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* Main Page * Research * Foundations * Academic * Fields * Psychology * Biology * Physics * Medicine * Write Paper * For Kids by Martyn Shuttleworth (May 21, 2008)
Here's a hypothetical example of a research paper based on an experiment.
Write a Paper * 1Writing a Paper * 2Outline * 2.1Write an Outline * 2.2Outline Examples * 3Research Question * 3.1Thesis Statement * 3.2Write a Hypothesis * 4Parts of a Paper * 4.1Title * 4.2Abstract * 4.3Introduction * 4.4Methods * 4.5Results * 4.6Discussion * 4.7Conclusion * 4.8Bibliography * 5Optional Parts * 5.1Table of Contents * 5.2Acknowledgements * 5.3Appendix * 6Formatting * 6.1In Text Citations * 6.2Footnotes * 6.3Format of a Table * 6.3.1Floating Blocks * 6.4Example of a Paper * 6.5Example of a Paper 2 * 6.6MLA Writing Format * 6.6.1Citations * 6.7APA Writing Format * 6.7.1Writing Style * 6.7.2Citations * 7Academic Journals * 7.1Peer Reviews * 7.2Advantages * 7.3Disadvantages * 7.4Publication Bias * 7.5Journal Submission * 7.5.1Journal Rejection * 8Tips * 8.1Article Writing * 8.2Ideas for Topics
The experiment: Say you have just conducted the Milgram Study. Now you want to write the research paper for it. (Milgram actually waited two years before writing about his study.)
Here's an example of a research article that MIGHT have written (a short version).
The experiment: Say you have just conducted the Milgram Study. Now you want to write the research paper for it. (Milgram actually waited two years before writing about his study.)
Here's an example of a research article that MIGHT have written (a short version).
The experiment: Say you have just conducted the Milgram Study. Now you want to write the research paper for it. (Milgram actually waited two years before writing about his study.)
Here's an example of a research article that MIGHT have written (a short version).
DISCLAIMER: This article is not written by Stanley Milgram, but is meant as an example of a research paper in psychology that someone might have written after conducting the first Milgram-study. It's written for educational purposes.
Normally you would use double spacing in the paper.
EXAMPLE OF A RESEARCH PAPER
--- START OF EXAMPLE ---
[Page 1 - text aligned in the center and middle of the page]

"Behavioral Study of Obedience" by [author], [University]
1961

[Page 2 - text starts at the top, left]
Abstract
There are little facts about the role of obedience when doing evil actions up until now (1961). Most theories suggest that only very disturbed people do horrible actions if they are ordered to do so. Our experiment tested people's obedience to authority. The results showed that most obey all orders given by the authority-figure. The conclusion is that when it comes to people harming others, the situation a person's in is more important than previously thought. In contrary to earlier belief, individual characteristics are less important.

[Page 3-X - text starts in the top, left corner, no extra spacing to align text]
Introduction
Current theories focus on personal characteristics to explain wrong-doing and how someone can intentionally harm others. In a survey, professionals such as doctors, psychologist and laymen thought that very few out of a population (1-3%) would harm others if ordered to do so. In the recent war trial with Adolph Eichmann, he claims to "only have been following orders". The author wanted to test whether this is true, or just a cheap explanation. Can people harm others because they obey the orders? Are good-hearted people able to do this? The experiment will test whether a person can keep giving electric shocks to another person just because they are told to do so. The expectation is that very few will keep giving shocks, and that most persons will disobey the order.
Methods
Participants
There were male 30 participants participating. They were recruited by advertisement in a newspaper and were paid $4.50.
Instruments
A "shock generator" was used to trick the participants into thinking that they gave shock to another person in another room. The shock generator had switches labeled with different voltages, starting at 30 volts and increasing in 15-volt increments all the way up to 450 volts. The switches were also labeled with terms which reminded the participant of how dangerous the shocks were.
Procedures
The participant met another "participant" in the waiting room before the experiment. The other "participant" was an actor. Each participant got the role as a "teacher" who would then deliver a shock to the actor ("learner") every time an incorrect answer was produced. The participant believed that he was delivering real shocks to the learner. The learner was a confederate who would pretend to be shocked. As the experiment progressed, the teacher would hear the learner plead to be released and complain about a heart condition. Once the 300-volt level had been reached, the learner banged on the wall and demanded to be released. Beyond this point, the learner became completely silent and refused to answer any more questions. The experimenter then instructed the participant to treat this silence as an incorrect response and deliver a further shock. When asking the experimenter if they should stop, they were instructed to continue.
Results
Of the 40 participants in the study, 26 delivered the maximum shocks. 14 persons did not obey the experimenter and stopped before reaching the highest levels. All 40 participants continued to give shocks up to 300 volts.
Discussion/Conclusion
Most of the participants became very agitated, stressed and angry at the experimenter. Many continued to follow orders all the time even though they were clearly uncomfortable. The study shows that people are able to harm others intentionally if ordered to do so. It shows that the situation is far more important than previously believed, and that personal characteristics are less important in such a situation.

[New Page]
References
[Read more about references here]

--- END OF EXAMPLE --- THE SCIENTIFIC FORMAT: A RESEARCH PAPER OUTLINE:
Page 1:
Title, Author, Work/School
Page 2:
Abstract: A short summary of the article.
Page 3-:
Introduction
Current theories about the topic. What are the hypothesis for the paper?
Methods
What method used.
Results
What were the results obtained?
Discussion and Conclusion
What are our thought about the results compared to other relevant theories.
References
Through the text there are references, sources of knowledge, which you've used. Citing those will give you more credibility because good research is thought to be based on other knowledge and empirical (observed) evidence.
Tables, Figures, Appendix
Hopefully you could make use of this example of a research paper!
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Texas Workforce Commission Youth Program Initiative
Engaging Out-of-School Youth
Training Packet Produced By School & Main InstituteTexas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
One of twelve training packets created for Texas Workforce Board regions as part of the Texas Workforce
Commission Youth Program Initiative.
1. Powerful Partnerships
2. Getting Your Youth Advisory Group From Here to There
3. You and Youth in the Middle: Effective Case Management
4. Employer Engagement
5. Youth at Work: Making the Most of Work-Based Learning
6. Youth Investment in Rural Areas
7. Windows on the Workplace: Mentoring, Youth, and WIA
8. Community Resource Mapping: Knowing Your Youth Services Landscape
9. Letting Numbers Guide: Labor Market Information and Youth Services
10. Engaging Out-of-School Youth
11. Building Your Year-Round Youth System
12. Evaluate It!: From Policy to Practice to Performance
You may download additional copies of this packet or any in the series from the Board & Network Partners area of the Texas Workforce Commission website: www.twc.state.tx.us/customers/bnp/bnp.html.
© 2003
Produced by School & Main Institute, Boston, MA; Denver, CO; and Austin, TX
Design by Soul Food Design, Cambridge, MAEvaluate It!: From Policy to Practice to
Performance
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 1
TRAINING GOALS
• Understand what works for out-of-school youth and what doesn’t.
• Explore strategies for reaching out-of-school youth and maintaining their engagement in services and support.
IN THIS PACKET
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Spotlight on Out-of-School Youth
Drift to Shift: Youth Programs Yesterday and Today
Out-of-School Youth Specifically: What Works and What Doesn’t
Out-of-School Youth Circle of Engagement
TOOLS FOR ACTION
Activity One: Getting Them in the Door
Out-of-School Youth Outreach Map
Activity Two: Asset Builders
Asset Builders Worksheet
40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents - Search Institute
Activity Three: Your Coaching Style
Youth Scenarios
When Coaching Meets Performance Handout
Activity Four: Engagers & Energizers
Your Out-of-School Youth Engagement Strategy Worksheet
GREAT MOMENTS IN OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH EFFORTS
MORE GREAT RESOURCES
General Out-of-School & Youth Development
Youth Employment
Skills for Working with Out-of-School Youth
Youth Back in School
Finanacial Literacy
Juvenile Offenders
Foster Care
Teen Parents
Funding Resources
Learning from Others
29Spotlight on Out-of-School Youth
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 2
Most people hear the term “out-of-school youth” and immediately think “dropout.”
However, under the Workforce Investment
Act (WIA), the term is actually broader.
A WIA ELIGIBLE OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH IS:
A school dropout or an eligible youth who has received a secondary school diploma or its equivalent but is basic skills deficient, unemployed, or underemployed. These days, many of us have sons or daughters, brothers, sisters, or friends who could fit the “unemployed” or
“underemployed” part of the definition!
Stay with that thought for a moment, and your brain makes an important mental adjustment: the term “out-of-school youth” is a catch-all for a wide mix of personalities, skills, and needs. In addition to the classic high school dropout, out-of-school youth might include:
• A college “fade-out” – often a smart, directed student who started college but dropped out for financial reasons
• A pregnant or parenting teen who successfully graduated high school
• A high school graduate with a part-time job • A student needing income who has opted towork by day and do GED courses by night • A high school-age student unable to pass the standardized test for graduation, who sees GED or adult education as a viable option • A college graduate unable to find a job or working only part-time
• A runaway or homeless youth
• A 19-year old dyslexic youth who struggles with reading
• A youth from a migrant family, with limited English skills
• A former juvenile offender
Of course, the intent of WIA is to provide services to those who most need it. For most communities, this means targeting extremely difficult to reach youth – young people who, for a wide variety of reasons, live their days and nights with little to no connection with formal community systems and organizations.
Many people fully expect out-of-school youth to fail, as a matter of course. A recent poll showed that only about 9% of voters believe this type of young person will “make it” in life. Most people see nothing but economic hardship, criminal activity, substance abuse, resignation, and poor quality of life ahead for them.1
If you work with youth programs, you’ve no doubt encountered pessimistic perceptions like these. On the other hand, you’ve hopefully also worked with young people who turn gloomy predictions like these upside down.
This packet is designed to help you identify youth in your community who qualify for out-of-school youth services under WIA and craft service strategies that help your toughest-to-serve young people build a more stable foundation for personal and professional growth.
1
From Youth Development and Research Fund June, 2002 Perceptions of Out-of-School Youth: Findings from a National Poll Funded by: The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.Drift to Shift: Youth Programs Yesterday and Today
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 3
Designing services for out-of-school youth
– especially older youth – is extremely challenging. And we have much to learn about what works and what doesn’t.
However, out-of-school youth are very much in focus these days. It’s estimated that the current high school dropout rate costs the U.S. $88 billion in lost earning potential each year. Dropout-related crime costs another estimated $32 billion2
.
Recent program evaluations and studies can’t always provide solutions, but they definitely give a better snapshot of what’s going on.
WHAT HAVE YESTERDAY’S PROGRAMS
TAUGHT US ABOUT SOLUTIONS WE DESIGN
TODAY? HERE ARE A FEW BROAD
FINDINGS:
• After-school and out-of-school opportunities decrease dramatically for older teens and often drop off completely for youth over age 18.
• Evening and weekend hours aren’t heavily used for programming. The majority of opportunities are available directly after-school or in the summer.
• The bigger the program, the narrower the focus and the weaker the impact.
• Academically rich alternative programs have been “slower to emerge.”
• Youth employment programs didn’t necessarily have the impact on employment, earnings, and educational outcomes one might expect – or results have been mixed.3
Lessons like this are very much driving today’s program design. In fact, what started as a gentle drift has now become a decided shift in how people approach youth programs, regardless of the type of youth served. What’s changed?
TRADITIONAL YOUTH SERVICES4
• Our program will help you with this specific need/single solution
• Our program (one agency) will support you • We care about you
• What’s wrong with you (deficit-based)
• Diagnostics measure weaknesses & failures • Remediation
NEW YOUTH DEVELOPMENT APPROACH
• Our program will work with the “whole you” – all support needs and a holistic solution • We’ll collaborate with other organizations to support you – interagency/ interdisciplinary approach
• We care about you and your family/living context • What’s right with you (asset-based)
• Assessment discovers strengths and needs
• Growth/prevention
Many youth program staff, if not their programs, were already moving toward more holistic approaches. It was almost impossible not to! They saw firsthand that a job or a GED alone seldom provided the single, powerful life catalyst clients needed.
Reality was tougher – and many staff found themselves helping clients over and through a number of employment hurdles, ranging from daycare to health to transportation to basic skill issues.
Now it’s official. Policy and funding streams like WIA even reflect the shift to a more comprehensive, year-round approach. It’s time for program elements and organizational relationships to reflect the shift as well. take action! asset-based, ‘wrap-around’ support New to asset-based youth development or have staff who are? Use the Search Institute’s
40 Development Assets for
Teens and other materials at www.search-institute.org to train key youth staff on asset-based assessment and service approaches.
2 Youth Development & Research Fund, 2002.
3
Employment Programs and Youth Development. Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, Washington, D.C.,
May 2002.
4
State Youth Development Strategies to Improve Outcomes for At-Risk Youth. Thomas MacLellan,
Employment and Social Services Policy Studies. Out-of-School Youth Specifically: What Works and What Doesn’t
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 4
For out-of-school youth in particular, the shift to a youth development approach is a very good thing. Existing programs that serve the most high-risk youth – teen parent, substance abuse, runaway programs
– already tend to be very intense and comprehensive. What about more general employment and training services?
WHAT WORKS FOR
OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH
Many youth interventions of the past twenty years have achieved success with youth who are at least partially plugged into school. Perhaps it’s because there is just enough connection, just enough structure there. You’ve solved one of the biggest challenges: getting youth in the door and keeping them there on a day-today basis. The same programs, however, haven’t always been as effective for dropouts and other out-of-school youth.
However, the practices embedded in some of those programs can work very effectively with out-of-school youth…you just need to embed them in a different environment. HERE ARE PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGNING AN
ENVIRONMENT FOR OUT-OF-SCHOOL
YOUTH SERVICES:
PROACTIVE OUTREACH
Out-of-school youth usually don’t come to you – to sign up for services in the first place, or after they’re “in the door,” to advocate for themselves. More often than not, you need to go to them physically, emotionally, and repeatedly. There’s no statistic on this, but it seems fair to estimate that a youth worker supporting a high-risk or out-of-school youth will put in at least twice as many calls, emails, and visits to manage the relationship.
However, part of the goal is to teach young people that they CAN and MUST reach out and advocate for themselves. So, even as you reach out, you deliberately build in moments where youth have to reach out also. INDIVIDUALIZED ADULT ATTENTION AND
COACHING
It is as true now as it always has been: the support young people value most is the person who got to know them and who challenged them.
There’s a saying that many hard-to-reach youth are “serviced by many but supported and encouraged by few.” For this type of young person especially, regular, sustained interaction with a person or a personal
“support team” is essential. Individualized assessment and case management alone are not enough. They need to form bonds with people for authentic coaching, skill and relationship-building purposes, not just case and program administration.
They also need to:
• Know that staff are there working with them because they want to be, not because they have to!
• Form strong one-on-one relationships with people outside your program or service – employers, community members, family members and other people in their lives – relationships they can sustain after they leave your program.
Needless to say, the relationships youth form are so important that out-of-school youth programs need to carefully manage staff turnover and transitions. take action! what works and what doesn’t
If you run a program or service for youth, assess your methods.
Are your methods truly out-ofschool youth friendly?
Do you fund programs? Create a set of program or service
“standards” you expect from out-of-school services you support. Include these in proposal requests (RFP’s) and program evaluation tools you use with providers.
.FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 5
STAFF WHO UNDERSTAND MOTIVATION
The needs of out-of-school youth can be so tangled and complicated. On the other hand, sometimes their needs and reasons behind behaviors are so basic. In the battery of assessments and interviews we do with out-of-school youth, it’s easy to miss important details about what actually motivates a young person to do what they do. TEN REASONS WHY PEOPLE DON’T
PERFORM AS EXPECTED5
1. They don’t know whythey should do it.
2. They don’t know when to begin and end.
3. They don’t know what they are supposed to do.
4. They don’t know howto do it.
5. They think they are doing it.
6. They think your way won’twork, or their way is better.
7. They think something else is more important. 8. They aren’t rewarded for doing it.
9. They are punished for doing it.
10.They think they can’t do it.
If a young person isn’t motivated or performing, there’s a reason – and staff skilled at working with out-of-school youth will go right after it. They know how to peel away layers and layers of issues possibly affecting a young person to get at fundamental behaviors and choices he or she can control.
Skilled staff also have a clear understanding of their own motivational philosophy and practices, as well as those of their program
(praise, incentives, disincentives, punishments) – and they are able to communicate this clearly to young people.
When youth test them on it – as many will
– they act consistently, across youth and from situation to situation.
STRUCTURE – WITH SCAFFOLDING
Out-of-school youth need structure.
Services alone aren’t enough. Services have to hang together in a consistent framework that young people understand.
In the world of out-of-school programs, you see everything from community-based programs to “boot camps” to very self-directed models where young people work with a counselor or team to plan services. Structure is less about this than it is about having an overarching and explicit logic to program expectations, elements, methods, and messages. In other words, there’s an explicit method (or model) to your madness!
You get structure by having:
• A focused set of program outcomes
• A coherent, developmental set of program components – it’s clear what happens when a young person first arrives, program elements and stages they’ll experience along the way, and how the program will grow with them as they grow • Challenging milestones or “deliverables” you expect youth to achieve while in your care
• Well-designed activities, tools and support strategies that scaffold youth as they work toward milestones
• Explicit guidelines about behavior and consequences • A message of achievement and participation that youth hear at every turn This sounds so obvious! But take a lesson from the past: less effective high-risk and out-of-school youth programs provided informal support or a general set of activities. Youth succeeded if they showed up and participated. Or the program wanted to support the whole youth (a
Personalized feel, structured deal.
5
Fournies, Ferdinand. Why Employees Don't Do What They Are Supposed To Do and What To Do
About It. McGraw-Hill, 1988.good thing). Yet, program creators didn’t necessarily identify “bottom line” youth outcomes and design program and accountability elements to match.
Alternatively, they set the bar too low.
Getting a job was good enough (vs. positioning them for further training, education and advancement). Tutoring, as an activity, was important (vs. mastering particular skills). ACTIVE & AUTHENTIC LEARNING
Out-of-school youth often have checkered academic and educational backgrounds.
Unfortunately, their most recent educational experiences are usually the worst – classes they couldn’t pass or hated, bad grades, low test scores, a decision to drop out.
Strong out-of-school youth programs place a high priority on lifelong learning and figure out what’s behind educational issues:
• Boredom or lack of interest
• Learning disabilities
• Lack of discipline
• Weak basic skills
• Weak study skills and habits
• Weak testing skills
• Poor English skills
• A conscious choice, i.e., work over school, GED over high school, pregnancy
• Health-related issues
They tease out emotional or behavioral factors from skill-related issues and target support accordingly.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 6
They then use highly interactive learning methods, work-based learning, and relevant
“real world” projects to work on skills. They avoid larger class-like settings. If the nature of the program – for example, an occupational training program – calls for structured class time, instructors use small group activities, hands-on projects, even independent projects, to make sure that young people are DOING, not just watching
(the instructor, a video, etc.). They also make sure that on-the-job training is equally active, skill-focused, and project-oriented. When it comes to educational methodology, out-of-school youth have some of the most discriminating palates out there. They want learning experiences that are relevant, authentic, and interesting
(even exciting). Good programs put a high priority on educational outcomes and skill development – they even identify specific competencies youth must master – and make sound methods a high priority. They also ask young people to play an active role in making “good education” happen and prepare them to better navigate traditional educational settings.
EXIT AND FOLLOW-ALONG STRATEGY
Because so many out-of-school youth programs are very intensive and the relationships formed so strong, it’s important that the design of your program include thoughtful exit and follow-along support. This goes hand-in-hand with efforts to track longer-term outcomes – educational and job advancement, higher earning – for high risk young people.
There are two key needs here:
First, something in the services and support you offer youth while in your program must lay a foundation of stable relationships and opportunities once they leave. Otherwise, youth leave the secure cocoon of your care and advocacy and have no broader support system to tap.
Emotional/
Health/
Behavioral
Factors
Skill
Needs
Learning
Skills &
HabitsFOOD FOR THOUGHT
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 7
Second, you need to maintain regular contact, perhaps even helping program participants identify new services and opportunities – and young people need to know you’ll be back in touch to check up on them. WHAT DOESN’T WORK FOR
OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH
DASTARDLY DIAGNOSTICS
Diagnostics and assessments shouldn’t measure only failure and weakness. For every barrier out-of-school youth face, they bring at least one skill or asset. You need to find out what they are and build off them.
Train yourself and staff to use an
“asset-based” or comprehensive youth development approach. The Source
Institute’s 40 Development Assets for Teens and related tools are the place to start if you are unfamiliar with this approach.
NEW WINE, OLD SKIN
Don’t put young people right back into the same setting or structure where they struggled or failed in the first place. Design your program or curriculum using traditional classroom or job placement methods, for example, and you’ll undermine your impact. The same is true if you hire a youth service specialist but make youth come to an adult service center, an adult setting, to find them, or if you place adult services staff in a youth center.
IMPORTS
Because out-of-school programs tend to be intensive and rely heavily on area resources
– like employers and other service providers – you can’t always import an entire program model used in another community or designed for another age range. Adaptation and individualization is the name of the game in out-of-school youth program design.
SOLO SERVICE
Work experience or job placement with little counseling support and no educational component may help today but it will have little impact on longer-term outcomes for out-of-school youth.
LAST CHANCE MESSAGE
Be careful about the messages your program or services convey. “If you don’t do this, you’ll be a failure all of your life” or
“This is your last chance” and other punitive messages and scare tactics usually don’t work. The last message you want to convey is that past failure means future failure. And as for life’s chances, a more appropriate message is that chances don’t run out – youth just need to deal with the consequences of their choices and actions.
Assess for success indicators, not past failures.Out-of-School Youth Circle of Engagement
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 8
Some out-of-school youth come looking for services. They enroll in a GED program or seek out an employment office – even a very youth-friendly one. Many, however, do not come looking. They wouldn’t know where to start. Once in the door – be it a program or job – highly at-risk young people often have a difficult time latching on. The Workforce Investment Act requires that communities target 30% of WIA funding to out-of-school youth, perhaps
40% with reauthorization. This is a challenge – not because there aren’t plenty of out-of-school youth out there; rather, it’s difficult to reach them in the first place and keep them in services once they’re there. So, in addition to careful program design, many communities have a significant engagement challenge to manage.
INFORMATION GATHERING
There are many different types of out-ofschool youth. At a minimum, under WIA, you serve at least two distinct types: youth between 14-18 and those 19-21. Start by understanding your market. Who are your out-of-school youth? Where are they?
Equally as important, what opportunities exist for them? When? By day? Afterschool or evening? Find out. Interview counselors at several high schools and colleges, talk to young people in an area GED program, or meet with staff in community or neighborhood-based groups. Identify places in your community where out-ofschool youth might go; for example, an area health clinic might have a program for teen mothers. You don’t have to do a massive survey of your community – but a little research up front is well worth it. You’ll uncover excellent program partners, recruitment resources, and people already connected to your hard-to-reach audience. take action! engaging out-ofschool youth
Use the OSY Circle of
Engagement to help you examine your engagement strategies at key moments along the way, from recruitment to participation dips through completion.
Service Strategy
What services make sense?
What outcomes do we expect from each?
What specific skills will services build??
What will keep youth motivated?
In the Door
How do we explain our support model and expectations?
Who’s on the support team? What assets does this young person have?
What development goals will we and our youth client commit to?
How will we identify and support likely barriers to participation?
Recruitment
Where are youth hangouts and hot spots?
To whom do they listen?
What services, if any, do youth already access (GED, health, etc.)?
Information Gathering
Who are our out-of-school youth? Where are they?
What opportunities exist? What do they need?
Exit & Follow-Along Strategy
What should every participant have in place when they leave?
Achievement & Celebration
How will we mark major milestones and achievements
Dips & Walls – Troubleshooting & Retention How will we know if participants hit a wall? What prevention or intervention strategies will we use? How will we help participants surmount obstacles
OSY Circle of EngagementFOOD FOR THOUGHT
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 9
RECRUITMENT
Deepen your knowledge of programs and places that already serve young people or places young people (not just out-ofschool youth) hang or live. Make a list.
More importantly, identify people – other youth, neighborhoods, and local business people – who would be effective messengers. Youth you hope to target would be more apt to listen to them. Too often, recruitment is done only with flyers, posters, and brochures. Out-of-school youth are fairly unaffected by this type of marketing. An engaging presentation to a youth in a local GED program will get you farther, faster. In addition to handouts, make sure you have a tried and true script, something people can use to clearly articulate the opportunity your program represents.
IN THE DOOR
Even if you piece together services from different providers, you want young people to feel enfolded – by a program, by a support team. Their first steps in the door are the most important relationship-defining and building moments you have.
At the same time, you have two other important goals: assess and strategize.
Look for the “You and Youth in the Middle:
Effective Case Management” packet in this series for tools and resources that will help you collect important asset and other information during this stage – and create a coherent services plan.
As you assess and plan, watch for “barrier drift”: a tendency to focus on issues, needs, and barriers. Conversations with high-risk youth inevitably, often rapidly, move in that direction. Instead, give yourself and other staff this challenge: for every barrier or need, identify at least one asset, one skill or interest; for every past failure, help the young person envision one future success.
Many programs also try to “seal the deal” at this point. They ask young people, their support team (including a job supervisor, mentor, etc.) to agree on a set of performance and learning goals and sign the actual document that articulates them. A handful of programs make this an official or celebratory moment. Youth and support team members take an oath (before a judge even) or formally present a completed learning plan to a group of peers, staff, family members, and employer or mentor. The idea is tomake sure youth are invested in their goals, make themselves publicly accountable, and know that key support people are equally committed.
Finally, remember to give as much information as you get during this initial stage: in particular, make certain that youth and other people (significant others, family members) understand your service strategy and your role and/or the role of their case manager or support team.
SERVICE STRATEGY
All WIA-served youth must have an
Individual Service Strategy (ISS) – a plan that outlines a support strategy that will help them meet goals. Writing up the strategy is the easy part! Finding the right program or placements is more challenging.
You want to place out-of-school youth in situations that are developmentally appropriate. If they aren’t ready to work, do not place them. Identify an interim step – perhaps a short-term project with a volunteer employee serving as a coach. If they aren’t ready to make the most of a GED program, start with tutoring.
It’s important that providers and employers understand, within the bounds of confidentiality, the young people you serve – and that they willingly accept the challenges and rewards of working with them. As you profile referral resources and recruit youth opportunities, flag referral sources, mentors, and employers who have a particular knack for supporting high-risk youth.FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 10
In addition, make sure your work at this stage doesn’t stop at matching youth with services. Identify the specific skills or outcomes that services should help a young person achieve and how you’ll measure progress. As you outline goals and
“deliverables,” talk with each young person to get a sense of meaningful ‘motivators’ – little things that they themselves, you, peers, and others can do to acknowledge moments of progress, grit, growth, and gumption. DIPS & WALLS – TROUBLESHOOTING &
RETENTION
Out-of-school youth can be incredibly resilient. On the other hand, even a minor setback can sometimes knock them completely off track. And they will encounter setbacks and surprises during
WIA-related services. It’s not a question of if, but of when. Anticipate possible barriers and progress dips, and structure program support so that you’re ready for them.
Not surprisingly, youth don’t usually drop out of services, here one day, gone the next. Instead, they “fade out.” Interest or resolve wanes, disillusionment creeps in, issues arise or relationships fray. Look for signs of these 1-2 months into services and at regular points throughout. People are calendared creatures! A change in season, from spring to summer, summer to fall, or the new year often bring about changes in behavior. These are perfect times to sit with program participants to recommit to goals and troubleshoot issues, small or large, that might be chipping away at resolve. It’s also not surprising that many youth report that financial issues are a huge factor in shaping their decisions – about work and how far in school they can go. If your program isn’t staffed or equipped to help youth learn how to manage money or find scholarship and other funding sources, find a partner who is!
Finally, as part of “fade out” patrol, identify an intervention strategy to handle bigger issues and crisis moments. If a young person is having trouble with a job, mentor, educational program, etc., how will you know? Who will step in to help the young person and others resolve the issue? Make sure that each young person and his or her support team members fully understand this process.
ACHIEVEMENT & CELEBRATION
Many programs have natural milestones and completion moments – tests, a semester ends, you get a certificate of completion, etc. It’s often easier to identify these moments in some services – educational support – than in others – like health or employment. But, in the name of youth engagement, identify them you must!
What might youth in your care achieve in the course of support activities? What performance or personal improvements do you hope to see? How can you mark these moments or use them to instill confidence and pride?
Programs tend to use a combination of:
• Incentives – discounts, goodies
• Cash rewards or awards; mini-grants, scholarships, pay increases
• Increased privileges or opportunities
• Recognition
• Prizes; contests
• Credentials
• Performance tests; pride in a job well-done! (intrinsic motivators)
Achievement and celebration aren’t always about rewards – the use of incentives is still debated in the youth field – so don’t be afraid to “celebrate” achievement by putting young people to the test. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 11
For example, ask young people to present a project or portfolio of work they did to other youth, staff, supervisors, and family members, or take people on a guided tour of their worksite – anything that allows them to demonstrate mastery in a way that is authentic and “public” (in front of people that matter to them).
EXIT & FOLLOW-ALONG
Out-of-school and disconnected youth are often used to bouncing from service to service, program to program. If your support has served them well, they should start to feel re-engaged and connected – not just to you or to a single job, but to community people, institutions, and a network of services.
As services draw to a close, take a
“connectedness reading”: does each young person you serve feel he or she has a good base of personal and professional relationships? Does each feel more equipped to seek out resources? Don’t just take yes and no answers. Talk about future scenarios and how youth would handle them. Talk about ways they might maintain and use professional and other contacts.
You should also make sure that youth have their “bags packed” for the next stage of their journey; for example:
• A new resume
• Transcripts or a list of courses taken, if appropriate • Recommendations from a mentor, employer, instructor and/or staff, and/or a portfolio of their work
• A savings account
• A “professional development” plan – advancement goals and strategies for the new opportunity they are starting
WIA-served youth should also have, at a minimum, a 6-month follow-up services plan that includes additional referral resources and a strategy for updating you on their whereabouts and progress. Use the “Effective Case Management Strategies” packet in this series for a more detailed look at follow-up strategies.Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
TOOLS FOR ACTION
12Activity One: Getting Them in the Door
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
TOOLS FOR ACTION
Goal
• Identify who the out-of-school youth are in your community, where they go (organizations and places) and how you might connect with them.
• Identify messages, methods, and messengers that would engage out-of-school youth.
Materials
• Out-of-School Youth Outreach Map
• Flip chart paper, markers, and masking tape
Time
• 45-60 minutes
Instructions
1. Working at your table, quickly brainstorm all of the youth “hot spots” and “hot service spots” in your community
– places where out-of-school youth, or youth more generally, go for fun, services, support, or just to hang. Jot them down on your flip chart. Make sure you think about spots for different age ranges: youth ages 14-18 and older youth, ages 19-21.
2. Next, put a ✓check mark next to places where you currently market your WIA youth services.
3. Then, using the Recruitment Map, jot down your top 5-8 youth outreach “markets” – places you already reach – in the left hand column on the map. Indicate the methods and messengers you use. These might include:
• Flyers or brochures
• Referral, enrollment, or eligibility forms
• Public service announcements
• On-site informational meetings or presentations
• One-on-one information opportunities
• Peer or youth-led sessions
• Motivational or guest speakers
• Incentives – for example, food, movie tickets, local mall discounts, etc.
• Open houses
4. Take a few minutes to analyze your list and discuss what’s working and what isn’t with your current youth outreach methods. What might you stop doing, start doing, or do differently?
5. Now go back to your flip chart notes to look for other great outreach possibilities or partners. Where haven’t you done outreach? Are there service providers that already serve your target audience? Is anything missing from the list? For example, think about spaces and places where families, perhaps young families, are highly visible or might go. Make a large ★ star next to the top 5-8 new “hot spots” you have identified.
13Activity One: Getting Them in the Door, Continued
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
TOOLS FOR ACTION
6. Brainstorm methods you can use immediately - including people, materials, equipment, space, etc. - in order to connect with young people in your top new “hot spots”.
7.Finally, look over your hot spots and methods list. Pick two hot spots where you might encounter youth with particular needs (GED participants, teen parents, etc.). What “message” would be most powerful for marketing to and engaging this type of youth? What are the best connection between their strongest interests and what you offer? What about your services would most appeal to them?
See if you can come up with a “lead” or hook for each type of potential participant – imagine the sentence you might put on the cover of a brochure or use to kick off a presentation. Be ready to report to full group.
14Out-of-School Youth Outreach Map
TOOLS FOR ACTION
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 15
Hot Spots
Youth Outreach Markets
Methods
Outreach Strategy, Materials, Tools
Messengers
Youth-Friendly People, Partners, Referrers
Lead Message
Hook or Lead for this MarketActivity Two: Asset Builders
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
TOOLS FOR ACTION
Goal
• Understand asset-based youth development approaches.
• Distinguish assets your effort can best support.
Materials
• Asset Builders Worksheet
• Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents
Time
• 45-60 minutes
Instructions
1. Working alone, review the Search Institute’s list of 40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents. Think of yourself between the ages of 14-21. Which assets did you have? Put a ✓check mark next to each. (5 minutes)
2. Compare notes with other people at your table. How many checkmarks did you each have? Looking back now, do you view any of the assets as particularly important for you at the time? Which assets were hardest to come by? (5-10 minutes)
3. Now think about your program, services, or youth you serve. All of the assets are important – the more of them a young person has, the better. Even still, your program or services may be in better position to support or affect some more than others (because of staff expertise, activity focus, etc.). Which ones? Put a + plus sign next to them.
4. Look at the list of assets again. Which do you feel least able to support or affect? Put a -minus sign next to them. 5. As a table, pick three of the assets table members marked with plus signs and three marked with minus signs and jot them down in the left column of your Asset Builders worksheet.
6. With your table, brainstorm 3-5 ideas for how you might affirm, support and/or build these six assets in out-of-school youth – or more particularly, youth you serve. Be as concrete and specific as you can (feel free to appoint someone “Specificity Police”)! (20 minutes)
For example: Cultural Competence
Specific Building Idea: Run a workshop on diversity in the workplace with youth participants
Vague: Ask youth about their comfort working with people from other cultures
7.Share your best ideas with the full group. (2 minutes)
16Asset Builders – Worksheet
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
TOOLS FOR ACTION
Assets
17
Building IdeasTexas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
TOOLS FOR ACTION
18
40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents – Search
Institute
Search Institute has identified the following building blocks of healthy development that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible.
Category Asset Name and Definition
Support 1. Family Support - Family life provides high levels of love and support.
2. Positive Family Communication - Young person and her or his parent(s) communicate positively, and young person is willing to seek advice and counsel from parents.
3. Other Adult Relationships- Young person receives support from three or more non parent adults.
4. Caring Neighborhood - Young person experiences caring neighbors.
5. Caring School Climate - School provides a caring, encouraging environment.
6. Parent Involvement in Schooling - Parent(s) are actively involved in helping young person succeed in school.
Empowerment 7. Community Values Youth -Young person perceives that adults in the community value youth.
8. Youth as Resources- Young people are given useful roles in the community.
9. Service to Others - Young person serves in the community one hour or more per week.
10. Safety - Young person feels safe at home, school, and in the neighborhood.
Boundaries & 11. Family Boundaries - Family has clear rules and consequences and monitors the young person’s whereabouts.
Expectations 12. School Boundaries - School provides clear rules and consequences.
13. Neighborhood Boundaries- Neighbors take responsibility for monitoring young people’s behavior.
14. Adult Role Models- Parent(s) and other adults model positive, responsible behavior.
15. Positive Peer Influence - Young person’s best friends model responsible behavior.
16. High Expectations- Both parent(s) and teachers encourage the young person to do well.
Constructive 17. Creative Activities - Young person spends three or more hours per week in lessons or practice in music, theater, or Use of Time other arts.
18. Youth Programs- Young person spends three or more hours per week in sports, clubs, or organizations at school and/or in the community.
19. Religious Community - Young person spends one or more hours per week in activities in a religious institution.
20.Time at Home - Young person is out with friends "with nothing special to do" two or fewer nights per week.
Commitment 21. Achievement Motivation - Young person is motivated to do well in school. to Learning 22.School Engagement- Young person is actively engaged in learning.
23. Homework - Young person reports doing at least one hour of homework every school day.
24.Bonding to School - Young person cares about her or his school.
25. Reading for Pleasure - Young person reads for pleasure three or more hours per week.
Positive 26.Caring - Young person places high value on helping other people.
Values 27. Equality and Social Justice - Young person places high value on promoting equality and reducing hunger and poverty.
28.Integrity - Young person acts on convictions and stands up for her or his beliefs.
29. Honesty - Young person "tells the truth even when it is not easy."
30.Responsibility - Young person accepts and takes personal responsibility.
31. Restraint- Young person believes it is important not to be sexually active or to use alcohol or other drugs.
Social 32. Planning and Decision Making - Young person knows how to plan ahead and make choices.
Competencies 33. Interpersonal Competence - Young person has empathy, sensitivity, and friendship skills.
34. Cultural Competence - Young person has knowledge of and comfort with people of different cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds.
35. Resistance Skills- Young person can resist negative peer pressure and dangerous situations.
36. Peaceful Conflict Resolution - Young person seeks to resolve conflict nonviolently.
Positive 37. Personal Power- Young person feels he or she has control over "things that happen to me."
Identity 38. Self-Esteem - Young person reports having a high self-esteem.
39. Sense of Purpose - Young person reports that "my life has a purpose."
40.Positive View of Personal Future - Young person is optimistic about her or his personal future.
This page may be reproduced for educational, noncommercial uses only. Copyright © 1997 by Search Institute, 700 S. Third Street,
Suite 210, Minneapolis, MN 55415; 800-888-7828; www.search-institute.org Reprinted with permission.
Internal Assets External AssetsActivity Three: Your Coaching Style
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
TOOLS FOR ACTION
Goal
• Understand the dynamics between coaches (staff, supervisors, etc.) and out-of-school youth.
• Learn how to match coaching styles and strategies with particular situations or youth needs.
Materials
• Youth Scenarios
• When Coaching Meets Performance handout
Time
• 60 minutes
Instructions
PART 1: THE WORLD’S WORST COACHES
1. Start this activity with some improvisational fun that will expose the “world’s worst” youth coaching practices and behaviors. Ask 5-6 volunteers to come to the front of the room and stand together in a group. Ask one person to serve as Scene Setter. The remaining volunteers will play the parts of Coaches – the world’s worst
Coaches. Send Coaches out of the room for 2-3 minutes.
2. The Scene Setter should ask participants for 10-12 examples of coaching or planning situations that involve a youth worker, coach, or supervisor and an out-of-school young person. Write suggestions down as people shout them out. Examples:
• Young person wants to find a job
• Figuring out a young person’s strengths
• Young person wants to quit a job
• Checking in with a young person’s job supervisor
• Describing services and support opportunities to a potential client
• Young person wants to drop out of school again
3. Ask Coaches to return and take their place at the front of the room, facing everyone else.
4. When the Scene Setter calls out a situation, any Coach ready with an appallingly bad (and laughable) example of how to handle the situation should step forward and quickly portray the scene. Let 2-3 coaches play each situation. Then, call out another situation. Keep going until Coaches have played through all suggested situations (or add a few more now that everyone is warmed up). Laugh and applaud as appropriate! (15-20 minutes)
5. Ask Coaches and the Scene Setter to take their seats. Quickly debrief. See if your group can identify at least 5-8 good Coaching Do’s and Don’ts based on the worst that you just witnessed.
PART II: WHEN COACHING MEETS PERFORMANCE
With your table or in small groups of 3-4 people, pick one of the Youth Scenarios. Using the “When Coaching
Meets Performance” handout as a guide, analyze your scenario.
• How would you rate the young person on the Knowledge vs. Desire scales?
• What coaching style(s) fits your situation well?
• How might the scenario continue (imagine the scene that unfolds)?
19TOOLS FOR ACTION
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 20
Paulis 17. He quit school because he figured getting a GED would be a lot easier than passing tests and classes he needed for graduation. Besides he could do the GED program at night and work during the day. Only, he’s been out of school for 3 months and he hasn’t signed up for the GED yet.
Christinais a 19-year old high school graduate. Until recently, she had a job at a clothing store in the local mall but got fired for showing up late too many times and for letting friends make calls from the store phone.
She has a few pretty big debts to worry about – cell phone bills, part of the rent she’s supposed to pay, and car payments. She’s been plowing through the want ads every day and has filled out three job applications at other retail stores. She’s not sure how to handle the details of her last job with prospective employers.
Areyais 19 and has been working in her family’s Thai restaurant since she was 14. The economic downturn hit area restaurants hard, though, and her family had to close down. Areya is smart and has a good head for business. She would love to take courses at the local community college; however, her English skills aren’t very good.
They’re better than she thinks but still need work.
Mikeis a headstrong 20 year-old who has had a fair number of run-ins with the law. Petty theft mostly, with one drug-related offense, all before age 18. His uncle recently got Mike a job with a friend – on a freight loading dock – and told him he would buy him a good used car if he kept totally out of trouble and held the new job for at least a year.
Tiffanyis a 20 year-old single mother of two children. She dropped out of high school in the 10th grade.
There’s a WIA-funded Out-of-School Youth program at the area community college, where eligible youth can earn a GED and then continue on for an associate’s degree. Tiffany’s mother dragged her to an informational meeting to learn more.
Melenaturns 18 in a few months. With the help of an Out-of-School specialist at the local youth center, she started a GED program and landed a part-time job. She’s been on the job two weeks, and she’s already bored stiff. She doesn’t get to do much but watch company training videos, copy reports, and surf the web. She’s not sure she can stand a job like this.
Youth ScenariosWhen Coaching Meets Performance - Handout
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
TOOLS FOR ACTION
COACHING STYLE
21
Relationship Focus
YOUTH PERFORMANCE 10 High
DOES THE YOUNG
PERSON HAVE
ADEQUATE
ATTITUDE/DESIRE
TO PERFORM THE
TASK?
7
Task Focus6
1 Low
DOES THE YOUNG PERSON HAVE THE
KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS TO PERFORM THE TASK?
1 Low 10 High
Encouraging
Mentoring
Cheerleading
Supporting
Facilitating
Guiding
Counseling
Empowering
Inspiring
Motivating
Directing
Instructing
Doing
Motivation Resources/
Environment
Selection
(Wrong Task/Position)
Training
6
Adapted from the classic “Managerial Grid” by Robert Black and Jane Mouton. The New Managerial Grid. Houston: Gulf Publishing
Company, 1978.
7 Adapted from the Performance Analysis Quadrant. Donald Clark, Big Dog's Performance Coaching PageActivity Four: Engagers & Energizers
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
TOOLS FOR ACTION
Goal
• Look at your programmatic relationship with youth you serve to see where and how you sustain their level of engagement.
Materials
• Your Out-of-School Youth Engagement Strategy worksheet
• Flip chart, markers, and masking tape
Time
• 30-60 minutes
Instructions
If you’re from the same program or organization:
Divide and conquer! Break into smaller teams of 3-4 people. Each team should pick one of the engagement stages on the Youth Engagement Strategy worksheet. Your mission is to:
1. Review the main things you do with youth at this stage. Jot down important activities or elements. (5 minutes)
2. Identify engagement methods at this stage – existing or new. See if you can come up with at least five different methods. Record your ideas in the Engagers & Energizers column of your worksheet and on flip chart paper.
(10-15 minutes)
3. Create a quick 2-3 minute team presentation that showcases your best idea.
4. Demonstrate your idea to the full group.
If you’re from different organizations and/or communities:
1. Count off by fours. Join other people who share your number in a designated corner of the room. Bring flip chart paper and markers with you.
2. Appoint one member of your team Recorder. Appoint a second member of your team Presenter.
3. Each team should pick ONE of the first four engagement stages – Information Gathering, Recruitment, In the
Door, Service Delivery. Compare notes with your team on how you currently handle this stage. Jot down important activities and programmatic elements. (10 minutes)
4. Briefly let each team member describe their current engagement practices at this stage. If your team hears something that sounds like a “best practice,” jot it down in the Engagers & Energizers column. Next, add to the list! What other ideas does your team have about nurturing and sustaining engagement at this stage? See if you can list five additional methods.
5. Put a ★ star next to your “top three” best (favorite) ideas.
22Activity Four: Engagers & Energizers, Continued
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
TOOLS FOR ACTION
6. Ask your Presenter to stand next to your list. The rest of your team should rotate clockwise to the next team’s corner. Presenters describe your team’s best ideas. After two minutes, teams should rotate to the next corner to hear another team’s Engagers & Energizers.
7. Continue until your team has listened to the Presenter in the last corner. Then stay in that corner (instead of returning “home”) and welcome the Presenter to your team.
8. Appoint a new Recorder and Presenter. Repeat the team brainstorming activity for the last three engagement stages. Because there are only seven stages, two teams will work on the same topic. Take 15 minutes to outline key program and engagement practices.
9. Visit other teams to hear Presenters describe ideas. This time, move counter clockwise around the room until you’ve visited each team.
23Your Out-of-School Youth Engagement Strategy
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
TOOLS FOR ACTION
Engagement Stage
24
Main Program Elements or Activities
Engagers & Energizers
Information
Gathering
Recruitment
In the Door
Service Delivery
Dips & Walls
Achievement &
Celebration
Exit & Follow-AlongGREAT MOMENTS IN OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH EFFORTS
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 25
EXAMPLES FROM THE FIELD
Homeless youth in San Francisco have more than temporary shelter atLARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES. Because more than half of youth served aren’t able to return to home, staff wanted to move beyond emergency services to longer-term support strategies and expand to “overage youth,” ages 18-23. Youth can now participate in “Wire Up” classes, where they develop computer and project management skills and complete a “client-driven” project; Hire Up, a job readiness and GED program; and the Institute of Hire Learning, hands-on training with industry experts. Employees from an area clothing store even helped youth organize & revitalize the HIRE Style Boutique so that youth would have access to professional business clothing.
The BALTIMORE COUNTY, MARYLAND YOUTH COUNCIL hosts a one-day Annual At-Risk Youth Symposium each spring – a communication, networking planning, and professional development opportunity for area youth providers, job coaches, counselors, youth program directors, probation officers, and others. Local officials and celebrities kick off the event. Participants choose three sessions on a wide range of practical topics related to working with high-risk and out-of-school youth, i.e., engaging resistant youth, helping court-involved youth, increasing family involvement and more.
OUR PIECE OF THE PIE (OPP), HARTFORD, CT,gives youth on parole, on probation, in foster care, or in other institutional settings a chance to try their hand at small business. The program uses 12 “Youth Business Incubators” – like Junior Art
Makers or River Wright Boat Builders, the Crunch Time Recording Studio, and a newspaper venture called “Echoes from the Street” – as the context for learning, counseling and pre-employment training. Each business is led by an entrepreneur, a youth development specialist, and a young person from the program. And how about this for a business? Youth
Employment Co., an employment service operated for and by youth.
The MOVING UP PROGRAM IN NEW YORK CITY is run by an organization with more than 60 years experience working with highrisk and out-of-school youth. Nationally known for their extensive follow-up and job retention services, career advisors use a “whatever it takes” approach to make sure youth stay on the job. After an intensive five-month course of remedial math and reading, computer instruction, workplace readiness, and GED preparation – treated as if it were a job with a workplace dress code and rules and a “paycheck” (stipend) – youth are placed in full-time jobs. For the next two years, advisors call or visit employers to check in, do business lunches with clients, and intervene if problems arise (about one in eight placements requires intervention). And if a young person drops out of the program, career advisors keep them on their “inactive” list and try to find them again by phone, email, or by talking with family or friends.
In King County, Washington, six Seattle area community colleges sponsor the CAREER EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY (CEO), a second chance program for youth who haven’t completed high school. As part of the program, youth visit different sponsoring colleges and pick a training program in a career pathway that interests them. They work on basic skills, job readiness, college survival skills, a GED, and a certificate or Associates degree in their pathway area.Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
MORE GREAT RESOURCES
RESOURCES
General Out-of-School & Youth Development
• Moving an Out-of-School Agenda: Lessons & Challenges across Cities http://www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/grasp/execsumm.htm • Powerful Pathways: Framing Options and Opportunities for Vulnerable Youth (pdf) http://www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/pwrflpthwys.pdf • Finding Fortune in Thirteen Out-of-School Time Programs (pdf) http://www.aypf.org/publications/Compendium2003.pdf • How Can We Help? Lessons from Federal Drop-Out Prevention Programs (pdf) http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/PDFs/Howhelp.pdf • More Things that Do Make a Difference for Youth: A Compendium of Evaluations of Youth Programs and Practices, Vol. II
(pdf) http://www.aypf.org/compendium/comp02.pdf
• Out-of-School Experiences Model Programs – National Dropout Prevention Center/Network http://www.dropoutprevention.org/effstrat/outschol_exp/outschol_modprog.htm • Connected by 25: Improving the Life Chances of the Country’s Most Vulnerable 14-24 Year Olds (pdf) http://www.hewlett.org/Archives/Publications/connectedBy25.htm • Search Institute’s 40 Development Assets http://www.search-institute.org/assets/
• Connecting Vulnerable Youth: A Municipal Leader’s Guide (pdf) http://www.nlc.org/nlc_org/site/files/reports/vulnerable%20youth.pdf • Youth Development Programs and Educationally Disadvantaged Older Youth: A Synthesis (pdf) http://www.childtrends.org/PDF/EducDisadvOlderYouth.pdf Youth Employment
• The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: The Evolution and Devolution of Youth Employment Programs
(pdf) http://www.ppv.org/pdffiles/ydv/ydv_9.pdf
• Supporting Youth Employment: A Guide for Community Groups (pdf) http://www.ppv.org/pdffiles/SupportYouthGroup.pdf • Employment Programs and Youth Development: A Synthesis (pdf) http://www.childtrends.org/what_works/clarkwww/employ/employrpt.pdf
• Getting In, Staying On, Moving Up: A Practitioner’s Approach to Employment Retention (pdf) http://www.ppv.org/content/reports/movingup.html Skills for Working with Out-of-School Youth
• The Road to Self-Sufficiency: An Income Growth Strategy for Out of School Youth (pdf) http://www.nyatep.org/pubsresources/IncomeGrowthStrat.pdf • At-Risk Youth Planning Guide – Levitan Center (pdf) http://www.levitan.org/planning.pdf
• Tackling the Tough Skills: A Curriculum for Building Skills for Work and Life http://outreach.missouri.edu/tough-life-skills/index.htm • Want to Resolve a Dispute? Try Mediation (pdf) http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/ojjdp/178999.pdf
• Pay Attention: Twelve Suggestions on Counseling in an Educational Setting http://www.dropoutprevention.org/resource/feat_article/payatten_12sugs.htm • Incentives and Disincentives (pdf) – National Dropout Prevention Center http://www.dropoutprevention.org/resource/solu_strat/SS4.pdf • Do Bad Grades Mean Doom?-Princeton Review http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/articles/grads/badgrades.asp
• GED Preparation Resources – Job Corps http://www.jccdrc.org/html/cd_academic_ged.htm
• Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most. Douglas Stone, Bruce Patten, Shiela Heen, Roger Fisher
• Co-Active Coaching: New Skills for Coaching People toward Success in Work and Life. Laura Whitworth.
• Teens Can Make It Happen: Nine Steps for Success. Stedman Graham
26Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
MORE GREAT RESOURCES
Youth Back in School
• CBO Schools: Profiles in Transformational Education (pdf) http://www.aed.org/publications/cbo_report.pdf
• Student Perspectives on Juggling Work, Family, and College http://www.mdrc.org/publications/260/overview.html
• Transformational Education http://www.tedweb.org/
Financial Literacy
• NEFE High School Financial Planning Program and Web-Based Training for Educators – National Endowment for Financial
Education http://www.nefe.org/webtraining/index.html
• Planning to $tay Ahead (pdf) http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1924.pdf
• Money Smart – FDIC http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/index.html
Juvenile Offenders
• Juvenile Mentoring Program http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/jump/index.html
• Barriers and Promising Approaches to Workforce and Youth Development for Young Offenders http://www.aecf.org/publications/data/workforce_youth_dev.pdf • Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn’t, What’s Promising http://www.ncjrs.org/works/
• Investing in Girls: A 21st Century Strategy – Juvenile Justice http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/ojjdp/178254.pdf
Foster Care
• It’s My Life: A Framework for Youth Transitioning from Foster Care to Successful Adulthood (pdf) http://www.nrcys.ou.edu/PDFs/It's My Life Book 3_1_02.pdf
• Promising Practices: Supporting the Transition of Youth Served by the Foster Care System (pdf) http://www.nrcys.ou.edu/PDFs/Promising_Practices-1.pdf • Promising Practices: How Foster Parents can Support the Successful Transition of Youth from Foster Care to SelfSufficiency (pdf) http://www.nrcys.ou.edu/PDFs/PPII.pdf
• Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) Program – Texas Dept. of Protective and Regulatory Services http://www.tdprs.state.tx.us/Child_Protection/Preparation_For_Adult_Living/default.asp • Foster Club – National Network for Youth in Foster Care http://www.fosterclub.org/index.cfm
Teen Parents
• Advice from the Field: Youth Employment Programs and Unintended Pregnancy (pdf) http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1062008662.9/Advice.pdf • Leveraging Youth Employment Systems to Prevent Unintended Pregnancy (pdf) http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/997294128.51/leveraging%20youth%20employment.pdf Funding Resources
• ACT Grants for Supporting At Risk Students http://www.act.org/research/awards/
• Grant Resources – National Dropout Prevention Center/Network http://www.dropoutprevention.org/resource/grant/funding.htm • William T. Grant Foundation – Youth Services Grants http://www.wtgrantfoundation.org/info-url_nocat3042/info-url_nocat_list.htm?attrib_id=4399 • Hispanic Scholarship Fund http://www.hsf.net/
• American Express Economic Independence Fund Grant http://www.nefe.org/pages/multimedia.html
• Sources of Funding for Youth Services (pdf) http://www.doleta.gov/youth_services/pdf/sources.pdf
27Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet
MORE GREAT RESOURCES
Learning from Others
• Case Studies – Alliance for Excellent Education http://www.all4ed.org/publications/CaseStudies.html
• The Big Picture Company – Metropolitan Career & Vocational School – Rhode Island http://www.bigpicture.org/MetPortfolio2001-2002.html • Program Profile Database – Dropout Prevention Programs http://www.dropoutprevention.org/scripts/search/progsearch.asp • Youth Net Teen Program Standards – Greater Kansas City, MO http://www.kcyouthnet.org/standards_teen.asp
• Friends of Island Academy – Rikers Island – New York http://www.foiany.org
• ProjectPaycheck - Wyoming http://dwsweb.state.wy.us/dwsnews/releases/pepnet.asp
• Regional Out-of-School Youth Program - New York http://www.workforcenewyork.org/promisingpractices/hmoyouth.htm • Fresh Start Program – Living Classrooms http://livingclassrooms.org/PROGRAMS/fresh.html
• New Start – King County http://www.metrokc.gov/dchs/csd/WorkTraining/newstart.htm
• Ladder to the Future Initiative – Workforce Board of Herkimer, Madison, and Oneida Counties, New York http://www.workforcenewyork.org/promisingpractices2/hmo5desc2att.htm • Opportunity Passport – Foster Care Transition http://www.jimcaseyyouth.org/opportunitypassport.htm
• American YouthWorks – Austin, TX http://www.ail.org/ayw.html
• STAR Program – Tulsa Technology Center, OK http://www.tulsatech.org/star/star1.htm
• Street Soldiers - Omega Boys Club- San Francisco, CA http://www.street-soldiers.org/contents.htm
• Youth Connection Charter School - Chicago, IL http://www.lqe.org/profiles/charter_youth.html
• National Guard Challenge Program http://www.ngycp.org
• PartnerShops – Ben & Jerry’s http://www.benjerry.com/scoop_shops/partnershops/
• Moving Up Program – Vocational Foundation – New York http://www.vfinyc.org/via.htm
• Community Youth Corps (CYC) - Southeast Los Angeles Workforce Board http://www.selaco.com/Youth/Youth.asp
• The Spot – Denver http://www.thespot.org/default.htm
28OUR THANKS
Texas Youth Program Initiative Training Packet 29
Our thanks to the many people who helped bring this training series to life:
• Board members and staff of Texas’ 28 local workforce boards who were easily accessible, frank and thoughtful about their work, and eager to share lessons learned and examples.
• TWC staff members who also reviewed drafts and helped us clarify nuances of policy, definition, and language.
• Texas youth program staff, educators, and workforce professionals who participated in or facilitated training courses using field test copies of packet materials.
• The talented crew of School & Main Institute coaches and adjunct faculty working closely with Texas boards during the preparation of these materials. This packet owes a special debt to Kathy Flynn Woodland.

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Example of a Research Paper by Explorable.com (Nov 5, 2011)
To fully understand what information particular parts of the paper should discuss, here’s another example of a research paper.
Write a Paper * 1Writing a Paper * 2Outline * 2.1Write an Outline * 2.2Outline Examples * 3Research Question * 3.1Thesis Statement * 3.2Write a Hypothesis * 4Parts of a Paper * 4.1Title * 4.2Abstract * 4.3Introduction * 4.4Methods * 4.5Results * 4.6Discussion * 4.7Conclusion * 4.8Bibliography * 5Optional Parts * 5.1Table of Contents * 5.2Acknowledgements * 5.3Appendix * 6Formatting * 6.1In Text Citations * 6.2Footnotes * 6.3Format of a Table * 6.3.1Floating Blocks * 6.4Example of a Paper * 6.5Example of a Paper 2 * 6.6MLA Writing Format * 6.6.1Citations * 6.7APA Writing Format * 6.7.1Writing Style * 6.7.2Citations * 7Academic Journals * 7.1Peer Reviews * 7.2Advantages * 7.3Disadvantages * 7.4Publication Bias * 7.5Journal Submission * 7.5.1Journal Rejection * 8Tips * 8.1Article Writing * 8.2Ideas for Topics
It includes some key parts of the paper such as the Abstract, Introduction, Discussion andReferences:
Title Page
Text center-aligned and placed at the middle of the page, stating the title of the paper, name of author and affiliation.

A Study on the Factors Affecting the Infant Feeding Practices
Of Mothers in Las Piñas City
By [Author], University of the Philippines
2009

Abstract
The abstract starts on the next page, page 2. The text starts at the top, left flushed, double-spaced.
Abstract
[Abstract here]

Body Text
The body text starts on the next page, page 3. The text starts at the top, left flushed, double-spaced.
Introduction
The melamine controversy that erupted during the last quarter of year 2008 brought people’s attention back to the debates between breastfeeding and the use of breast milk substitutes like commercial infant formula. This wasn’t the first time that infant formula had caused illnesses and even deaths to infants worldwide - hence the continuous campaign of World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF along with other breastfeeding advocates, for mothers to breastfeed their children at least until 6 months of age.
Infant feeding practices refer generally to meet the nutritional and immunological needs of the baby. A study of infant feeding practices was carried out on a sample of 100 mother and infant pairs. The results revealed that only 20% of mothers in the study currently exclusively breastfeed their babies. It also shows that socio-economic factors like mother’s work status, marital status and educational attainment had direct bearing on these practices. Employed mothers tend to cease from breastfeeding their babies and eventually stop and just resort to formula feeding as they go back to work. The study also showed that mothers who are married and living with their partners are more likely to breastfeed their infants than single mothers. Those with higher educational attainment resort more to formula feeding and mixed feeding than those with lower educational attainment. Health care professionals influence mothers the most when it comes to infant feeding decisions.
Methodology
Type of Research
The type of research that will be used in this study is qualitative research and quantitative research. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior. The discipline investigates the “why” and “how” of decision making. Besides this, the researcher will also examine the phenomenon through observations in numerical representations and through statistical analysis. Along with questionnaires that will be given out to respondents for the statistical representation of the findings in the study, interviews with the respondents and a few experts in this field will also be conducted.
Sampling Method
The research sampling method that will be used in this study is random sampling to obtain a more scientific result that could be used to represent the entirety of the population. A list of all health care facilities (maternity and lying-in clinics, public and private hospitals, health centers) was acquired from the Las Piñas City Hall.
From 20 barangays, 3 will be picked through random sampling. The health care facilities and institutions in these three barangays will then be the target sources of respondents of the researcher. The health care facilities and institutions will be contacted to obtain a verbal consent to administer the questionnaire to mothers at their places. A letter of consent will also be sent to them along with a sample copy of the questionnaire that will be used, as well as the protocol of the researcher. A letter was also addressed to the City Health Officer to obtain endorsement and consent to conduct a research in selected barangays and distribute questionnaires to the mothers in the vicinity.
Data collection was conducted throughout the facilities‟ and health centers‟ operating hours from Mondays through Sundays in order to include both working and non-working mothers.
Respondents
The respondents in this research will all be coming from one single location - Las Piñas City, specifically the randomly selected barangays of Pamplona I, CAA/BF International and Pamplona III. The researcher chose Las Piñas City because of the socio-economic conditions present in the area that is relevant to the study and also as it fits the time frame and resources of the researcher. The randomly sampled respondents will be asked by the researcher for consent and approval to answer the questionnaire until the desired number of respondents which is 100 is reached. The opinion of experts will also be sought in this research to provide explanations regarding the respondents‟ infant feeding behaviors and practices.
Questionnaire
The questionnaire requires information about the socio-economic and demographic background of the mother. It also has questions related to previous infant feeding practices and the birth of her youngest infant and also regarding the baby’s general health and age.
Statements that are perceived to be factors that influence mothers‟ infant feeding decisions were presented. The description of the type of infant formula given by formula and mixed feeding mothers will also be asked in the material.
Conclusion
Majority of the mothers formula feed their child and only a minority exclusively breastfeeds their children, especially as per recommendation of the World Health Organization. While majority of the mothers in this study showed a positive attitude towards breastfeeding, most of them decided only to formula feed due to the reasons of insufficient milk supply and work.
Based on the results of the study, the educational attainment, work status, marital status, and seminars in the barangay the respondents are part of, about breastfeeding, are the significant factors that affect the infant feeding decision of mothers in Las Piñas City.
Majority of the mothers that served as respondents in this study fall under the age range of 17-30 years old. More than half of them were also college graduates while a significant number are undergraduates and have only reached until high school. Most of the mothers are housewives and the others remaining have full-time jobs, part-time jobs and self-employed. A few of them are still students. While majority of them were married, a lot were still in a status of live-in and are single. More than half of the mothers did not have previous children before the current one. Majority of the respondents also have an annual gross household income that does not exceed P50,000.
Among the several information sources namely, media through televisions/radios and printed/published materials, the social support system comprised of the mother’s family, friends and other relatives and health institutions, the mothers who give their babies infant formula are influenced the most by health care institutions through health professionals and other health care personnel. They influence the mothers in deciding to feed the baby with formula and in choosing, as well, which brand of formula is best for their babies. Mothers trust their baby’s doctor because of their expertise in the said field hence this kind of relation is achieved.
Mothers were overall not concerned about the possible side effects of breastfeeding as a few were only worried as shown in the data presented. It can be concluded that numerous internal as well as external factors influence a mother in making infant feeding decisions, and a greater fraction of these is socio-economic in nature.

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This table describes how to format your research paper using either the MLA or APA guidelines. Be sure to follow any additional instructions that your teacher provides. | MLA Guidelines | APA Guidelines | Paper | Standard size (8.5 x 11" in the U.S.) | | Page Margins | 1" on all sides (top, bottom, left, right) | 1" on all sides (top, bottom, left, right) | Font | 12-pt. easily readable (e.g., Times Roman) | 12-pt. Times Roman or Courier. For figures, however, use a sans serif font such as Arial. | Spacing | Double-spaced throughout, including captions and bibliography | Double-spaced | Alignment of Text | Flush left (with an uneven right margin) | Flush left (with an uneven right margin) | Paragraph Indentation | 1/2" (or five spaces) | 5–7 spaces | End of Sentence | Leave one space after a period unless your teacher prefers two. | Leave one space after a period unless your teacher prefers two. | Page Numbers | On every page, in the upper right margin, 1/2" from the top and flush with the right margin put your last name followed by the page number. | On every page (except Figures), in the upper right margin, 1/2" from the top and flush with the right margin, two or three words of the paper title (this is called the running head) appear five spaces to the left of the page number, beginning with the title page. | Title Page | Only if your teacher requests one. Instead, on the first page, upper left corner place on separate lines, double-spaced: * Your name * Teacher's name * Course name or number * DateUnderneath, center the title using regular title capitalization rules and no underline. Start the report immediately below the title. | The title page is always the first page.On the line below the page number, the running head is typed flush left (all uppercase) following the words "Running head:"Below the running head, the following are centered on their own lines, using upper and lower case: * Paper title * Your name * Your school | Section Headings | | Top level headings should be centered on the page, using upper and lower case.Second level headings should be flush left, italicized, using upper and lower case. | Tables & Illustrations | Place tables and illustrations as close as possible to the text they refer to.A table is labeled Table and given a number (e.g., Table 1). The table label and caption or title appear above the table, capitalized like a title, flush left. Sources and notes appear below the table, flush left.Photos, graphs, charts or diagrams should be labeled Figure(usually abbreviate Fig.), and assigned a number (e.g., Fig. 1). The label, title, and source (if any) appear underneath the figure, flush left, in a continuous block of text rather than one element per line. | Unless your teacher tells you otherwise, tables and illustrations appear at the end of the paper.Each table begins on a separate page with the label Table 1 (etc.) typed flush left on the first line below the page number. Double-space and type the table title flush left (italicized using uppercase and lowercase letters).Figures Captions appear on the last numbered page of the paper. In this case the label Figure 1 (etc.) is italicized and the caption itself is not. The caption uses regular sentence capitalization. The figures themselves follow, one per page. | Order of Major Sections | | Each of these sections (if present) begins on a new page: * Title page * Abstract * Body * References * Appendixes * Footnotes * Tables * Figure Captions * Figures | Binding | Most teachers prefer a simple paper clip or staple. Follow your teacher's request. | | Additional Information | Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) -
MLA Style Guide | Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) -
APA Style Guide |