Youth Engagement in

ACTION

Crystal L. WilliamsOctavia Fugerson

In this session…• Engaging young people as

professionals• Building Social Capital• Strengthening Communication• Developmentally appropriate

Opportunities

How young people are being engaged.

• 2 hours and 20 minutes a day on average spent online

• 80 percent of their time online is spent on a social networking site

• 90 percent of teenagers say they’ve created an online profile for at least one social networking site

• Facebook and YouTube are the ones most popularly frequented by teens

Roiworld’s Teens & Social Networks Study (June 2010)

“Young people who are not authentically engaged are placed on the stage of life

without the proper preparation that they need to take action

in a professional arena.”

Young people as professionals

Cultivate growth as a professional in their fieldIdentify strengths and provide opportunities

exercise talentsChallenge young people to pinpoint and pursue

their goalsRaise expectations to spark growth towards

excellence.

SCENARIO 1: The Professional Foster

Kid

Building Social Capital

• Provide opportunities for Bridging and Bonding• Ensure that young people are given an

opportunity to contribute to the work indefinitely • Think of multiple levels of engagement• Think outside of the box (intentionally create

community collaboration)• Find bridges to professional networks• Ensure that young people are prepared to engage

“It’s Crucial! Young people who have opportunities to be fully engaged with adults and “practice” adult skills such as reasoning, decision

making, and self-regulation are thus strengthening the parts of the brain

responsible for those functions.”

SCENARIO 2: Properly

Unprepared

“Young people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you

care.” –Author Unknown

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION for the young person• Misunderstanding• Hurt and misconception about “ALL adults”• Negative expectations• Inability to translate feelings into words• Lack of trust• Feeling it is pointless to communicate with

adults• Others?

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION:

For the Adults• Need to establish clear boundaries• Trauma informed • Inability to translate practically • Inconsistency• Inability to “get through” to the young

person• Frustration• Others?

SCENARIO 3:Miss Misunderstood

The POWER of Communication

“It’s Crucial! Young people who have opportunities to be fully engaged with adults and “practice” adult skills such as reasoning, decision making, and self-regulation are thus strengthening the parts of the brain responsible for those functions.”

-Jim Casey Youth Engagement Issue Brief

Developmentally Appropriate Opportunities

• Advancement for the young person as a professional

• Engaging youth as more than simple storytellers

• The importance of having youth use critical thinking, analysis and decision making

THANK YOU!