Topic: Youth Empowerment Program (YEP)

A draft of the intervention plan (section III of the final project), including all critical elements as listed below. A draft plan for an intervention that will contribute to the effectiveness of the program in promoting personal and social (socioemotional) functioning for children living in diverse circumstances. How will the intervention reduce risk and increase resiliency? Now is a good time to revisit the Definitions handout to refresh your understanding of these concepts.

The Child (handout)

Development: A relatively enduring growth and change that makes an individual better adapted to the environmentby enhancing the individual's ability to engage in, understand, and experience morecomplex behavior, thinking, and emotions (Steinberg, Vandell, & Borstein, p. S-4).

Developmental Needs: The developmental milestones necessary to maintain the current level of development and allow the next level to progress. These needs can be physical, cognitive, and socioemotional. Examples include learning to walk and run, reading and writing, gaining independence, and forming relationships.

Risk Factors: The factors that increase individual vulnerability to harm, or delay or forestall normal development. Factors may include (but are not limited to): psychological (chronic fear and anxiety), familial (poor parenting skills, substance dependence in parents, domestic violence), social (social isolation, few age-appropriate friends), and contextual (high-crime neighborhood, few resources to enhance development) (Steinberg, Vandell, & Borstein, p. 399, S-12).

Resiliency Factors: Those factors that decrease vulnerability to harm, or delay or forestall normal development. Resiliency factors can include (but are not limited to): parenting (positive parenting skills,involved in children's life),psychological (high self-esteem, internal focus of control), social (positive age- appropriate friends, appropriate social outlets), contextual (neighborhood involvement, resources to enhance or expand development).

The Research

Research:The systematic investigation into and study of phenomena to establish facts and reach new conclusions. Research typically begins with a hypothesis:"Poor children who receive school breakfasts perform better academically than those who do not." Researchers then seek out evidence to support or reject the hypothesislocating schools that provide breakfasts for poor children and those that do not, and comparing school records (grades, test scores). There may also be other factors, and these must be statistically controlled to get valid results. If the researchers find a significant difference between the schools in favor of those providing breakfast, we can say that the hypothesis is supported by the evidence. When enough evidence accumulates, we can claim the hypothesis as fact. We can say for a fact that lead paint eaten by small children leads to mental retardation. The evidence is solid.

Goals, Outcomes, and Measurement:Goals are often stated in general terms, like "better grades" or "higher functioning."As stated, they cannot be measured. Outcomes are the things we measure to determine if our goals have been met. In the research example above, researchers measured the academic performance outcomes (grades, test scores) of poor children who received school breakfast and those who did not.

When we make a claim about the truthfulness of a statement, we need evidence to support it. We gain this evidence by measuring the relevant outcomes of two different circumstances (referred to as treatment and control groups: i.e., one group receives breakfast and the other does not). Another example:

Goal"I want my daughter to play better with other children."

MeasurementsNumber of acts of aggression per 90-minute sessionNumber of acts of cooperation per session

Evidence-Based Practices: When school and community-based programs develop interventions for children, they must distinguish between those that promote targeted development and those that do not. Program designers can create and implement interventions they believe may help, or they can conduct research into interventions that have been shown to promote the targeted development. Selecting interventions shown by research to be effective constitutes the use of evidence-based practices.

The Program

Program: A system of services, interventions, or projects usually designed to meet a social need: "Working parents rely on the center's after-school latchkey program" (New York Times).

Intervention: A specific set of procedures designed to achieve a purpose. Examples include remedial reading, cooperative play activities, and setting up consequences for undesirable behavior. A program can include multiple interventions.

Practices: Something that is done regularly. Consider practices as the expected attitudes, behaviors, and performances of program staff as they carry out the program and its interventions. Examples include following specific procedures, setting up the environment in specific ways, showing respect for everyone, not interrupting others, always saying please and thank you. By conforming to these expected practices, staff members perform interventions correctly, serve as role models for children under their supervision, and also promote a high-performing workplace.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed in this milestone:

1. Intervention Plan: Now that you have identified the needs of your target age group and evaluated the efficacy and utility of the program you have selected, propose a plan for an additional intervention. Your intervention should strengthen the program by promoting personal and social (socioemotional) functioning and incorporating outcome measurements and evidence-based practices. You will research existing interventions and recommend one that best fits the age group and program.
   1. Based on your research, what is an intervention that would contribute to the effectiveness of the program in promoting personal and social functioning for children living in differing circumstances? How would the intervention promote personal and social functioning?
   2. How would you take different cultures into consideration when applying this intervention? Provide an example.
   3. What outcomes would be expected from this new intervention? What is one method of measuring whether the intervention met the desired outcomes, and how would this method be applied to the intervention? How would the outcomes be measured?
   4. Does this intervention constitute an evidence-based practice, or include evidence-based practices? What is the evidence that supports the practice(s)? Alternatively, how could evidence-based practices be applied to this intervention, and what would be the benefit of doing this? How would the practice(s) support the intervention in meeting the desired outcomes?
   5. How will this intervention consider the risk and resiliency factors of the specific age group? How would addressing these factors benefit the intervention in promoting personal and social functioning?
   6. What are ways the intervention will reduce risk and increase resiliency factors? How will the intervention do this?

If any new references are you I would greatly appreciate if it's provided.

References:

Zimmerman, M. A., Eisman, A. B., Reischl, T. M., Morrel-Samuels, S., Stoddard, S. A., Miller, A. L., Hutchison, P., Franzen, S., & Rupp, L. (2017). Youth Empowerment Solutions: Evaluation of an After-School program to engage middle school students in community change.Health Education & Behavior,45(1), 20-31.https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198117710491

Schwartz, S. E. O. (2012, April 4).Mentoring relationships and adolescent Self-Esteem. PubMed Central (PMC).https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3873158/

Morrel-Samuels, S., Rupp, L., Eisman, A. B., Miller, A. L., Stoddard, S. A., Franzen, S., Hutchison, P., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2017). Measuring the implementation of youth empowerment solutions.Health Promotion Practice,19(4), 581-589.https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839917736511