Youth-Adult Partnerships

Youth-adult partnerships are shown to be one of the most effective ways to engage both youth and adults in meaningful activities which contribute to positive youth development. Youth involved in positive, meaningful, respectful relationships with adults have been shown to improve skills and competencies in areas such as communication and leadership while decreasing participation in risky behaviors. When partnering with youth, adults also build skills while strengthening the organizations to which they belong.

Many people believe that a youth-adult partnership occurs any time youth and adults are present in the same room. This is not correct. Youth-adult partnerships take place when youth and adults plan, learn and work together, with both groups sharing equally in the decision-making process. This is very different than many typical relationships in which adults take the leadership roles and the youth are assigned inferior roles, or programs where youth make all the decisions while the adults sit back and watch. Instead, youth-adult partnerships build on the strengths of each group and the final program or activity is stronger than a program or activity devised and delivered individually by either group¹.

To help visualize this concept, think about pairs figure skating. One partner brings strength to the event, lifting and rotating the other. The other partner twists, flips and lands jumps. They learn, practice and are judged together. Neither could perform the routine without the other partner. The partnership enables the skaters to perform a routine that is much more difficult than the routines performed by individual skaters.

Youth-adult partnerships are sometimes slow to take root, however, as both youth and adults often have perceptions of the other group that prevents them from successfully working together. Adults may see youth as undependable or too inexperienced to contribute in a meaningful way whereas youth often see adults as too bossy or too busy.

Research studies indicate that successful youth-adult partnerships require a variety of elements to be in place including:

• Youth and adults share equally in the decision making process.
• Together youth and adults achieve better results than either would if working alone.
• Roles for youth and adults are authentic and meaningful.
• Youth and adults learn together and serve as resources for one another.
• Each group is treated with respect and dignity by the other group

The same research studies cited a wide range of strategies that can be used to support the basic elements. Some of these include:

• Adults and youth work together to determine roles, plan activities, set deadlines, create guidelines, and divide tasks.
• If voting is used for decision making, youth and adults’ votes count equally.
• Everyone feels comfortable enough to ask questions and express their ideas.
• Meetings are held when youth are out of school and meetings start and end on time.
• Adults offer transportation to youth to meetings.
• Both youth and adults are encouraged to contribute their unique strengths to the partnership.

Although not always easy or initially comfortable, employing youth-adult partnership strategies is an effective means of strengthening existing programs and increasing positive youth development outcomes.

Originally authored by Shelley Murdock, Contra Costa 4-H Youth Development Advisor

Youth in Governance

Youth in governance (YIG) is the authentic and meaningful engagement of young people in programs, organizations, and communities, where they have or share voice, influence, and decision-making authority.

Rather than perceiving youth as “recipients” of programs or services, youth in governance sees young people as resources (mostly untapped resources) to their communities. YIG acknowledges and embraces the unique and powerful contributions that young people can make to their organizations and communities—right now—not only at some point in the future when they have become “adults.” Creating strategies to involve youth in the decisions that affect their lives is congruent with the democratic ideals of this country. While the nation is built upon concepts of participation and inclusion, our democratic processes fall short when it comes to the inclusion of young people.  YIG seeks to address this challenge by supporting youth inclusion and engagement.

Youth in Governance is not a program, per se; rather, it is an overall approach to positive youth development. As such, YIG strategies can be infused into virtually any youth development program. Some emerging research suggests that organizations using a youth in governance approach actually achieve better youth development outcomes than those organizations focused solely on youth development (without incorporating YIG strategies).²

However, youth are not the only ones who benefit from YIG strategies.  Research has shown that adults also benefit from participating in mutually respectful, mutually beneficial partnerships with youth.³ Likewise, organizations and communities also benefit from youth participation and decision-making, as young people apply their unique skills, knowledge, and talents to solve problems and create new opportunities.⁴ Finally, there is a long-term benefit from YIG, as well; research has shown that when youth are engaged in their communities and organizations in meaningful ways, they grow up to be adults who are much more likely to be civically involved and philanthropically inclined.⁵

At a program level, YIG is happening when young people not only participate in the program, but also have a role in deciding which programs will be offered and how they will be implemented and evaluated. At the organizational level, YIG is happening when youth not only give input (“voice”) regarding the organization’s direction, policies, hiring and other major functions; when they not only  have a real influence on those decisions; but most importantly, when they are also integrated into the decision-making process. At the community level, YIG is happening when youth are fully engaged, visible stakeholders in activities that shape their communities and in the decision-making processes that affect their lives. Leading community forums to address real and pressing issues; serving on a city commission; participating in a voting campaign (even if they are not able to vote themselves) are but a few examples of what YIG looks like in the community.

Originally authored by Carole MacNeil, California State 4-H Director

Resources

• "Making It Work: A Guide to Successful Youth-Adult Partnerships" by the Texas Network of Youth Services.
• "Youth Adult Partnerships: A Training Manual" by the Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development, National 4-H Council, National Network for Youth and Youth Leadership Institute.
• Executive Summary, "Youth-Adult Parnterships in Community Decision Making" by Shepherd Zeldin, Julie Petrokubi, and Carole MacNeil.
• "Youth-Adult Partnerships in Community Decision Making" by by Shepherd Zeldin, Julie Petrokubi, and Carole MacNeil.

References

• ¹ Zeldin, S. et al (2000). Youth in decision making: A study of the impacts of youth and adults on organizations. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Human Development and Family Studies.

• ² Gambone, M., Yu, H., Lewis-Charp, H., Sipe, C. and Lacoe, J. (2004). A Comparative Analysis of Community Youth Development Strategies. Circle Working Paper, University of Maryland.
• ³ Zeldin, S., Camino, L., & Calvert, M. (2003). Toward an understanding of youth in communitygovernance: Policy priorities and research directions. Social Policy Report, 12(3), 3-20.
• ⁴ MacNeil, C. (2000). Youth-adult collaborative leadership: Strategies for fostering ability and authority. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Dissertation Services.
• ⁵ Independent Sector (2002). Engaging Youth in Lifelong Service. Washington, DC: Independent Sector.