Developmental Assets www.ourkidsnetwork.ca

40 Developmental Assets Positive experiences, relationships, opportunities and personal qualities that young people need to grow up healthy, caring and responsible.

Researchers cumulatively surveyed over Based on research of the Search Institute in USA – www.search-institute.org Researchers cumulatively surveyed over 3 million 6-12th graders Identified 40 factors which are critical to positive child and youth development Youth with higher amount of assets have lower levels of risk behaviours

Assets are for all! Assets have power for all children and youth, regardless of their gender, economic status, family, or race/ethnicity The average young person experiences fewer than half of the 40 assets, and boys experience an average of three fewer assets than girls

The Asset-Building Difference From To Prescribed Programs Incidental Problems Troubled kids Work of professionals  Relationships  Intentional  Strengths  All kids Everyone’s job As a result of this strong evidence for asset building, over the past few years our program has done a shift in its thinking. We have gone from (Read out PP chart) Therefore asset building starts with strong, positive, caring relationships with adults who care about them as individuals as well as their academics. Adults build assets in youth through positive experiences, opportunities. Strong youth engagement that give the youth a voice in what matters to them. Teachers, coaches, youth workers, youth leaders, store keepers, police, community mentors, virtually anyone who is involved with youth has the power to build these assets. Asset builders look for strengths, not weaknesses, and Assets is really common sense to a lot of us, BUT to work, asset building needs to be intentionally implemented and be at the forefront of our consciousness. Using the asset approach, we take a look at the strengths of the youth and how we can we tap into those strengths that are not being utilized to their potential or maybe not even acknowledged? Are there opportunities to build or strengthen ongoing relationships within the school staff and with other partners? Focusing on the broader population of youth will move the bell curve for those who are having the most difficulty. And finally, being more intentional in our actions, whether that is considering how all of us greet a student on a daily basis to identifying potential students at risk and planning ahead for them versus responding once they have reached a certain # of issues or crises. We can all do this shift as individuals, with our work with youth, and we can also be a leader or role-model to our staff in how to make this shift part of the school culture. Why? Because extensive research has shown that this approach really works! Not a program….it’s a framework….think of it as a lens through which you view all professional and personal connections with youth

Key messages All kids need assets. Everyone can build assets. Relationships are key. Asset building is an ongoing process. Consistent messages are crucial. Repetition is important.

Asset-Building Toolkit at www.ourkidsnetwork.ca The Asset Building Toolkit is a one-stop shop with easy, online access to tools, ideas and resources. Three thousand professionals in Halton have completed this training but, some have said they struggle to shift their work Our Kids Network wants to continue to inspire, guide and support you in the work that you do with children, youth and families in Halton. We encourage you to enrich and expand on your work with Developmental Assets through the use of the Asset Building Toolkit – it’s not just a list of 40 things to do, it’s a shift in the way we do our work.

How the Asset-Building Toolkit can help me Organizational commitment Sharing the DA message Embedding DA into organizations Invigorating my program Engaging children and youth Evaluating and celebrating

Some testimonials “Looking at other tools gives you good ideas of how to make yours better.” YMCA of Burlington Hamilton Brantford “The AB Toolkit provides you with language, ready-to-go presentations, success stories and videos to help you share the message.” Corpus Christi Catholic Secondary School “It helped us to embed DA into our hiring process. Candidates come to MCRC already aware of DA and we build from there.” Milton Community Resource Centre

Asset-Building Toolkit at www.ourkidsnetwork.ca Take 20 minutes and see what the AB Toolkit can do for you and your organization Three thousand professionals in Halton have completed this training but, some have said they struggle to shift their work Our Kids Network wants to continue to inspire, guide and support you in the work that you do with children, youth and families in Halton. We encourage you to enrich and expand on your work with Developmental Assets through the use of the Asset Building Toolkit – it’s not just a list of 40 things to do, it’s a shift in the way we do our work.

Resources www.search-institute.com www.lionsquest.ca www.ourkidsnetwork.ca

Thank you Search Institute! Slides 4-9, 12 used with permission as part of the Essentials of Asset Building Training of Trainers workshop. Copyright © 2008 by Search Institute, 800-888-7828, www.search-institute.org/training.

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