YouthBuild Blueprint: Orientation/Mental Toughness
About
Introducing potential YouthBuild participants to the YouthBuild program through an orientation prior to formal enrollment in YouthBuild is a commonly used best practice. Many YouthBuild programs call this "Mental Toughness". Mental Toughness is critical to setting the tone and expectations for a successful program. Most programs use a one- or two-week model for Mental Toughness.
Read TEGL 14-09 for guidance on allowable costs associated with YouthBuild Mental Toughness/orientation activities.
Design the agenda for your program's orientation or "Mental Toughness" and go through it carefully with your staff. Ensure that your staff are all on the same page regarding procedures during Mental Toughness as inconsistent procedures can undermine participant morale and desire to participate in YouthBuild.
Best Practices
A strong orientation component can help set the culture and tone for your YouthBuild program through:
- Core values
- Creating rituals
- Establishing rigor
- Celebrating success
- Clearly communicating program expectations and outcomes
- Building trust between potential participants and staff
- Building community based on respect and identity
- Creating a safe zone, setting a strong tone for transformation
- Setting expectations for program participation and policy
- Incorporating elements to expose and test participant readiness in each of your program's identified key areas for final selection
- Including clear methods of evaluation for final program selection
- Setting a high bar of expectations
- Exposing participants to each program component through experiential activities
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- Resource Publication Date: 2022
- Posted by: YouthBuild TA
- Posted in: YouthBuild