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TABLE OF CONTENTS: Youth Development Approach: Turning Crisis into Opportunity Introduction Conclusion Meeting and Planning Calendar

View the entire Youth Issue Brief #2 INTRODUCTION In February 2009, the National Alliance of State and Territorial Directors (NASTAD) launched a youth-focused issue brief series, beginning with HIV/AIDS:Crisis among Young Black and Latino Gay Men and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM), designed to explore the complexity of needs, challenges and social conditions that heighten risk of HIV infection and other negative health outcomes among these populations.  This second issue brief focused on youth explores the application of youth development principles as part of an overall public health strategy in which youth play a meaningful role in determining what health department efforts could best help improve sexual health outcomes for adolescents.  As in the initial issue brief, we provide a listing of the core elements or characteristics of programs that have been proven, in the literature, to be both effective and efficacious when incorporating key youth development principles.  First, however, it is useful to understand the theoretical concepts of adolescent development and maturation on which many youth-centered approaches are based and how they can successfully be applied or adapted as core aspects of any prevention strategy in which youth have a substantial stake. Within this discussion, thoughtful consideration must be given to acknowledging the political challenges embedded in our view of adolescent sexual health and how recognizing youth as partners in prevention requires a fundamental shift in our view of their potential role in public health. View the entire Youth Issue Brief #2 back to top > CONCLUSION While adolescence is a time where we begin to explore our identity, make decisions independent of family and friends, and experience personal freedom, it is also often marked by turbulent psychological, emotional, cognitive and behavior changes occurring rapidly and experienced at the same time as others around the adolescent. As public health professionals, our understanding and appreciation for the complex circumstances shaping young people’s lives is critically important to how we address these challenges. In this issue brief, we turned our attention toward examining the premises and merits of an approach in working with youth that, in many ways, has re-surfaced as a viable option among a set of tools designed to combat the syndemic effects of HIV and STDs on America’s youth.  Given the magnitude of this crisis, we must acknowledge that health departments, education agencies and community-based organizations can no longer afford to invest in token measures with short-term solutions.  Although it is not a panacea, the youth development approach offers health departments and their community partners the opportunity to innovate current strategies designed to prevent the spread of  new infections while recruiting and partnering with those we endeavor to help.  Moreover, in devising strategies to address these crises, we must realize that “Problem free is not fully prepared.”  That is, the goals of any prevention strategy for young people must look beyond short-term outcomes.  Our efforts must align with their needs and our mission as a profession in assuring they have access to the resources and supports needed to transition into adulthood in good health. back to top > Meeting and Planning Calendar Capacity Building Opportunities: For a searchable database of CDC-supported capacity building trainings and events, please visit: the Capacity Building Branch’s Group Events Management System site. May 2009 Viral Hepatitis Awareness Month May 18, 2009 HIV Vaccine Awareness Day May 19, 2009 National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day World Hepatitis Day May 21-24, 2009 HIV/AIDS 2009: The Social Work Response, New Orleans, LA  June 8, 2009 Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day June 27, 2009 National HIV Testing Day August 23-26, 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference, Atlanta, GA October 15, 2009 National Latino AIDS Awareness Day October 29-31, 2009 United States Conference on AIDS, San Francisco, CA. Abstracts due April 24, 2009. November 7-11, 2009 American Public Health Association 137th Meeting and Expo, Philadelphia, PA December 1, 2009 World AIDS Day

	Credits, Feedback and Input The NASTAD Prevention Bulletin is edited by NASTAD staff and is written by staff and prevention experts from around the country. This publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number 5U62PS323958-05 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you have an idea or program that you would like to include in the Bulletin, please contact Dave Kern or Lynne Greabell (202/434-8090). NASTAD welcomes feedback to issues presented in Bulletin. To submit commentary, please e-mail us at NASTAD@NASTAD.org. Electronic versions of the Bulletin are available on our webpage.
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