Youth Today
Opinion
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2.4KWe keep asking young people to trust us. But how much do we really trust them?
Across the allied youth fields, youth are often asked to contribute but rarely allowed to shape outcomes.
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2.4KPermanency without connection fails foster youth. True support means lasting relationships.
Foster youth need relational permanency — lasting, supportive relationships into adulthood.
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1.9KWhat the Starfish Story reveals about child welfare — especially in April
There are moments in child welfare work where you know, without question, that what you did mattered.
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2.1KEntering the life space of the child: Frank Fecser’s legacy in action
Re-EDucation is a systematic, relational, ecological approach to working with children with mental/behavioral challenges.
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2.3KFrom training to education: College credit for youth workers
When youth workers apply to college, their work experience doesn't count. One solution lies in Credit for Prior Learning (CPL).
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1.9KFive shifts that would change everything
A podcast discusses five concrete changes that can be made in any youth development setting.
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1.7KWhat John King’s teachers were actually doing
Helping youth thrive is about designing learning environments that prioritize consistency, challenge, and agency.
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1.6KStructure, control and leaving room
Youth practitioners play a critical role in shaping youth environments by establishing norms, safety, and a larger vision — not by controlling...
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2.4KChildren suffer when child welfare ignores the evidence base
Child abuse deaths are needles in a haystack. But we’ve spent half a century making the haystack bigger.
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2.1KChild safety was never meant to look like this
The U.S. invokes child protection to justify family separation, prolonged detention and forced placements, but this distorts the origins of child safety.
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1.8KLook inside: What MCA taught us about gratitude, growth and growing up
MCA’s legacy, when seen through a developmental lens, offers a clear example of how gratitude can emerge alongside maturity, identity and purpose.
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1.8KWhy agency, voice and coherence is the work: Supporting social, emotional and academic well-being and thriving in challenging times and contexts
From a developmental perspective, coherence is not something young people are told they are part of; it is something they feel.
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1.8KTwice a refugee
A young, LGBTQ refugee shares their journey from Africa to Trump's United States and then Canada, highlighting the fear permeating immigrant communities.
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1.8KBig Thought: The ecosystem intermediary behind Dallas City of Learning
Big Thought brings arts education into the community and tackles other opportunity gaps.
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3.1KWhen accommodations exist on paper but not in practice: How ACT testing fails students with disabilities
Students with disabilities face barriers when trying to access standardized testing accommodations, especially those without strong adult support networks.
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2.1KThe empty desk: A student’s view of the siege in our hallways
A junior at Columbia Heights High School in Minnesota gives a glimpse into what it's like to be student during the ongoing...
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2.0KFrom systems leadership to ecosystems stewardship: A next step for OST intermediaries?
The benefits of comprehensive learning ecosystems are vast, but a vital part of maintaining and stewarding them will fall on OST programs/intermediaries.
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1.9KThey age out — then we hire them. What happens next matters most.
Despite the vital role of young staff, we know little about how these experiences shape their development and which workplace practices help...
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1.6KAn invitation to learn, reflect and act together for equity-centered thriving
A new podcast features foundational thinkers, exemplary youth practitioners and policy leaders discussing what it takes to support equity-centered thriving.
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1.8KA restorative approach to professional development for youth workers
Jen Curry of Change Impact highlights restorative professional development for the youth workforce, detailing six ways organizations can implement it.
