Framework and Structures in the Field of Youth Policy
Positive Youth Development Positive Youth Development (PYD) is an intentional, pro - social, approach that engages youth within their com - munities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and fa - milies in a manner that is productive and constructive. It recognizes, utilizes, and enhances young people’s strengths, and promotes positive outcomes for young people by providing opportunities, fostering positive re - lationships, and furnishing the support needed to build on their leadership strengths. PYD has its origins in the field of prevention. In the past, prevention efforts typi - cally focused on single problems before they surfaced in youth, such as teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and ju - venile delinquency. There is now a belief that particular interventions that promote positive asset building and consider young people as a resource is a better strate - gy. As a result, the youth development field began ex - amining the role of resiliency – the protective factors in a young person’s environment – and how these factors could influence one’s ability to overcome adversity. PYD is a pre-emptive way of recognizing the worth of youth and empowering them to take more ownership over their life outcomes. Opportunity Youth While there are various national priorities that the government implements, one important initiative is the focus on opportunity youth. Young people who are bet - ween the ages of sixteen and twenty-four and who are not engaged in either school or the workforce are con - sidered “opportunity youth” by the federal government. There are around five million young people in the Uni - ted States that fall into this category. There have been several federal initiatives that have been developed in order to re-engage this group of young people in work and/or education. The Workforce Innovation and Oppor- tunity Act (WIOA) was developed by the Department of Labor and the Department of Education to develop work- force and education oriented programs. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program was deve - loped by the Department of Health and Human Services to give cash assistance to families with children under the age of eighteen who are financially struggling. The United States Department of Agriculture has developed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help the families that receive financial support for food from the government to receive job search and vocatio - nal training. Finally, the Federal Pell grant program gives need-based grants to low-income undergraduate stu - dents with the goal of promoting more accessibility for university education. These federal programs have been
created with the intention of fostering upward mobility among opportunity youth .
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and DREAM Act
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a fede - ral immigration program created by the Department of Homeland Security in 2012 for youth who entered the United States illegally as children with their parents. DACA allows these children to obtain work permits and thus avoid deportation by the government. It also allows them to attend college in the state where they live. How - ever, the law does not provide a path to U.S. citizenship. It was preceded by the DREAM Act, a bill intended to do just that. It was first introduced in 2001 under former President Barack Obama but repeatedly failed in Con - gress. During the Trump administration, DACA measures were suspended until further notice. There are ongoing efforts under the Biden Administration to bring the pro - gram back to life. Further, measures to protect so-called Dreamers continue to be a topic of political debate. Bullying Prevention The United States Department of Health and Human Services has conducted research and compiled resour - ces with the goal of preventing bullying among young people. This department defines bullying as unwanted aggressive behavior among school-aged children whe - re there is a real or perceived power imbalance. They classify bullying into three categories: verbal, social, and physical. With the increase of the use of social media, phones, computers, and other digital devices among young people, cyberbullying has increasingly become a larger problem. This can entail sending harmful, mean, or false content about someone else on social media or with others in a way that causes embarrassment or humiliation. While the federal government has acknow - ledged and compiled resources on these problems, the - re is no federal law that addresses these problems and each state has addressed this differently. The majority of states and territories have both law and policy that addresses bullying while nine states and territories only have laws. There is a range regarding how bullying pre - vention is implemented from putting in place these laws and policies, to requiring districts and schools to develop their own regulations. Youth Involved with the Juvenile Justice System Some children and youth become involved with the juve - nile justice system because they are accused of commit - ting a delinquent or criminal act. Other youth come into
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