Which of these youths are at risk

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Which of these youths are at risk?
Services For At Risk Youth
LIBR 542b Melanie Au, Reece Steinberg, Suzy
Stroet and Haruna Watanabe
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Who are we talking about?
Adolescents whose potential of becoming healthy
and productive adults is reduced because they are
at high risk of encountering serious problems at
home, in school, or in their communities. -
Mondowney
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Specifics

• St. Thomas University research centre for
  youth-at-risk
• Self-harming behaviours
• Criminal behaviour
• The more risk factors that are present the
  greater the chances of behaviour problems
• Sources of risk factors family life, school
  experiences, community and peer relationships

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Specifics

• National Crime Prevention Council
• difficult temperament
• problems caused by brain diseases or disorders
• family violence
• childhood traumas
• poor or ineffective parental supervisory and
  discipline skills
• parental alcoholism or drug addiction
• School problems
• Low socio-economic status

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Common Needs

• Affection
• Caring
• Nurturing
• Safety
• Structure
• Social support
• The Library can be a safe, quiet, structured
  environment.

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Needs as At-Risk Youth Vs. Needs as Youth

• Special Needs
• General Needs
• Teen music program

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Six categories of services

• Providing information about services in their
  community
• Young Adult collection and Facility Development
• Programs for Youth
• Tutoring Programs
• Community Outreach
• Integrating Youth into the Library volunteers,
  employees, TAG

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Gaining Support

• Throughout the library and community
• Training days
• Fact sheets
• Projects
• Write for the staff newsletter and local
  community paper
• Compile a list of community youth-serving
  organization
• Get to know people who work with young adults
• Attend meetings, social events, and workshops
• Youth Advisory Group
• Needs assessment and evaluation
• Grants, gifts, and donations

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Language
Looking at children and families through a
deficit lens obscures a recognition of their
capabilities and strengths as well as their
individuality and uniqueness - Bernard

• Labeling results in stereotyping, tracking,
  lower expectations for students in urban schools,
  prejudice, discrimination
• Research shows that at risk status does not
  predict what a person becomes

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Street Involved Youth

• Create networks
• Bring library collection to them
• Barriers
• Successful programming

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Young Adult Parents

• Separate time and space
• Weekly programs with free childcare
• Outreach
• Be aware of existing programs
• Barriers
• Successful programming

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More Successful Sample Programs

• Library Baseball team (Chicago Public Library)
• Summer-on-Site Computer Camp (Meriden Public
  Library)
• Library in Juvenile Detention (King County
  Library System)
• Leap Ahead-Kits on loan for informationally
  disadvantaged young adults in hospitals,
  homeless shelters, rehabilitation clinics
  (Cuyahoga County Public Library)
• Annual Black History Month Outreach (Miami-Dade
  Public Library)
• Young Adult Mural Project (NY Public Library)
• Celebrating You-multicultural fair (Howland
  Public Library)

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The End
Thank you