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Standards of Quality Performance for Teen Programs
What Youth Do
Adolescence is the time of life during which youth take on a range of new roles and responsibilities as they prepare for adulthood. Through experiences, they will gain a sense of "who they are" and what they are able to do in the world. They are active participants in their own development and will go wherever their needs are met.
1. All youth are given opportunities for leadership.
- Youth leadership opportunities exist such as community meetings, youth forums, journals and other venues for youth voice.
- Youth show new participants the program and play a role in orientation.
- Youth learn specific leadership skills and are encouraged to take leadership roles; staff assist without taking control.
2. Youth play an integral role in planning and implementing activities.
- Youth and staff work together to select, plan and implement activities of interest, which are consistent with the program's mission and resources.
- Youth and staff work together to develop mechanisms, such as youth forums, planning sessions, councils, etc., whereby youth regularly contribute ideas that are accepted and acted upon.
- Youth have opportunities to become increasingly responsible for planning and implementing programs.
3. Youth and staff partner to define standards of behavior.
- Program defines, with youth input, a code of conduct with clear guidelines on appropriate behavior and attire.
- Youth and staff define ways to resolve conflict and are able to use them as situations arise in the program.
- Program defines, with youth input, policies for dealing with infractions of code of conduct.
- All newcomers are oriented to code of conduct for the program by selected youth currently involved in the program.
- Program defines, with youth input, standards of respect, trust, multi-cultural awareness and respect of difference.
4. Youth have regular opportunities to assess the program and give feedback.
- There is a formal process whereby youth assess activities; information is then fed back into activities selection, planning and implementation.
- Youth give informal, verbal feedback on whether or not the activities and program structure are meeting their needs.
- Regular opportunities exist for meetings between youth and program staff and administrators.
5. Youth set goals for themselves with assistance from staff.
- Each youth, with staff assistance, develops a set of personal goals with progress measures using the youth development outcomes as a framework.
- Youth can verbalize their personal goals and progress to date.
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