Title: An Evaluation of a Statewide Initiative
1An Evaluationof a Statewide Initiative
- Assets for Colorado Youth
Conducted for The Colorado Trust by OMNI
Institute OMNI Research Training, Inc.
2Sharing the Findings
- Growing Momentum
-
- Key Terms and Principles
- Background on the Initiative and Evaluation
- Major Findings
- Setting a Future Research Agenda
- Response and Discussion
- ACY Executive Director, Maria Guajardo-Lucero,
Ph.D. - Colorado Trust Senior Evaluation Officer, Nancy
Csuti, Dr.Ph.
3Growing Momentum
- Search Institute introduced the Healthy
Communities/ Healthy Youth Initiative in 1990 - 560 asset-building initiatives in 24 states and
Canada - (Search Institute, 2003)
- Universities involved in asset-related research
- Columbia, Michigan State, Washington, Kansas
- Grant-makers funding research and initiatives
- Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, United Way,
William T. Grant, Packard Foundation -
4Background on the Initiative
- Growing interest in the state
- In 1997, The Colorado Trust partnered with Search
Institute to establish the first statewide
initiative to promote the asset framework - The Trust invested over 10 million, 1997-2002
- 45 grantees throughout the state
- community mobilization statewide partnerships
- innovation communities of color
- associational partnerships
- In 2000, an independent organization, Assets for
Colorado Youth, was established to provide
statewide leadership and promote the
sustainability of the growing movement -
5Assets for Colorado Youth Initiative
- Awareness to Action
- Celebration of Asset Champions
- Sector Engagement
- Innovation
6Evaluating the Assets for Colorado Youth
Initiative
- First comprehensive evaluation of a statewide
asset-building initiative - Evaluation period
- September 2000 - 2002
- Strategies
- Historical analysis of ACYs role as a catalyst
- Case studies of asset-building organizations
- Network survey, Exploratory study of asset
champions - Focus group study of youth-level impacts
-
7Learning Opportunities
- Role of organizations in youth development
- Asset building in diverse contexts
- Regions of the state
- Diverse sectors
- Different types of organizations
- Unfolding of a social movement
- New framework, not a program
- Innovation
- Statewide organization with expertise in
cultural competency
8Key Terms
- Assets
- Asset Building
- Asset-Building Organizations (ABOs)
- Asset Champions
- Asset Framework
- Asset Innovations
- Asset Integration
- Positive Youth Development
- Transformation
- Youth Engagement
9The Asset Framework
- Based on Search Institutes 40 Developmental
Assets - Building blocks that promote healthy youth
development - Framework for community and youth development
that focuses on enhancing strengths - Part of a larger field, positive youth
development (PYD)
1040 Developmental Assets
- External Assets
- Support
- Empowerment
- Boundaries and Expectations
- Constructive Use of Time
- Internal Assets
- Commitment to Learning
- Positive Values
- Social Competency
- Positive Identity
1140 Developmental Assets
Family support Achievement motivation Positive
family communication School engagement Other
adult relationships Homework Caring
neighborhood Bonding to school Caring school
climate Reading for pleasure Parent involvement
in schooling Caring Community values youth
Equality and social justice Youth as resources
Integrity Service to others Honesty Safety
Responsibility Family boundaries
Restraint School boundaries Planning and
decision making Neighborhood boundaries
Interpersonal competence Adult role models
Cultural competence Positive peer influence
Resistance skills High expectations Peaceful
conflict resolution Creative activities
Personal power Youth programs
Self-esteem Religious community Sense of
purpose Time at home Positive view of personal
future
12Principles of Asset Building
- All children and youth need to develop assets
- All communities have assets
- Supports and opportunities that can promote
health - All children and youth are valued as resources
- Anyone can be an asset builder
- Change comes from building on strengths
13Principles of Asset Building
- Deficit-Focus Asset Approach
- Issue Social Problems Relationships/Developmenta
l infrastructure - Focus High Risk Strengths
- Behaviors
-
- Target At-Risk Youth All Youth
- Strategies More programs, Mobilization of
citizens and - More professionals Realignment of social
systems - Timeframe Period of funding Long term commitment
- New issues
-
- Affect Problem-focus Strength-focus
- Frustration, Despair Optimism, Empowerment
-
14Major Findings, Emerging Insights
- Engagement with the Asset Framework
- Dynamics -
- Youth engagement Asset champions Cultural
innovation Asset integration - Transformation
- Youth Adults Organizations
15Engagement and Transformation
16Youth Engagement
- Young people, not unlike adults, tend to be more
engaged -- bring greater energy and enthusiasm to
their roles within an organization or community
-- when provided meaningful and authentic
opportunities to contribute and serve as resources
17Youth Engagement in the Context of Asset Building
- Youth and adults share power
- Youth have opportunities to assume high levels of
responsibility - Youth act on opportunities and accept
responsibility - Youth are viewed as stakeholders
- Adults and youth work side-by side
- Strong, enduring relationships exist
- Asset Champions (both youth and adult) are
present
18Youth Engagement
- Engaging youth as partners provided important
opportunities to develop assets in young people - More Effective Relationships with Adults
- Youth reported having a greater number of
interactions with a wider circle of adults. - Youth and adults found that their interactions
with one another were more positive. - Youth indicated that participation in
asset-building projects had helped them
strengthen their relationships with significant
adults in their lives. -
19Youth Engagement
- Engaging youth as partners provided important
opportunities to develop assets in young people - Other Areas of Positive Change
- A stronger sense of belonging
- The development of new skills
- Increased self-confidence
- A more positive future-orientation
- Empowerment and efficacy as change agents (asset
builders) -
20Youth Engagement
- In some very important ways, findings from the
evaluation suggest that, youth engagement also
promoted/enhanced - Organizational effectiveness
- The engagement of adults as asset builders
21Youth Engagement Promotes Organizational
Effectiveness
- Programs that were informed by young people often
were more effective at piquing the interest and
maintaining the involvement of youth participants - Soliciting the input of young people in program
planning and refinement often expedited the
process of program development - Young people were often the best advocates for
youth-focused programs and services and could
generate public support more effectively than
adults speaking on their behalf
22Youth Engagement as a Factor Promoting Adult
Engagement
- Bearing witness to youth thrive in leadership
roles and capacities could sometimes lead adults
to become engaged (or reinforced their
engagement) as asset builders
23Youth Engagement
- By having youth more involved, then adults
cant believe the opening, the creativity that
occurs. It really broadens their respect for
youth.
24Engagement and Transformation
25Asset Champions Promoted Engagement
- Asset champions were
- Ambassadors of the asset framework
- Advocates for youth
- A hub between different organizations involved
in asset-building projects - Messengers who spread the word to new community
groups
26Asset Champions Promoted Engagement
- Helped individuals and diverse groups connect
with assets by adapting the framework to
peoples - unique circumstances
- life experiences, and
- social and cultural frames of reference
- Presented assets in ways that made the framework
relevant and meaningful to individuals daily
lives
27Connecting Assets to Peoples Lives
- The message of assets has to align with what is
going on right now in communities It cant just
be a list It has to be adjusted, tailored, and
presented in a way that is relevant for this
time, for the community, for the people that its
presented to.
28Engagement and Transformation
29Innovation Promoted Engagement
- Translation of assets into small, everyday acts
- Promoted a sense of self-efficacy
- Innovation, specifically cultural innovation
- Cultural translation of the asset framework
entailed - Translation of the words
- Transformation of the framework based on the
cultural milieu of diverse groups
30Cultural Innovation and Engagement
- It is extremely important to connect the asset
philosophy to culture. Incorporating visuals,
song, dance helps participants understand and
remember the message helps people connect
with assets in a way that is meaningful to their
lives. Incorporating culture helps them
translate the assets into their own way of
thinking.
31Empowerment as Transformation
- The more that groups and communities participated
in the cultural translation of the assets, the
more that empowerment seemed to occur - Empowerment was one of the major, yet largely
unanticipated, transformations that resulted from
this kind of engagement with the framework - Minority populations
- Economically impacted communities
32Empowerment as Transformation
- The asset framework focuses attention on
strengths and possibilities/opportunities - For individuals and communities that have been
described in terms of deficits (e.g. school
drop-out, juvenile delinquent), asset building
may be a particularly appropriate approach to
engagement.
33Engagement and Transformation
34Assets Integration in Organizations
35Asset Integration Promoted Engagement
- When the asset framework is infused at all levels
within an organization - Program Development
- Guides the development and management of all
programs - Product Development
- Is incorporated into the literature and resources
developed or disseminated
36Asset Integration Promoted Engagement
- When the asset framework is infused at all levels
within an organization - Staff Development
- Serves as a basis for staff trainings, evaluation
and new staff orientations - Fund Development
- Is used to support grant writing
- Policy Development
- Informs the development of policies and
procedures
37Asset Integration Promoted Engagement
- In our department, every single thing that
crosses my desk, all the programs that are here,
Ill ask, How are we addressing the assets
framework in what were doing?
38Implications of Assets Integration at Multiple
Levels within an Organization
- Institutionalization
- Enhanced organizational effectiveness
- Engagement of diverse stakeholders and different
audiences
39Institutionalization of the Assets Approach
- Whoever steps into the position, the way that
you run the program, the approach, its already
there. Its not something that somebody would
come in and have to develop Its part of
everyday activities The neighborhood is aware
of it. They have an expectation. So does the
school The organization has an expectation
about the importance of youth development and how
thats achieved. So, I think its just part of
the whole foundation.
40Institutionalization of Assets
- When assets influences the products and work
being conducted at multiple levels, the assets
philosophy permeates the organization - Institutionalization of assets is more likely to
occur, as a result - Such institutionalization may enhance the
sustainability of asset building - Serves to buffer staff turn-over
- Makes assets less vulnerable to categorical
funding
41Ways that Assets Promotes Organizational
Effectiveness
- Clarifies the organizational mission
- Provided a language and structure that made the
organizational philosophy explicit and conscious - Helps align staff efforts with broader
organizational goals - Helped staff understand that they had a role in
building assets among youth, regardless of their
role or position - Streamlined efforts all staff were working
toward the same goal - Promotes intentionality
- Guided the strategic selection and development of
programs - Increased staff awareness of teachable moments
42Intentionality
- Deliberately, purposefully, and consciously
working to build assets and actively working to
structure activities and interactions in ways
that foster the development of assets.
43Teachable Moments
- Moments or opportunities that are recognized or
intentionally created for teaching or
articulating a life lesson that has broader
significance and impact than the situation at
hand may suggest
44Contributions of the Research
- Helps researchers and practitioners better
understand the asset-building process and the
factors contributing to the growing movement - Introduces the concept of asset-building
organizations and examines their contribution to
youth development - Distinguishes between youth engagement and youth
involvement - Examines youth-level impacts
45Future Research Directions
- Measuring Youth Outcomes
- Youth are not only impacted, they are also
serving as the agents or catalysts of change - When assessing youth outcomes, what are the most
salient measures? - What are the most valid approaches or methods for
assessing meaningful outcomes for youth? - How can youth be engaged in the process of
determining and measuring outcomes?
46Future Research Directions
- The Cross-Cultural Validity of Assets
- Spanish language communities used dichos to
convey the salient cultural meanings of assets - Native American groups reorganized the framework
to instill in youth core traditional cultural
values such as interconnectedness and social
responsibility - What core aspects of the asset framework resonate
cross-culturally in terms raising and nurturing
children?
47Future Research Directions
- Asset Engagement
- Assets integration and engagement demonstrated
the potential to empower marginalized
cultural/ethnic groups, economically impacted
communities - How are communities re-aligned as a result of
assets integration? - How are resources/assets activated and utilized
differently as a result of asset integration? - What are the implications, not only in terms of
youth development, but also in terms of social
and community-level variables, such as those
related to health?
48Future Research Directions
- Linkages between the Fields of Youth,
Organizational and Community Development - Findings suggest that youth development and
organizational development are linked in
important ways - What are these linkages?
- What are their theoretical relationships?
- What are the implications for shaping community
and youth development practice?
49Reactions
- ACY
- What are some of the implications of the
evaluation for ACY? - More generally, what are the implications for the
field of positive youth development? - Trust
- What are some of the implications of the
evaluation for The Trust? - More generally, how are these findings relevant
to the work of foundations and other grant-makers?
50Reactions
- What are some of the factors that are
contributing to the increased interest in the
asset framework and strength-based approaches? - What new insights about asset building have
emerged for you? - What are the implications of the evaluation for
researchers and evaluators? - What needed research directions do you perceive
in the field?