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November 2017Vol. 18, No. 8Positive Youth Development Toolkit

Positive youth development (PYD) is an approach based on understanding adolescent brain development in order to implement juvenile justice strategies that reduce recidivism and promote positive outcomes for youth involved in the justice system as they move on to become successful members of the community. PYD focuses less on a youth's past actions and more on his or her future potential and comprises six concepts that can be linked to positive outcomes: competence, confidence, connection, character, caring, and contribution. 

This toolkit, produced by the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators, is designed to support juvenile justice organizations in creating an organizational- and program-delivery framework based on PYD. The toolkit includes a description of PYD, examples of successfully implemented PYD approaches, and a discussion on positive youth outcomes. It also includes strategies for putting PYD into practice, building and maintaining momentum, and assessing and monitoring the progress of PYD programs as well as an appendix with additional resources.

Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators Toolkit: Positive Youth Development is available at http://cjca.net/index.php/blog/1002-cjca-positive-youth-development-toolkit.