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| Pursuing the Promise: A Vision for Equity, Access, and Diversity in After School and Youth Services
Differences in the cultures, racial identities, genders, economic backgrounds, learning styles, sexual identities, and physical abilities of our young people affect both their needs and the access they have to quality after school and youth programs. Furthermore, our youth are growing up in an increasingly ethnically- and linguistically diverse society that is ever more interconnected globally. This diversity generates challenges and opportunities for ensuring equity and access in after school and youth services. It also requires a new paradigm for understanding what skills a thriving, healthy, young person needs to successfully develop and transition to adulthood. As public funding and public awareness of the importance, opportunities, and dangers of youth’s out-of-school time grows, youth-serving fields must embrace a comprehensive vision that addresses diversity, equity, and access. California Tomorrow has developed the following principles to support this effort.
1. Articulate a comprehensive vision of equity for diverse children and youth
After school initiatives and programs should articulate a comprehensive vision of equity that speaks to the full cultural, racial, linguistic and community experiences of children and youth.
2. Consider after school and youth initiatives in relation to other equity agendas
Initiatives and programs should consider their work in the context of other equity and access agendas and seek to connect, complement and support equity efforts in other institutions and arenas that impact the lives of children and youth.
3. Improve academic and social outcomes, close gaps, and counter inequities
After school and youth programs and policies should result in improved social and academic outcomes, should close gaps, and play a role in countering (not reproducing or exacerbating) forms of social inequity and institutional exclusion that create disparities in youth outcomes.
4. Target resources to areas of greatest need
Resources should be targeted to communities where programs are most scarce and to young people most in need (with the poorest outcomes). To support program sustainability, funding should be coupled with efforts to identify and build community resources, capacity, and infrastructure.
5. Ensure equitable access
Policies and practices should ensure equitable access, paying particular attention to the specific kinds of barriers faced by historically-excluded groups, whether these barriers are due to language, income, ethnicity, skin color, immigrant status, gender, sexual orientation or physical ability.
6. Provide program content that is culturally sensitive and builds positive identities
Programs should foster a positive sense of identity, build upon the cultures of families, and offer a curriculum that values and responds to the strengths, challenges and needs of all different kinds of children and youth in the community.
7. Educate, prepare, and support youth for living and participating in a diverse society and globally interconnected world
After school and youth programs should help young people to be aware of, respect, and value cultural and ethnic similarities and differences. This requires helping them develop the ability to interact comfortably with others, resolve conflict, think critically and be compassionate.
8. Actively help children and youth to identify and counter stereotypes and prejudice against themselves and others
Program activities and informal staff interactions should help youth recognize, challenge, and have resiliency against negative stereotypes, bias and discrimination. Derogatory remarks or images should not be tolerated.
9. Help heal the wounds of social distress
Programs should recognize that many young people’s cultures, communities and identities are marginalized in our society and that this has a major impact on development. They should help young people heal the wounds of social distress and exclusion and should support youth in coping with family or community problems.
10. Empower youth to contribute and take leadership in their families and society
After school and youth programs should strengthen youth capacity to contribute and take leadership in their families, communities, and our increasingly diverse society. In doing so, they should support young people in understanding and addressing issues of social disparity and inequity. Youth empowerment and capacity building should complement family strengthening and community empowerment.
11. Support community, parent, and youth decision-making
Policies and practices should support communities, parents and youth in being able to shape programs and determine which organizations should provide after school and youth services.
12. Provide an infrastructure for professional development, technical assistance and training to support equity and diversity objectives
Programs needs systems of professional development and technical support to reach their equity and diversity goals. Steps must be taken by policymakers and funders to develop such an infrastructure and to establish links to programs staff. Likewise, programs should seek out, and advocate for, strong support systems.
13. Hold after school and youth fields accountable for addressing equity, access, and diversity
Through equity-based evaluation, funding and policy practices, after school related fields should be held accountable for providing accessible and equitable services that address the different needs of children and youth in our diverse society. |
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