SEARCH INSTITUTE'S 40 ASSETS

SEARCH Institute has identified eight types of "internal" and "external" assets that are crucial for helping young people grow up healthy:
Support, Empowerment, Boundaries and Expectations, Constructive Use of Time, Commitment to Learning, Positive Values, Social Competencies, Positive Identity. Within these categories, there are 40 developmental assets:

• Support (6) Family Support, Positive Family Communication, Other Adult Relationships, Caring Neighborhood, Caring School Climate, Parent Involvement in Schooling
  • Young people need to experience support, care, and love from their families and many others. They need organizations and institutions that provide positive, supportive environments.
• Empowerment (4) Community Values Youth, Youth as Resources, Service to Others, Safety
  • Young people need to be valued by their community andd have opportunities to contribute to others. For this to occur, they must be safe and feel secure.
• Boundaries and Expectations (6) Family Boundaries, School Boundaries, Neighborhood Boundaries, Adult Role Models, Positive Peer Influence, High Expectations
  • Young people need to know what is expected of them and whether activities and behaviors are "in bounds" or "out of bounds."
• Constructive Use of Time (4) Creative Activities, Youth Programs, Religious Community, Time at Home
  • Young people need constructive, enriching opportunities for growth through creative activities, youth programs, congregational involvement, and quality time at home.
• Commitment to Learning (5) Achievement Motivation, School Engagement, Homework, Bonding to School, Reading for Pleasure
  • Young people need to develop a lifelong commitment to education and learning.
• Positive Values (6) Caring, Equality and Social Justice, Integrity, Honesty, Responsibility, Restraint
  • Youth need to develop strong values that guide their choices.
• Social Competencies (5) Planning and Decision Making, Interpersonal Competence, Cultural Competence, Resistance Skills, Peaceful Conflict Resolution
  • Young people need skills and competencies that equip them to make positive choices, to build relationships, and to succeed in life.
• Positive Identity (4) Personal Power, Self-Esteem, Sense of Purpose, and Positive View of Personal Future
  • Young people need a strong sense of their own power, purpose, worth, and promise.

   

  The Asset Approach: Giving Kids What They Need to Succeed Copyright © 2000 by Search Institute. All rights reserved. Search Institute, 615 First Avenue N.E., Suite 125, Minneapolis, MN 55413

For a complete list of the 40 assets by category, visit the SEARCH Institute website.

NIDA’s Nine Stages of Community Readiness

Community Mobilization

“Community mobilization is the movement of community members from dormancy in preexisting groups or potential in yet-to-be formed groups toward action. - Henry Ford -

The Demands of Community Mobilization
Community mobilization demands a commitment to action that will lead to an overall improvement in the health and well-being of the community. As the Henry Ford quote suggests, the community mobilization experience follows specific process that begins with the concerns of community members, proceeds through the articulation of a vision and mission, the formulation of a strategic plan, implementation of action steps that are designed to bring about community change, and finally, analysis and evaluation that leads to strategy adjustments and future success.

The process of community organization requires the commitment of concerned and committed individuals who represent all facets of the community, responsive and capable organizations, and a sense of community purpose that can be widely accepted by the community. It is important to assess the mobilization capacity of the community during the early stages of coalition development. It may be that the capacity is not present to develop a substance abuse prevention coalition at this time; it may be that steps can be taken to enhance the community’s mobilization capacity.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) identifies mobilization capacity as a key element in assessing a community’s overall readiness for implement substance abuse prevention programs. In a 1997 publication, Drug Abuse Prevention and Community Readiness: Training Facilitators Manual, NIDA outlines nine community evolution precepts that determine a community’s readiness to mobilize around and issue like substance abuse prevention. They include:

Community Tolerance
Denial
Vague Awareness
Pre-planning Preparation
Initiation Institutionalization
Confirmation/Expansion
Professionalism

NIDA’s Nine Stages of Community Readiness

Stage 1: Community Tolerance
Community norms actively tolerate or encourage the behavior, although the behavior may be expected of one group and not another (e.g., by gender, race, social class or age). The behavior when occurring in the appropriate social context, is viewed as acceptable or as part of the community norm. Those who do not engage in the behavior may be tolerated but might be viewed as somewhat deviant.

Stage 2: Denial
There is usually recognition that the behavior is or can be a problem. Community norms usually would not approve of the behavior. But there is little or no recognition that this might be a local problem. If there is some idea that it is a problem, there is a feeling that nothing needs to be done about this locally or that nothing can be done about it.

Stage 3: Vague Awareness
There is a general belief that there is a local problem and that something ought to be done about it. Knowledge about local problems tends to be stereotypical and vague or linked only to a specific incident or two. There is no immediate motivation to do anything. No identifiable leadership exists, ort leadership lacks energy or motivation.

Stage 4: Pre-planning
There is clear recognition that there is a local problem and that something should be done about it. There is general information about local problems, but ideas about etiology or risk factors tend to be stereotyped. There are identifiable leaders, and there may be a committee, but no real planning.

Stage 5: Preparation
Planning is going on and focuses on practical details. There is general information about local problems and about the pros and cons of prevention programs, but it may not be based on formally collected data. Leadership is active and energetic. The program may have started on a trial basis. Funding is being actively sought or has been committed.

Stage 6: Initiation
Enough information is available to justify a prevention program, but knowledge of risk factors is likely to be stereotyped. A program has been started and is running, but it is still on trial. Staff is in training or just have finishes with training. There may be great enthusiasm because limitations and problems have not yet been experienced.

Stage 7: Institutionalization
One or two programs are running, supported by administration, and accepted as a routine and valuable activity. Staff are trained and experienced. There is little perceived need for change or expansion. Limitations may be known, but there is not much sense that the limitations suggest a need for change. There may be some form of routine tracking or prevalence. There is not necessarily permanent funding, but there is established funding that allows the program the opportunity to implement its action plan.

Stage 8: Confirmation/Expansion
Standard programs are viewed as valuable. And authorities support expanding or improving programs. New programs are being planned or tried out to reach more people, those thought to be more at risk or in different demographic groups. Funds for new program are being sought or are committed. Data are obtained regularly on the extent of local problems and efforts are made to assess risk factors and the cause of the problem.

Stage 9: Professionalization
Detailed and sophisticated knowledge of prevalence, risk factors and etiology exists. Some programs may be aimed at general populations, whereas others may be targeted at specific risk factors and/or at-risk groups. Highly trained staff members are running programs, authorities are supportive, and community involvement is high. Effective evaluation is used to test and modify programs.