Asset Development Center

The Asset Development Center was established in 1998 by the Sacramento County Office of Education to provide technical assistance and support for the implementation of youth development principles and practices to Sacramento County public schools. Services of the Asset Development Center include:

• Individualized workshops and training
• Introduction to Assets workshops held quarterly at the Sacramento County Office of Education
• Publication of monthly Asset Bulletin with distribution to all public schools within Sacramento County and to interested district employees
• Youth Inspire! project coordination
• Quarterly networking meetings for youth development coordinators

What is Youth Development?

Youth development refers to a growing body of research that specifies the support, opportunities, skills, and values that are conducive to healthy development and prepare young people to mature into healthy, competent adults.

In the past, the prevention field has focused on students considered to be "at risk" and on countering high-risk behaviors such as drug and alcohol use, adolescent pregnancy, school failure and involvement with the juvenile justice system. With new research available, the focus of the prevention field is now shifting from simply preventing high-risk behaviors to promoting positive behaviors and outcomes for all youth. Those who study adolescent development and work with young people have come to understand that a problem-free young person is not necessarily a young person fully prepared to meet adulthood. In fact, all young people need the positive supports, opportunities, skills and values that can come from adults, peers and the community.

This shift in focus appears to be subtle, but is a fundamental change in how we work with young people. Ultimately, the research is clear that people, not programs, impact children and youth. The implication, then, is the way schools and programs "do business" is integral to the health and well-being of the youth involved. In addition, the more a young person has access to supports, opportunities, skills and positive values, the more likely he or she will not engage in unhealthy behaviors. Therefore, youth development — an approach and way of thinking, not just a program to be implemented — actually promotes positive behaviors and protects from negative ones.

40 Developmental Assets Framework

Developmental Assets refer to a specific body of research conducted by the Search Institute of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Search Institute was founded in 1958 by Dr. Merton P. Strommen as a nonprofit, applied social science research organization, focused on the healthy development of young people. Created in 1990, the developmental asset framework is grounded in research on child and adolescent development, risk prevention, and resiliency. The 40 Developmental Assets are positive experiences, relationships, opportunities, and personal qualities that young people need to grow up healthy, caring, and responsible. Along with being healthy practices and behaviors in and of themselves, these 40 assets also act as a means to inoculate young people against high-risk, unhealthy behaviors. Surveys of more than 1 million 6th- through 12th-grade youth in communities across the United States consistently show that young people who experience more of these assets are more likely to make healthy choices and avoid a wide range of high-risk behaviors. A list of the 40 developmental assets is available for download in PDF format:

• 40 Developmental Assets [PDF: 72 KB]
• 40 Developmental Assets for Elementary School Students [PDF: 70 KB]
• 40 Developmental Assets for Pre-schoolers [PDF: 70 KB]
• Power of Assets / Research on Asset Building [PDF: 158 KB]

How are Schools Building Assets?

Schools throughout the nation are utilizing positive youth development as a means to provide students with access to safe and caring places, adults and experiences. The California Department of Education, Healthy Kids Program Office has designated youth development as a viable prevention strategy to be utilized in schools, supported with funding from the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Tobacco-Use Prevention Education programs. The Healthy Kids Program Office has begun to re-define the prevention field for educators through the Resilience Assessment Module of the California Healthy Kids Survey. The module integrates youth development and resiliency information and defines external assets as "protective factors" and internal assets as "resilience traits." The module enables educators to measure the protective factors and resilience traits of youth. According to CDE, "The role of adults is to foster a sense of connection among and with students and help young people to develop the capacity to enjoy life. Schools that students see as caring communities foster student academic achievement and healthier lifestyles." (Getting Results: Developing Safe and Healthy Kids Update 2)

Schools throughout Sacramento County are utilizing the youth development information through a variety of approaches, including staff workshops; sending asset messages to parents, staff and community members; assessing existing programs to ensure they maintain a strengths-based approach; distributing asset information to parents and students; working to create a safe, caring school climate; and implementing mentoring programs and other research-based programs such as Caring School Community and Best Practices. For more information on what your school district is doing to promote positive youth development, contact your district Prevention Coordinator.