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When conducting an online search for “positive youth development,” one will likely find a wide range of definitions and approaches. For me, positive youth development is a guiding view or philosophy that considers each child as someone who can contribute immediately, as well as someone who—with appropriate guidance and support—can grow and develop into an even healthier and more capable individual.
The “old-school” view of a “good” child was one who did what was told, didn’t interfere with others, and generally didn’t cause any trouble. Little or no consideration was given to whether the child was happy, learning, growing, or developing to reach the maximum potential. There is not a “one-size-fits-all” end goal to development. From a positive youth-development prospective, each individual is seen as already bringing something(s) special to society or a larger group, and the goal is to increase that ability to contribute by enhancing one’s health, skills, and confidence, no matter the current place developmentally. Not every child is or will be good at the same things, but every child is good at certain things, and helping him or her realize those talents, building skills and a sense of efficacy, and encouraging the child to realize the potential is the goal of the youth-development professional.
So let’s look at how the most successful youth programs select and develop staff members. Not surprisingly, success begins and ends with hiring and training. Just like the youth they work with, each staff member is not good at every activity/skill, nor is every adult cut out to work with youth (especially using a positive youth-development approach). And there are other factors that parks and recreation agencies may have to contend with that sometimes make it a struggle to find staff for seasonal or part-time programs, such as the hours offered and the rate of compensation. Even with these inherent challenges, there are a few questions to ask, and certain measures to be taken to find and utilize the right people in the most effective manner.