What is asset development?
___You work to build the 40 developmental assets that will support and enhance the healthy development of children and adolescents in your community.
___You seek to develop assets that will help youth guard against high-risk behaviors and patterns.
___You seek to enhance the assets that encourage thriving indicators in youth:
What are the characteristics of an asset development program?
___You seek commitment from the whole community.
___You create an inclusive, participatory effort.
___You base your effort on what’s needed in the community.
___You focus on the positive.
___You seek a comprehensive, community-wide effort.
What are the developmental assets kids need?
___You are familiar with the 40 developmental assets listed in the section.
Why (and why not) should you use an asset development approach?
___You are familiar with the advantages of an asset-building approach:
- A strong base in both empirical research and theory.
- Community ownership and diverse, broad-ranging input stemming from a participatory process.
- An accent on positive asset development, making youth issues seem more resolvable.
- The ability of each community to design its own asset-building solutions.
- The ability to analyze data in numerous ways and by different populations.
- An emphasis on long-term social change.
- The capacity to address a broad range of issues.
- The possibility of increasing community cohesiveness.
- The emphasis on what’s best for youth leading to what’s best for the community.
___You know the potential disadvantages to the asset development approach:
- A data base that’s 80% white and all youth for the Search Institute’s 40 assets.
- No real guidance as to how to develop assets.
- Community dependence on the Search Institute or CADY to analyze the surveys.
- Statistical limitations that may make accurate analysis difficult for small communities or schools.
- The lack of any guarantee that asset development will address current problems.
- The question of how necessary assets actually are for eventual success for most youth.
How do you use asset development?
___You find someone to take the initiative (or do it yourself).
___You form an inclusive, participatory group to introduce the asset development concept and the idea of the survey of developmental assets to the community.
___You work out the logistics of administering the survey.
___You implement the survey.
___You analyze the survey results.
___You communicate the survey results and analysis to the community.
___You plan your next steps.
___You develop an initial action plan.
___You implement your action plan.
___You monitor, evaluate, and adjust your plan.
___You continue to develop, implement, monitor, and adjust action plans, and to maintain the gains you’ve made.