Promoting Adolescent Health Through Youth-Adult Partnerships : An Interactive Teleconference

Building Partnerships for Youth, CYFERnet and Healthy People, Healthy Communities is pleased to present an opportunity for you to learn more about how youth-adult partnerships promote positive outcomes for young people. All you need is a telephone plus a computer with web access. This training is one of a series of live interactive telephone training sessions being sponsored by CYFERnet throughout 2003.

Youth-adult partnerships are relationships between youth and adults where there is mutuality in teaching, learning, and action (Zeldin, McDaniel, Topitzes & Lorens, 2001), and are distinct from parent-child, student-teacher, and mentoring relationships (Camino, 2000). Such partnerships focus on collaboration and emphasize young people and their contributions rather than their problems. Youth-adult partnerships are important because both youth and adults benefit from participation in these relationships. Young people, in particular, experience a number of positive outcomes from partnerships with adults. These include the development of leadership skills and improved self-esteem, as well as reduced participation in risky sexual behaviors and increased participation in healthy behaviors, including abstinence (Kirby & Coyle, 1997). Because new programs, curricula, and strategies for building youth-adult partnerships continue to be developed, it is important for the fields of youth development and prevention to learn more about effective programming options in this area.

Event Summary

TELEPHONE CONFERENCE CALL PROGRAM

Richard Shepherd Zeldin
Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Studies
School of Human Ecology
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Linda Camino
Senior Scientist, Human Development and Family Studies
School of Human Ecology
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Verna Simpkins
Director of Membership and Program Initiatives
Girl Scouts of the USA

Randell Bynum
Project Manager
Girl Scouts of the USA

Yvette Ewing
Collaborations Manager
Girl Scouts-Illinois Crossroads Council, Inc.

Part 1 (5 minutes) Introduction—Michael S. Brockman, M.A., Research Associate, University of California, Davis

Roll call and introductions

Part 2 (30 minutes) Research Review—

What does research tell us about the relationship of youth-adult partnerships and positive health outcomes for young people?

Part 3 (20 minutes) Featured Program: Girl Scouts of the USA

What is Girl Scouts of the USA?

How does Girl Scouts use youth-adult partnerships to promote positive outcomes for young people?

Part 4 (20 minutes) Application of Featured Program-

How has Girls Scouts implemented youth-adult partnerships within their programs at the community level?

What can personnel with an interest in youth development learn from Girl Scouts’ experience with youth-adult partnerships?

Part 5 (15 minutes) Discussion

Question and answer period

TIMELINE TO ASSIST IN YOUR PLANNING

Before the call:

1. Register online.
   
   
2. Download the following PowerPoint presentations, pdf files, and Word documents and have them on your computer during the call:
   
   Materials from Girl Scouts of the USA
   • Girl Scout Overview Presentation
   • Girl Scout Research Institute Fact Sheet
   • By Girls, For Girls, National Advisory – Mission
   • By Girls, For Girls, National Advisory – Accomplishments in 2003
   • Uniquely Me! Fact Sheet
     
     
   Materials from Shepherd Zeldin and Linda Camino
   • Youth-Adult Partnerships and Positive Youth Development
   • Toward an Understanding of Youth in Community Governance: Policy Priorities and Research Directions
   • PAAT: Program Activity and Assessment Tool
     
     
3. Check out the following Web sites:
   www.studio2b.org
   
   
4. Visit the BPY Web site and review some of the information in the Resources section: www.bpy.n4h.org.

Thursday, November 13: Participate in call.
2:00-3:30pm Eastern
1:00-2:30pm Central
12:00-1:30pm Mountain
11:00-12:30pm Pacific
8:00-9:30am Hawaii

After November 13: Begin to use some of the new information you learned about on the conference call.

Questions or discussion regarding this project should be directed to Mike Brockman at msbrockman@ucdavis.edu.

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