Best Practices in Program Design: Program Culture and Integration

Best practices in program culture:

1. Interpret the depth and complexity of the YouthBuild model as an asset. It is important to remind others and ourselves that this is a core strength of the program because, from a participant's perspective, all of their complex needs can be addressed in one strong program.
2. Follow mission-driven decision-making. Build time into the program's schedule to stop and evaluate whether decisions are made with the best interest of young people in mind. Retreats and all-staff meeting times can be planned to get this feedback from staff and participants.
3. Own your outcomes. Have a shared agreement at the program among all stakeholders for what success looks like for you by having robust conversations around what you want for your graduates and what you need to do to get them there.
4. Define and assess the participant experience at your program. How does a participant experience all the decisions the program has made? How do they experience staff-driven actions?
5. Own your data and assessments. Move beyond data being something funders ask of you. Use your data and assessments to answer questions such as: “How did participants respond to the new course on resume writing?” “Which instructor has the highest attendance, and what does he/she do that drives high attendance?”
6. Have shared definitions, so everyone has a common language for success. Have defined values, goals, ideals, and definitions of what “good” looks like so that these become an easy reference point for all staff. If staff and participants know what they are working toward and how you expect them to work, they will reference and refine the concept with each other more easily. This means that the program director does not have to do all the thinking around ideas for improving performance.
7. Staff are critical to your success. Acknowledge that all YouthBuild roles are challenging but rewarding. Build an understanding and respect through retreats, meetings, and professional development for all of the roles in the program. Invest in staff development. Respect staff members' intentions in the work and bring them together around what they really care about: young people.
8. While raising funds and resources to sustain the program is essential, it is not your primary mission (even though it may take up much of the program director's time). Let your program and your data drive funding decisions.
9. Test your culture constantly. Develop self-checks and authentic measures of your program's culture. At YouthBuild Philly, staff and participants complete anonymous surveys at least twice yearly. Questions cover everything from their satisfaction with programming and daily operations to the general direction of the organization and leadership. Respond to what emerges from feedback. Double-check to ensure that messages around planning were heard and allow staff and participants to respectfully challenge ideas, program elements, or direction. Encourage people to understand the "why" of decisions.

Best practices in program integration:

In a well-integrated program, all staff and all components (i.e., education, construction, counseling/case management, leadership, and job development) work together toward a set of common goals for participants. Program integration provides youth with learning opportunities that are relevant to their lives and more closely aligned with how the real world works.

Here are some quick ideas to get your YouthBuild program staff started on the road to program integration:

• Have a staff retreat where staff state their beliefs about the YouthBuild program and participants.
• Discuss how those beliefs translate into concrete goals and how each YouthBuild component plays a role in reaching those goals.
• Brainstorm two or three things that could be easily integrated right away.
• Set up a monthly "walk in my shoes" day where staff who may not work closely together shadow each other for a day to learn about the other person's daily responsibilities and the accompanying rewards and challenges.
• Have a monthly theme, e.g., Black History Month, in which construction, education, and other staff contribute to uplift and highlight important figures in African American history, introduce Black architects, assign readings by Black authors, etc.

Additional program integration ideas for your YouthBuild program and participants:

• Community service learning and academics and leadership,
• Construction and math skills,
• Construction and leadership,
• OSHA training and CPR linked to health classes,
• History and voter registration,
• Substance abuse prevention and health instruction
• Placement in employment connected to the use of technology to find open positions and trips to the American Job Center
• Public speaking skills linked to youth leadership.

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• Posted by: YouthBuild TA
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