city Innerville)found sizable disparities in theavailability, diversity and sponsor-ship of community activities andfacilities for youth.13

The public schools in the suburbancommunity offer almost seven timesas many extracurricular activitiesfor middle school children per week


12 Pittman, K. (1991). Bridging the Gap: A Rationale for Enhancing the Role of Community Orga-nizations Promoting Youth Development. Washington, DC: Center for Youth Development andPolicy Research, Academy for Educational Development.

13 Ibid.


in comparison to the public schoolsin our inner-city area. Whenadjusted for differences in popula-tion size, the public park districts inGreenwood provide eight times thenumber of activities offered inInnerville during an average week.14

This is especially problematic becausesome studies have shown that theseopportunities have a positive impacton young people living in poverty:

For young people living in poverty,organized activities and facilitiesmay offset disadvantage by encour-aging the development of their skills and abilities and providingaccess to opportunities that mightotherwise not be available (Stein-berg et al., 1988).

15

Research has also shown that youngpeoples development is shaped byfactors of race, class and gender(Camino, 1995).

16How expectations

are communicated to young people is influenced by both individualexperiences and group status. Ulti-mately, the impact of large scale forces

such as racism and economic disinvest-ment in communities, and the real and perceived powerlessness of adultsin a community, affect young peoplesperceptions of their own competenceand efficacy.

Community FosteredResiliency

Accumulated research on resiliency inyouth in high-risk environments has also provided a strong rationale for integrating community develop-ment and youth development (Jessor, 1977;

17Brentro et al., 1990;

18

Connell, 1992). This researchindicates that several factorsstrengthen the resiliency of young peo-ple. These have been summarized andarticulated by numerous leadingnational youth development-focusedorganizations, including Public/Private Ventures, Search Institute and the Center for Youth Develop-ment and Policy Research at theAcademy for Educational Develop-ment. They have also been summa-rized and widely disseminated in


14 Pittman, K. (1991). Bridging the Gap: A Rationale for Enhancing the Role of Community Orga-nizations Promoting Youth Development.

15 Ibid.16 Camino, L. (1995). Understanding Intolerance and Multiculturalism: A Challenge for Practi-

tioners, but also for Researchers. Journal of Adolescent Research, 10(1). 17 Jessor, R., & Jessor, S. (1977). Problem Behavior and Psychosocial Development: A Longitudinal

Study of Youth. New York: Academic Press. 18 Brentro, L., Brokenleg, M., & Van Brokern, S. (1990). Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Our Hope for

the Future. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.


the substance abuse prevention fieldby the Western Regional Center forDrug-Free Schools and Communities(Benard, 1991).

19Protective factors

include caring relationships withadults, high expectations and clearstructures, participation in engagingactivities, opportunities for contribu-tion and decision making, and conti-nuity of supports and opportunities.The Search Institute labels these asassets, and has conducted several com-munity studies measuring their pres-ence or absence in young peoples livesand the impact of their presence onpositive youth development.

The research findings on youthdevelopment and resiliency haveprovided critical evidence in efforts to integrate youth development and community development. Indeed, there is growing recognitionthat communities can be eithercontexts of supports and opportunitiesfor positive youth development ornegative forces in the lives of youngpeople. As a result, many community-building initiatives and individualcommunity organizations areattempting to expand supports forpositive youth development byincreasing the presence of these assets,protective factors or resiliency factorsin neighborhoods.

REFLECT ON PASTEXPERIENCES

The Early Days: FromVoluntary Organizations to Settlement Houses

Successfully integrating youth devel-opment and community developmentand sustaining the linkage requires an examination of past experiences. In the early 1900s, during the Progres-sive Movement, the founding ofvoluntary youth-serving organizationsand settlement houses reflected a belief in the importance of neighbor-hood-based developmental supports.P/PV has studied this voluntary sectorand reports:

For the most part, these organiza-tions were established to provideexperiences, activities and adultrelationships that youth would enjoyand grow from, and would volun-tarily return to. They saw themselvesas not competing with formal insti-tutions like schools or social serviceagencies, but with providing amuch-needed complement: an infor-mal neighborhood-based physicalsetting where youth could safelygather, have fun and relate to caringadults (Connell).20


19 Benard, B. (1991). Fostering Resiliency in Kids: Protective Factors in the Family, School and Com-munity. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.

20 Connell, J. (1992). The Importance of Learning about and Building on the Policies, Programs andEffects of Voluntary Youth-Serving Organizations. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures.


Though neighborhood based, manyof these youth organizations focusedon individual development and char-acter building. In areas of poverty,neighborhood forces were oftenviewed as threats to young people andyouth organizations saw their role asprotecting youth and helping themgrow up and move on to more affluentcommunities. It was not until a 1989evaluation of the Boys and GirlsClubs Smart Moves programreported that the location of a Boysand Girls Club in a public housing sitehad much more impact on risk-takingbehavior than the particular drug-pre-vention intervention itself that evi-dence existed about the inherent valueof a center offering basic developmen-tal supports to a neighborhood(Pittman).21 It suggests that this type ofvoluntary youth organization can be avital and dynamic source of protectivefactors for youth.

At the turn of the century, settle-ment houses were also established inmany urban neighborhoods, providingmany of the same youth services as thevoluntary organizations. Influenced,however, by their Progressive Eraphilosophies, they often participatedin reform movements to improvehousing conditions, working condi-tions of children and youth, andhealth services in poor neighborhoods.

Their programs were usually morefamily oriented and multigenerational.They emphasized the successful assim-ilation of youth and adults into urbanand, for immigrants, American life.Yet, the absence of any concrete publicpolicies for decent housing and neigh-borhood development also led settle-ments to focus their youth work onmobility out of the neighborhood.

Days of Activism andEngagement: The 1960s

Because the 1980s were characterizedby a deficit approach to young peopleand a view of them as plagued by risksand problems, todays dialogue aboutyouth participation and empowermentand community change seems new.Yet, a look at examples from the 1960ssuggests the contrary and renders valu-able lessons. In fact, the last period ofintensive youth participation in com-munity and public life was the 1960s.Young people were deeply involved inthe Civil Rights and anti-war move-ments, and also served in communitychange efforts throughout urban andrural America. Some of this commu-nity organizing activity grew out ofsocial movements, and was supportedby government funding. For example,in 1968, changes in regulations gov-erning federal college work-studyfunds allowed students to work off-


21 Pittman, K. (1991) Bridging the Gap: A Rationale for Enhancing the Role of Community Organi-zations Promoting Youth Development.


campus in nonprofit organizationsduring the school term as well as sum-mers. Students began working in set-tlement houses, community healthprojects, housing organizations, UrbanCorps and CAP anti-poverty organiza-tions. Within a few years, many ofthem began organizing free clinics,runaway shelters, tenant organizingprojects and other social change-ori-ented endeavors. Since some of thembecame involved in community actionactivities that disturbed existing insti-tutions and political structures, theexperience also revealed the sources ofsome adult resistance to youth partici-pation. Indeed, it emphasizes the needfor power-sharing and the creation ofgenuine youth and adult partnershipswhere innovation and risk-taking, aswell as judgment based on experience,can thrive together.

During the early 1960s, one sourceof community strategies to increaseopportunities for youth was founda-tion and government-initiated effortsto create demonstration projects. Thesewere influenced by theories of changeabout the relationships between com-munity viability (especially in offeringservices and structures of opportunity)and youth development and delin-quency prevention. The most famousand far reaching of these strategies wasMobilization for Youth. This National

Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)and Ford Foundation initiative grewout of settlement house work withyoung people and desires to stem gangand delinquency activity. From theoutset, initiators wanted to movebeyond the individual relationshipmodel of influencing youth to enrich-ing the community structure. A 1969report on the history of Mobilizationfor Youth stated:

What it would take, the HenryStreet group decided, was enoughmoney to launch a community-wide program that would makeuse of everything we know tohelp youth and families.

As one of the groups said later,We were well aware of the manylittle and often meaningful experi-ences, but these were too small.No one had tried to build every-thing into a project that peopleneeded. Or, as another leader saidin an early interview with thepress, We must be allowed to doeverything we know how to do, atone time, in one place. In otherwords, he proposed to saturatethe community with services(White & Radin).22

This was consistent with NIMHgoals to develop an approach to delin-quency prevention that required inten-


22 White, R., Jr., & Radin, B. (1969). Youth and Opportunity: The Federal Anti-Delinquency Pro-gram. Washington, DC: University Research Corporation.

ASSETS AND LIMITATIONS: YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ANDCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FIELDS

Youth Development Assets

infrastructure of existing youth organizations vast constituency of young people conceptual framework flexibility, entrepreneurial style leadership/staff with roots in the neighborhood networks and intermediaries promoting a working alliance between

youth development and community development

Youth Development Limits

vastly underinvested sector stable funding from problem-oriented sources with eligibility restric-

tions

status and pay accorded to workers taking a treatment rather than devel-opmental approach

many demands but little emphasis on managementCommunity Development Assets

safe and affordable housing as basis of meeting childrens and familiesneeds

accessibility to children and families; avenues for providing vital sup-ports and opportunities

many opportunities for youth participation staff and residents who can serve as role models and mentors expertise in finance and funds integration

Community Development Limits

chronic view of youth as problems limited view of youth as resources or assets narrow understanding of CDCs as vital players in helping youth build

skills

competing demands from real estate constraints propensity to add on services to address problems




sive community involvement anddevelopment (White).23 However, asthe proposal developed, it gained atheoretical underpinning that wouldmove it beyond services, i.e., the LloydOhlin and Richard Cloward opportu-nity theory articulated in Delinquencyand Opportunity in 1960.

The Cloward-Ohlin opportunitydoctrine was based on the positionthat no effort to prevent juveniledelinquency can succeed whichdoes not provide young peoplewith genuine opportunities tobehave differently (White).24

This theory influenced developmentof a strategy that addressed the com-munitys poor prospects for social andeconomic advancement as a centralbarrier to positive youth development(White).25

This was an important linking ofbroader social problems economicdisinvestment in cities, racial discrimi-nation in jobs and housing, andinequality in schooling with youthoutcomes. It clearly linked delin-quency with lack of opportunityinstead of either individual pathologyor lack of services. This insight ledsome programs to adopt more activistpolitical change and advocacy strate-

gies, which resulted in increased oppo-sition. Especially in the 1970s, it alsoled to the establishment in urban areasof independent CBOs with strong ori-entations to preventing delinquencythrough increasing services and eco-nomic opportunities for youth. Manyof these CBOs, which are still provid-ing youth services today, got their firstpublic money through the LawEnforcement Assistance Administra-tion (LEAA); others through the Sum-mer Youth Employment Program orthe Comprehensive Employment andTraining Act (CETA). These fundssupported a neighborhood orientationfor youth organizations, but they alsobrought with them problems of eligi-bility, a tendency to focus on deficitsand fragmentation. The challengesidentified through these experiencesremain central to community develop-ment and youth development strate-gies today.

IDENTIFY ASSETS ANDLIMITATIONS

Today, the many examples of programsmerging youth and communitydevelopment and the challengesgleaned from past experiences suggesta need to identify organizational


23 White, R., Jr., & Radin, B. (1969). Youth and Opportunity: The Federal Anti-Delinquency Pro-gram. Washington, DC: University Research Corporation.

24 Ibid. 25 Ibid.


and sectoral strengths that could fosterthis convergence. Equally important,there are limitations that may hampersuch an alliance. In the youth develop-ment field, an initial list of assetswould include:

an infrastructure of youth organi-zations that increases the presenceof protective or resiliency factorsboth directly in the supports andopportunities they provide youthand by serving as vehicles of com-munity commitments to youth;

a constituency of young peoplewho can contribute energy, talentand commitment to communitydevelopment;

a conceptual framework that canguide development of strategies;

an entrepreneurial, flexible styleamong many organizations, whichis responsive to youth and com-munity ideas;

leadership and staffs in thoseCBOs that are rooted in theirneighborhoods and who moreclosely resemble the racial, ethnicand cultural make-up of youthand their families than do formalcommunity institutions, such asschools; and

a growing number of networksand intermediary capacities thatpromote a vision of youth devel-opment and community building

and sharing innovative practices inyouth participation.

Limitations include:

a severely underinvested sector rel-ative to need and opportunity;organizations that are stretchedprogrammatically and are finan-cially vulnerable;

a history of more stable fundingcoming from problem-oriented,restricted eligibility sources thatcompete with more holistic andcommunity-building approaches;

a structure where higher statusand pay for youth workers hasbeen associated with treatmentapproaches rather than primarydevelopmental approaches oryouth organizing; and

high demand for organizations to meet youth needs and offer new opportunities for participa-tion but with a lack of emphasison and virtually no funding for management.

An initial list of assets of thecommunity development field would include:

safe and affordable housing as thebasis of meeting the needs of chil-dren, youth and families;

greater accessibility to children,youth and families and impor-tant opportunities to offer a


continuity of supports and oppor-tunities to youth who grow up in community development corpo-rations housing;

a wealth of opportunities for cre-ative youth participation in theircommunity development efforts;

staff and residents who can serveas role models and mentors toneighborhood youth; and

expertise in finance and integrat-ing funding streams.

Limitations include:

a persistent view of youth as prob-lems or potential problems;

limited understanding of youth asassets or resources for communitybuilding;

narrow understanding of CDCs asnew avenues for helping youthbuild social, civic and employ-ment competencies through community planning and com-munity development;

competing demands from realestate constraints; and

tendency to add on youth servicecomponents to address the prob-lem rather than actively engagingyouth or collaborating/partneringwith neighborhood youth devel-opment organizations.

ISSUES ANDCHALLENGES TOCONVERGENCE

Emerging examples of youth and com-munity development convergence andevidence of the alliances importanceindicate great promise. The assets ofthe youth development and commu-nity development fields are significant.But past experiences suggest impedi-ments to convergence, primarily frombroader socio-economic issues such aspoverty. Limitations in the field,including the separation of the experi-ences of CBOs and CDCs, make theirassets underutilized and less powerfulfor both youth development and com-munity revitalization. In these con-texts, returning to the questions belowsuggests some directions for each fieldas they search for effective answers.

How can youth developmentapproaches enhance communitydevelopment and communitydevelopment strategies promoteyouth development?

And how can this be transforma-tive and not merely limited tomodel projects or demonstrations?




Engage CDCs in Understanding Youth Development

Most notably, engaging CDCs in understanding the youth develop-ment framework and in grappling with its application to communitydevelopment is an essential step.Indeed, CDCs need to understandthat youth development is not an add-on set of services, but rather a new dimension to community devel-opment. The youth development field now has a well-articulated con-ceptual framework and many materialson best practices and indicators ofyouth competencies related to thesepractices. These can be a great resourcefor CDCs as they consider the conver-gence of youth development andcommunity development and seek toensure changes and sustainability.

Disseminate VibrantExamples of Youth and CommunityDevelopment Alliances

The most effective catalysts for thischange are successful examples. Thereis a need to widely disseminate infor-mation about youth development andcommunity development intersection,and distill their principles of practice.After all, building support and leader-ship for a convergence of youth devel-opment and community development

requires an understanding of the possi-bilities. These examples must be com-municated with an explanation of theprinciples they represent; otherwise,the dissemination strategy will merelysell model programs, not communityadaptations of strategies.

Promote Involvement of Youth and Youth DevelopmentOrganizations

Across the country, a number of com-munity-building efforts have engagedcommunity stakeholders in planningfor change. Unfortunately, there hasbeen limited participation from com-munity-based youth organizations oreven youth themselves. This often haspushed youth development into a cate-gory rather than integrating it as adimension of community building.Increasing the involvement of youthdevelopment organizations (CBOs)and young people as contributors incommunity-building efforts will ensurethat these efforts are more cohesive andthus more likely to succeed.

Expand Funding

Increasing private funding can supportconvergence by integrating youth par-ticipation as a lens for assessing theeffectiveness of youth development andcommunity revitalization strategies.Youth development organizations andcommunity development corporations


acknowledge these issues directly andinclude conscious strategies to addressthem. They must create and supportdialogues and activities that engagetheir organizations as allies in address-ing the broader social issues that limitpositive youth development and com-munity revitalization. Furthermore,they need to form alliances that willsupport public policies favorable toconvergence and oppose public poli-cies that worsen community condi-tions for youth and families.

In this context, over the nextmonths and years, the dismantling ofthe income safety net through welfarereform will be a formidable occurrencein many neighborhoods. It will dra-matically affect adults, youth and chil-dren. CDCs and CBOs need todevelop a variety of strategies toaddress such a major change. Thesemay range from new alliances for pub-lic policy advocacy to job creation andyouth entrepreneurship. Because ofthe diversity of the fields, they may notbe ideologically consistent. Yet, if lead-ership in a convergence of these fieldsemerges, both CDCs and CBOs canmobilize and facilitate community dia-logues and actions based on commonprinciples of youth development andcommunity development.

Ultimately, the coming years prom-ise to bring significant challenges to families who have been receivingwelfare, as well as the working poor, and to the neighborhoods of res-

must join as allies in advocating forincreased public funding for youth par-ticipation, including youth service.Likewise, increased CDC support formajor youth programs, such as Sum-mer Youth Employment, linked withCDC participation as sponsors andproviders of work sites for youth, couldlaunch broader opportunities for youthto contribute to community life.

Assess Impact on Young People and Their Communities

The few evaluations that exist of youthparticipation in community develop-ment projects and youth developmentapproaches to community buildingshow promising effects. Further evi-dence, however, is needed to supportsustainability. This can be best attainedthrough research that fully assesses theimpact of these efforts on young peo-ple and communities.

Create and SupportDialogue and Alliances

Past experience has demonstrated thatyouth development and communitydevelopment strategies operate in thecontext of powerful forces such aslabor market changes and persistentracism. Integration of youth develop-ment and community developmentstrategies could posit these as com-manding responses against such forces.But CDCs and CBOs need to



community development fields buildon the promise of their intersectingsuccesses to create an alliance that willresult in more powerful strategies andcontribute to the well-being of Amer-icas communities.

idence for these families. Adolescentsin these neighborhoods are likely to beunder tremendous stress. And thegains of housing and commercial revi-talization are threatened. It is impera-tive that the youth development and

Michele Cahill makes a strong case for collaboration among theorganizations that traditionally have youth development and communitydevelopment as their primary focus and, equally important, for abroadening of perspectives and priorities within the organizations. Threecase studies of community development corporations (CDCs) that areengaged in bringing young people more directly into the rebuilding of theircommunities are highlighted in a separate publication in this series by P. Jefferson Armistead and Matthew B. Wexler, Community Developmentand Youth Development: The Potential for Convergence. AccompanyingCahills essay is a study of Albuquerque-based Youth Development, Inc.(YDI), an organization whose belief that we will not have an impact on the problems that our young people are facing unless we access and open doors in the halls of power and unleash economic resources led it to grow from a gang-prevention program in the 1970s to a complexyouth, economic and community development organization that, in 1990, spun off its own CDC.



CASE STUDY

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, INC.FOUNDED IN 1971

We have come to the full realization that we will not have an impact onthe problems that our young people are facing unless we access andopen doors in the halls of power and unleash economic resources.

Chris Baca, President, YDI

For YDIs youth, development is not about dealing with at-risk youth, itsabout community development that enhances the opportunities foryoung people to contribute positively to the community and develop totheir fullest potential.

Rudy Chavez, Vice President, YDI


Special thanks to Rudy Chavez, Execu-tive Director, and to all of the staff andyouth at YDI for welcoming us to the site.

OVERVIEW

For over 25 years, Youth Develop-ment, Inc., (YDI) has been a har-binger in meeting the needs ofthousands of at-risk families and youthliving in Albuquerque and CentralNew Mexico. A non-traditional com-munity development organization,YDI began as a juvenile delinquencyprevention program in 1968. Sincethen, it has flourished into a compre-hensive youth development organiza-

tion. Economic and community devel-opment are integral to its work.Indeed, community development is sovital to YDIs long-term vision andmission that unique among youthorganizations it has developed itsown CDC arm.

Incorporated in 1990, Youth Enter-prise Services (YES) is a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of YDI, shepherding eco-nomic and housing development ven-tures. YES has built 240 units ofaffordable housing in Albuquerque, anarea in desperate need of more afford-able housing. YES also encouragesentrepreneurship in Albuquerquespoor communities.

cent. Many of the youth in these com-munities are jeopardized by drug traf-ficking, alcohol, gangs, violence in thehome and on the street, unemploy-ment and poor education. Such prob-lems have worsened in recent years; anincreasing number of youth are incar-cerated and are wounded or killed indrive-by shootings. The number ofchildren being referred to the juvenilejustice system soared from 9,000 to20,000 in four years. Statewide, atleast 30,000 children and youth sufferabuse and neglect a figure whichmay be greatly underestimated due topoor data collection.

YDI now serves nearly 14,000 youthand families annually through a com-plement of programs and projects alevel of scale few youth organizationsachieve. The organization and its sub-sidiary YES attribute their success tothe commitment of their staff andboard. The combined staff, half ofwhom are under the age of 25,approach 500 in number. Many of themanagement level staff have beeninvolved with the organization for over15 years. Former clients are encour-aged to return and work for the organ-ization. In fact, more than a tenth ofYDI staff are former clients. Theorganization also promotes fromwithin, creates opportunities foradvancement, rewards creativity andemphasizes staff training. YDI allowsand encourages staff to make theirfamilies a top priority, and many staffavail themselves of this supportive cul-

Constantly embarking on new ini-tiatives, YDI also provides servicesthrough over 30 different programs at60 sites. The programs range from pre-vention and intervention services, suchas gang intervention, substance abuseprevention, community corrections,health programs, residential shelters,and family and individual counseling,to more developmental activities, suchas education and employment pro-grams, recreation and fine arts.

These services are crucial and widelyneeded. Some 45 percent of the750,000 people of Albuquerque andCentral New Mexico are of Latino andChicano heritage. In some neighbor-hoods the figure approaches 80 per-

ALBUQUERQUE/CENTRAL NEW MEXICO:

COMMUNITY AT A GLANCESizable Minority Population.About 45 percent of the 750,000people living in Albuquerque andCentral New Mexico are of Latinoand Chicano heritage. In someneighborhoods this figure nears80 percent.

Stressed Juvenile JusticeSystem. The number of childrenbeing referred to the juvenilejustice system rose from 9,000 to20,000 in four years. Statewide, atleast 30,000 children and youthsuffer abuse and neglect, a figurethat may be greatly underesti-mated due to poor data collection.

CASE STUDY: YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, INC. YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT


YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CASE STUDY: YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, INC.

ture, rearing their children at workinstead of using day care.

YDIs 12-member board of directorsis composed of business people, gov-ernment officials, individuals from thesocial service sector, educators andyoung people. Over half of its mem-bers have been on the board since itsinception, and two seats on the boardare reserved for young people. Theboard has led YDI in its unwaveringquest for financial self-sufficiency andsustainability. Currently, the boardoversees YDIs $15 million budget, 70percent of which comes from govern-ment funds, 15 percent from privatedonors and the other 15 percentthrough innovative YDI enterprises,including YES. YDIs goal is to defray50 percent of its budget within fiveyears through self-generated ventures.

MISSION AND GOALS

Providing Care thatAchieves Full Potential

Problems do not begin in isolation andtherefore cannot be solved in isolation.Over the last 25 years this philosophyhas shaped YDIs evolution, making itinto a holistic system of services andopportunities. Its mission is to workwith the community to create andimplement an effective continuum ofcare designed to help children, youthand families achieve their full poten-

tial. Indeed, YDI believes that funda-mental economic, political and socialconditions must change in Albu-querques disadvantaged communitiesif young peoples lives are to improve.

As such, YDI approaches its workwith the conviction that there is noseparation between youth develop-ment and community development. Itcreates economic opportunities andbetter housing in poor neighborhoodsso families can thrive. In addition, itworks diligently to influence govern-ment policies that are supportive offamilies and youth. By galvanizing thepublic, the government, the businesscommunity, police and other stake-holders, YDI encourages other playersto collaborate in meeting the needs ofpoor youth and families. Ultimately,YDI seeks to convince the holders ofpolitical and economic power that alarge underclass of disadvantagedyouth will make neither good con-sumers nor productive citizens.

HISTORY

Fostering Healthy YouthDevelopment

Youth Development, Inc., waslaunched by a group of parents in1968 as a result of the tragic death ofLarry Lopez, a young man who over-dosed while experimenting with drugsfor the first time. Lopezs death was a


rude awakening to the Latino andChicano communities of Albuquerqueand Central New Mexico, causingmany adults to realize that young peo-ple were being denied healthy and safedevelopment because of drugs andgangs. Five parents formed a task forceto create a program that would reachout to youth, offering hope, guidanceand opportunities.

In 1971, YDI was incorporated as ajuvenile delinquency prevention pro-gram with funds from the city of Albu-querque. Since its inception, YDI hasnot only allowed the needs of the com-munity to shape its direction, but hasalso involved young people in allphases of the organizations evolution.By the mid 1970s, YDI had soughtfunding from the Youth CommunityConservation Improvement Programto establish job training and develop-ment programs, as well as opportuni-ties for economic enterprises. In thelate 1970s, YDI set up group homesfor runaways and gang members.

As it continued to increase its serv-ices and beneficiaries, it became moreand more evident that the needs ofAlbuquerques youth were interrelatedand complex. In order to have a long-term impact, YDI needed to adopt acomprehensive approach. YDIexpanded its mandate to include edu-cation by working with schools ondropout prevention, establishing aGraduate Equivalency Degree (GED)preparation program and awarding

scholarship funds. YDI also began col-laborating with the police and thecourts to provide more constructiveapproaches to corrections. As YDIintensified its prevention work withgangs, it established such programs asMothers Against Gang Violence andGang Members Against Violence. Italso established teen pregnancy pre-vention programs, HIV/AIDS preven-tion and awareness programs, andother health-related services.

Such a holistic approach requirednumerous resources and provided anin-depth look at the daily struggles ofyouth. Senior staff soon recognizedthat their capacity to deal with the rootcauses of youth problems was limitedwithout change in government poli-cies. To increase its allies in the gov-ernment, YDI moved to mobilize thecommunities it serves. While theLatino and Chicano communities didnot have great economic power, theydid have the potential for politicalpower. With young people as the driv-ing force, voter education became apriority of YDI.

Establishing a StrongFoothold in EconomicDevelopment

In 1990, YDI made a strategic deci-sion to undertake economic develop-ment. Chris Baca explained that thesurvival of nonprofits is dependent ontheir ability to be resourceful and



elimination project. YDI was asked torun the apprenticeship program forthe city.

The establishment of Youth Enter-prise Services (YES) that same yearpushed YDIs economic developmentplan to a massive scale. With a focuson affordable housing and communityrevitalization, YES has not only builtover 200 units of affordable housing, ithas built community. Neighborhoodassociations are established in all YES

entrepreneurial. YDI ventures in pri-vate enterprise now serve two purposesthat are central to its mission: job cre-ation and revenue for self-reliance.Accordingly, YDI began its first busi-ness venture with a painting company,which grew out of its gang interven-tion graffiti-elimination project.Young people began by painting pri-vate homes and later moved into com-mercial bidding. The success of thisenterprise spurred the mayor of Albu-querque to start a massive graffiti-

THE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, INC., EVOLUTIONPRIORITIES AND PRACTICES: FROM PREVENTION AND YOUTH

DEVELOPMENT TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

The Early Years. 1968 tragic death of a young man by a drug overdoseaffects Latino and Chicano communities of Albuquerque and Central NewMexico. Residents form a task force creating a program to reach out toyouth. 1971, YDI is incorporated as a juvenile delinquency prevention pro-gram. Immediately, YDI allows community needs to shape its direction andinvolves youth in all phases of its evolution.

The Middle Years. By mid 1970s, YDI establishes job training and devel-opment programs, as well as opportunities for economic enterprises andgroup homes for runaways and gang members. Impact of individual servicesis questioned as it becomes evident that the needs of Albuquerques youthare extremely complex. YDI moves to develop a more comprehensiveapproach, expanding its mandate to include health education, dropout andpregnancy prevention, scholarship funds and GED prep. Work with police,courts and gangs provides more constructive approaches to corrections.

Current Years. YDIs increasingly holistic approach leads to decision toattack the root causes of youth problems through change in governmentpolicies. YDI begins to mobilize communities it serves. With young people asthe driving force, voter education becomes a priority. In 1990, it undertakeseconomic development with ventures in private enterprise serving two pur-poses: job creation and revenue for self-reliance. YESs launching pushesYDIs economic development plan to a massive scale, with a focus on afford-able housing and community revitalization.




developments to foster cohesivenessand ownership. Recreation facilitiesand educational support are set up toensure that young people have a safeplace to play and thrive. And on-sitechild care allows parents the freedomto work or attend school. YES has alsocreated many entrepreneurial andemployment opportunities for youngpeople. Some youth are hired to workat building sites, while others areencouraged to find a niche in thebuilding industry and launch theirown businesses. One such business isthe MM Company, which special-izes in cleaning building sites. Thecredibility the company gained fromworking at YES has helped attract con-tracts from other building projects.

YDIs impeccable record for efficientuse of resources and its proven impacthas drawn national recognition, mak-ing it easier for the organization toraise funds and rapidly diversify. Cur-rently, YDI owns and operates a the-ater company. Along with generatingincome, the theater functions as a sitefor young people to hold perform-ances. The organization has alsorecently opened a recording studio.Young people are involved in everyphase of its daily operations. YDI hasalso forged relationships with privatecorporations. With US West (BabyBell) and Nations Bank, it has devel-oped a scholarship fund to help sup-port students interested in attendingcommunity college in Albuquerque. Incollaboration with Intel, it has estab-

lished the START Program (Semicon-ductor Technology Awareness Recruit-ment and Training) to identify andprepare middle school student forcareers in technology trades.

OPPORTUNITIES FORYOUTH INVOLVEMENTIN COMMUNITY

YDI is an organization committed toyouth development and involvementin the organization and the commu-nity. This commitment is evidencedthroughout its programs and initia-tives. Informally, YDI sponsors a soccerleague for Albuquerque youth that hasbecome a unifying force in the com-munity, providing numerous opportu-nities for youth and adult interactionand contribution. Young soccer playerslearn team building and conflict resolu-tion skills that they use in mentoringyounger children. Adults and parentsactively participate as coaches and ref-erees, fostering community pride andpositive reinforcement of intergenera-tional relationships. At a more formallevel, YDI encourages the young peo-ple participating in its programs toassume leadership roles within and out-side the organization.

Project Achieve, for example, is aleadership program for middle schoolstudents that was developed by youthfrom Project Succeed, a YDI programfor 14- to 18-year-olds on the verge of



dropping out of school. Project Suc-ceed students saw the need for a simi-lar program for younger children.They not only helped to conceptualizeProject Achieve, but also to write theproposal and secure the funding.

Unity is a support and advocacygroup for former and current partici-pants of YDI programs that was estab-lished by participants in Project Hope,YDIs independent living program foryouth who are in federally subsidizedfoster care. Project Hope providescounseling and training to young peo-ple while they continue their educa-tion and work toward theiremployment goals. Unity is active inpolitical organizing. The group hasbeen instrumental in sponsoring a col-lege tuition waiver bill for young peo-ple who are in the custody of the stateand in conducting voter registrationdrives among their voting-age peers.

The practice of building social net-works to broker power and influencegovernment policy is exemplifiedthrough the strong political voice thatYDI has been able to manifest. Mr.Baca stated that the most influentialpolitical positions in the city and stateare held by people who have had arelationship with YDI. The presidentof the school board was a former staffmember, the president of the citycouncil was a former board member,the chairman of the county commis-sion, Senator Protem of the State Sen-ate, was our legal advisor.

VISION FOR THEFUTURE

Youth Development, Inc., marketsitself as an organization that knows theneeds of the community and can effec-tively meet those needs. Its trackrecord clearly bears out its claim. YESis now a major part of the organiza-tions vision for the future. Within thenext five years, YDI plans to completeapproximately 1,000 housing units inthe Albuquerque and Central NewMexico area. This will allow YDI toplace more families in affordable hous-ing and increase economic develop-ment and entrepreneurship in thecommunity. Once the affordable hous-ing units are completed, YDI will cre-ate entrepreneurial ventures for youthwho will provide maintenance andupkeep of the properties.

In the next three to five years, YDIplans to build a retreat and trainingcenter in West Albuquerque. The cen-ter, to be built on ten acres of donatedland adjacent to a future college, willoffer training and conferences thatpromote youth and community devel-opment. Eventually, it is hoped thatthe center will generate revenue forYDI. The organization is also planningto market its vast experience in thedevelopment of training modules onthe Internet. Lockheed Martin Labo-ratories will underwrite the softwaredevelopment for this project. YDI also expects to collaborate with the



Coca-Cola Foundation to establish amicro-credit program for young people.Credit will be provided to young peopleinterested in managing their own Coca-Cola distribution and routes.

YDIs overall goal over the next fiveyears is to be able to defray 50 percentof its budget from self-generated ven-tures. This will allow YDI to directfunds toward projects it feels best

address the communitys needs andensure its future, projects such as theapproximately $100,000 a year schol-arship fund to encourage young peopleto further their education. Chavez saysthat providing the scholarships notonly benefits individual young adults,but also helps YDI to build its futureleadership and the leadership of thecommunity. This, in the end, is thespirit and vision of YDI.


YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, INC.FOUNDED 1971

ECONOMIC HOUSING YOUTH FAMILYPROGRAMS AND SERVICES OFFERED DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT CIVIC ACTION DEVELOPMENT SERVICE

Project Succeed and Project Achieve

Valencia County Drop Out Prevention Program

GED Prep/Entry Employment Program

Independent Living Program

Much More House

Amistad Crisis Center

Youth Enterprise System

Amistad AIDS Education

Alamosa Community Center

Head Start

Old Armijo Community Service Office

Project PODER

Project DeSIDA

Summer Youth Employment

Semiconductor Technology Awareness Training

Teatro Consejo (Dance Company)

Gang Intervention and Prevention Program

Project Chatan

La Senioritas

Street Voice Program

TABLE 1



APPENDIX

WORKING MEETING PARTICIPANTSFord Foundation and

International Youth FoundationCOMMUNITY AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT:

COMPLEMENTARY OR COMPETING PRIORITIES FORCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS?


Mr. P. Jefferson ArmisteadSenior Vice PresidentLocal Initiatives Support

Corporation

Mr. Salahadeen BettsCountee Cullen Beacon

Mr. David BrownSenior Policy AnalystNational Governors Association

Ms. Joyce BrownKellogg Youth Initiative

PartnershipW.K. Kellogg Foundation

Ms. Julia BurgessEastern Regional DirectorCenter for Community Change

Mr. Benjamin ButlerPrincipalCommunity Development

Associates

Ms. Michele CahillDirectorYouth Development InstituteFund for the City of New York

Ms. Maggie CervantesExecutive DirectorNew Economics for Women

Mr. Emanuel FreemanPresidentGermantown Settlement

Ms. Susan CurnanBrandeis University-Heller

Graduate School

Ms. Talmira HillProgram OfficerAnnie E. Casey Foundation

Ms. Della M. HughesExecutive DirectorNational Network for Youth

Ms. Merita IrbyAssistant Director of ProgramsInternational Youth Foundation

Ms. Charisse JohnsonPhipps CDC

Mr. Jerry KitziVice President, Youth

DevelopmentEwing Marion Kauffman

Foundation

Ms. Kate Gill KressleyFamily, School and Community

Partnership for EducationMarion College

Ms. Anne C. KubischDirector, Roundtable on

Comprehensive CommunityInitiatives

The Aspen Institute

Mr. Rudy ChavezExecutive DirectorYouth Development, Inc.

Mr. James ConnellDirectorInstitute for Research and Reform

in Education

Mr. E. Walter Coward, Jr.Senior Director, Asset Building

and CommunityDevelopment

The Ford Foundation

Mr. Victor DiazCypress Hills Local Development

Corporation

Mr. Shawn DoveCo-DirectorCountee Cullen Beacon

Ms. Jules DunhamU.S. Program AssociateInternational Youth Foundation

Mr. Martin DunnExecutive DirectorEast New York Urban Youth

Corporation

Ms. Marcia K. FestenProgram OfficerJohn D. and Catherine T.

MacArthur Foundation

APPENDIX YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT


YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT APPENDIX

Ms. Irene LeeSenior Program AssociateAnnie E. Casey Foundation

Ms. Janine E. LeeSenior Program DirectorEwing Marion Kauffman

Foundation

Ms. Frances LorenziSenior Program Officer-Social

ServicesThe Enterprise Foundation

Mr. Manuel MendezExecutive DirectorPhipps CDC

Mr. David MilnerPresidentFunds for the Communitys

Future

Ms. Inca MohamedProgram OfficerThe Ford Foundation

Mr. Shawn MooringThe Ford Foundation

Mr. Richard MurphyDirector, Center for Youth

Development and PolicyResearch

Vice President, Academy forEducational Development

Ms. Michelle NeugebauerExecutive DirectorCypress Hills Local Development

Corporation

Ms. Emily NovickDivision of Children and Youth

PolicyDepartment of Health and

Human Services

Mr. Kenny OrtizYouth Development, Inc.

Mr. John PeraltaAlianza Dominicana

Mr. Moises PerezExecutive DirectorAlianza Dominicana

Ms. Andrea PhillipsLocal Initiatives Support

Corporation

Ms. Karen J. PittmanSenior Vice PresidentInternational Youth Foundation

Mr. Ron RegisterDirectorCleveland Community Building

Ms. Ruth RomanProgram Officer, Community

and Resource DevelopmentThe Ford Foundation


Ms. Annetta SeecharranYouthNet InternationalInformation AssociateInternational Youth Foundation

Ms. Carey SheaLocal Initiatives Support

Corporation

Ms. Judith SilberHuman Services Collaborative

Mr. Richard TownsellExecutive DirectorLawndale Christian Development

Corporation

Mr. Archie TsokuLeadership Enhancement

Program ManagerYouth Development Trust

Ms. Emily van IngenYouth Programs DirectorCypress Hills Local Development

Corporation

Mr. Gary WalkerPresidentPublic/Private Ventures

Ms. Wendy WheelerDirectorCommunity Youth DevelopmentNational 4-H Council

Dr. Veronica ZambranoDirectorEspacios Alternativos

APPENDIX YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT


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