1. 40 Developmental Assets
WELCOME!
Nicole

2. Small things you can do
See young people as resources rather than problems
Compliment children and youth when you see them doing good things
Turn off the TV one night a week and bring out some board games!
Try to have at least one meal together as a family every day.
Make cooking a family event!
Openly promote a policy of telling the truth in your family
Be a model for positive conflict resolution. Learn how to settle your own disputes calmly and peacefully
Look out for the children around you—report dangerous and inappropriate behaviours
Compliment parents when you see their children doing good things

3. More Simple things
Get to know your children’s friends and their friend’s parents
Get to know your neighbours and encourage your children to do the same
Volunteer with children and youth
Make it clear that you value those around you for who they are and not how they look
Ask a child or youth about their day and tell them about yours
Recognize that children need more than just financial support

4. By the End of the Hour I Will Be Able to…
Be familiar with the 8 Developmental Asset Categories
Describe how assets empower ALL children and adolescents to create strong, productive, and happy lives
Identify my role in nurturing these assets and uncover the many opportunities to do so
Pinpoint easy and practical tasks to build assets in their homes, neighbourhoods, schools, and community
Nicole

5. What helps youth to thrive?
What are a few suggestions of things in our communities that help children and youth to thrive?
Christine

6. Two Shifts First Shift Second Shift
From fixing young people’s problems
Promoting young people’s strengths
Second Shift
Beyond programs Relationships
Nicole—History on where the assets were developed
How does our society perceive teenagers?
Often use more negative descriptions that positive—i.e. rebellious, irresponsible
How do young people usually show up in the news? I.e. car accidents, voilence
What are the relationships between young people and professionals such as counsellors, police officers, nurses, and school administrators usually like? Have their problems fixed.
Society usually focuses on young people’s problems and on trying to fix those problems, or even to fix the young people themselves. Same goes for younger children who are having difficulties—they are often “fixed”. Young people have strengths too; we can’t ignore the problems that exist, but we want to focus on the strengths and build upon them.

7. The Two Types of Assets
External assets refer to the positive developmental environments and experiences that surround young people. The main builders of these assets for young children are parents and other caregivers. As children grow older, especially through adolescence, external assets accumulate through interactions with parents, neighbors, educators, congregations, coworkers, and peers.
Nicole
Who is familiar with the 40 Developmental Assets Framework already?
The Developmental Assets were created by the Search Institute which began their work with the assets in They asked the question “what are the factors that have an impact on healthy growth and development in young people” “why do some kids grow up with relative ease, while others struggle?”
The initial work of the Search Institute measured the presence of the assets in youth from grades This information is reflected in “The Asset Approach”. Since then, they have also looked at the assets for younger children. From this they identified 40 concrete, positive experiences and qualities that have a tremendous influence on young people from all walks of life.
The development of external assets, which we can impact, often leads to the development of internal assets in children and youth. Many people find them to be consistent with both their experience and common sense.

8. External Assets Support Empowerment Boundaries and Expectations
Constructive Use of Time
Nicole
See Asset Approach
Note the percentages in the right-hand column and in addition to identifying the assets, Search Institute also developed a survey to measure the presence of each asset in the lives of youth based on their self-reporting
Administered primarily through the public school systems it’s a 156 item Search Institute Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviours survey. It has been completed by more than 1 million youth. The percentages reflect the results of over youth from

9. The Two Types of Assets
Internal assets refer to the resolve, skills, and values needed for strong character. Parents and other caregivers nurture these assets from infancy to adolescence. During the teen years, these assets help provide young people with an “internal compass” that guides them to make wise choices.
Christine

10. Internal Assets Commitment to Learning Positive Values
Social Competencies
Positive Identity
Christine
See Asset Approach

11. The Power of Assets to Promote
Christine

12. The Power of Assets to Protect
Christine
The assets are cumulative in their effect—the more assets that young people have, the better. On page 4 of the Asset Approach it shows that youth consistently possess, on average, less than half the assets.
The more developmental assets that young people have, the more likely they are to report that they engage in safe and healthy behaviours and the less likely they are to report that they engage in high-risk behaviours.

13. Youth with Different Levels of Assets
32%
31–40 Assets 8%
0–10 Assets
17%
11–20 Assets
42%
Nicole
This holds true in both urban and rural settings (as on page 4 of “The Asset Approach”). Use Esterhazy example…Can be applied to any community the research statistics are very transferrable. The assets that adults may identify to be low are not necessarily the ones that the youth actually show to lack; however this information is also transferrable as the Esterhazy study shows as well.

14. Grading Grown-Ups Actions Believe Important (%) Do It (%)
Gap in % points
Encourage success in school 92 69 21
Expect parents to set boundaries 84 42
Teach shared values 80 45 35
Teach respect for cultural differences 77 36 41
Guide decision making 76
Have meaningful conversations 75 34
Give financial guidance 39
Discuss personal values 73 37
Expect respect for adults 68 67 1
Nicole
Based on research from Scales, Benson, and Roehlkepartain—Grading Grown-Ups: American Adults Report on Their Real Relationships with Kids (2001)
For most adults there is a sizable gap between their beliefs of what is important and their corresponding actions
Asked “Which adults behaviours they believe are most important for the healthy development of young people” and the “Do they actually act on those beliefs?”

15. How Can We build Assets? Look at the 8 categories:
How were these assets provided to you when you were growing up?
What are the barriers to providing them now?
What do you think you can do to build these assets?
Nicole

16. Principles of Asset Building
All young people need assets.
Everyone can build assets.
Relationships are key.
Asset building is an ongoing process.
Consistent messages are crucial.
Repetition is important.
Nicole—direct to Handout #7
Asset Building is not new--it’s been going on to varying degrees for a long time, although we may not have labelled it as asset building
Assets can be built in lots of different places and in different ways by all kings of people across a community
It’s hard to build just one asset—they are by their nature intertwined.

17. Relationships
Key to beginning to build developmental assets with young people
Young people should also try to build relationships with adults, their peers and younger children
The more young people we build assets with, the more likely it is that every young person will have someone to connect with and that young people will be getting consistent messages about what’s important and how to live a healthy life.
Christine
Asset-Building Ideas for Individuals
Asset Building Ideas for Organizations

18. The Asset Building Difference
From To
Young people’s problems
Young people’s strengths
Professionals’ work
Everyone’s work
Young people absorbing resources
Young people as resources
Programs
Relationships
Troubled young people
All young people
Accountable only for own behaviour
Accountable as well for other adults’ behaviour
Incidental asset building
Intentional asset building
Blaming others
Claiming responsibility
Nicole
How we build assets: Change attitudes—think about attitudes that are consistent with the asset framework

19. Key Messages
There is a direct correlation between DA and Academic Performance
It doesn’t take a great deal of time to build DA
Assets can be built early in the life of a child, from birth through adolescence
Building assets helps parents and guardians get what they want for their children
Involving other responsible, caring adults in children’s lives means parents don’t have to do it all alone.
You probably are already building assets, but perhaps they could be more intentional, consistent, and systematic about it.
You can have a positive influence on other people’s children as well.
Nicole

20. Asset Building In Moose Jaw and Area
Any Success Stories
Where to from here?
Questions??
Nicole—12:40