2006 Florida Children's Summit
Compilation of Commitment Issues
| Click here to see the Summit recommendations for this issue. |
Have access to prevention, intervention and family service programs that support positive adolescent development.
Positive youth development emphasizes the need to provide supports to young people during all of their critical developmental transitions including middle school to adolescence and adolescence to early adulthood.
Successfully transitioning a youth from early adolescence to adulthood is one of society's greatest challenges. Substance abuse, inappropriate sexual behavior, contact with the law, school failure, and family conflict are a number of issues that can interfere with this successful transition. Positive youth development is a process that prepares young people to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood through a coordinated, progressive series of activities and experiences which help them to become socially, morally, emotionally, physically, and cognitively competent. Positive youth development addresses the broad developmental needs of youth and focuses on a strength-based rather than deficit-based model when building programs for youth and their families.