Many people want to understand the benefits of youth-adult partnership before they embark on initiatives to promote youth participation. This short article, Youth-Adult Partnership: Impacting Individuals and Communities, is written for these persons. It summarizes recent research showing that high quality youth-adult partnerships benefit youth, staff, organizations, and communities. It highlights proven strategies through which organizations have adopted Y-AP as a core operating practice.
This article synthesizes data and insights from the historical foundations of Youth-Adult Partnership (Y-AP), community based research, and case studies. The authors, Shepherd Zeldin, Brian Christens and Jane Powers propose Y-AP as a unifying concept, distinct from other forms of youth-adult relationships, with four core elements: authentic decision making, natural mentors, reciprocity, and community connectedness. They conclude that Y-AP functions as an active ingredient and fundamental practic
This assessment tool is quite practical and can be used in many ways. It clearly defines “quality Y-AP” in concrete terms. The rubric allows you to assess your program against these criteria. Moreover, it can be an invaluable tool to be used in professional development and training programs. Developed by Wu and his colleagues (2014), the “Youth-Adult Partnership Rubric” brings the principles of Y-AP to life in a way that can be understood by all.
