Introduction to Youth Thrive™
This is a training and introduction to Youth Thrive and its promotive factors. The training will be provided by the Connected Youth Initiative through Nebraska Children and Families Foundation. The following is an overview of Youth Thrive:
The overall goal of the research-informed Youth Thrive framework is to advance healthy development and well-being, by building protective and promotive factors and to mitigate or prevent risk factors.
The five protective and promotive factors for healthy adolescent development are:
• Youth resilience
• Social connections
• Knowledge of adolescent development
• Concrete support in times of needs
• Cognitive-social emotional competence
Together, reducing risk-factors and promoting protective and promotive factors, are regarded as a pathway for decreasing the likelihood of negative outcomes and increasing the likelihood of positive outcomes.
Theory of Change
Youth in general, as well as those at heightened risk for negative outcomes, have a greater likelihood of achieving healthy outcomes as a result of experiences that support the building of the Youth Thrive protective and promotive factors and the reduction of risk factors.
Vision Statement
The Youth Thrive approach endeavors to ensure that the developmental needs of young people will be better attended to, and that youth will receive the supports and experiences necessary to ensure enhanced opportunities for productive and secure lives.
The intended results of Youth Thrive are dynamic outcomes for healthy development and well-being of young people such that the young person is:
• Physically and emotionally healthy
• Hopeful, optimistic, compassionate and curious
• Able to form and sustain caring, committed relationships
• Successful in school and workplace
• Service-oriented towards his/her community or society
