Recruiting and Engaging Youth

Recruiting and Engaging Youth

Statewide Training for SNAP-Ed
Local Implementing Agencies

Recruiting and Engaging Youth

Facilitator’s Guide

This material was produced by institutions that represent SNAP-Ed in California, known as CalFresh, with funding from USDA SNAP-Ed. These institutions, the California Department of Social Services, the California Department of Public Health, UC CalFresh, California Department of Aging, and Catholic Charities of California, are equal opportunity providers and employers. CalFresh provides assistance to low-income households and can help buy nutritious food for better health. For CalFresh information, call 1-877-847-3663.

Table of Contents

General Information

Preparation

Agenda

Facilitation Guidance

Suggested Physical Activity

Suggested Ways to Evaluate

General Information

Target Audience / Local Implementing Agencies, State Implementing Agencies, Sub-contractors and partners
Overview / The “Recruiting and Engaging Youth” training is intended to provide knowledge and resources to attendees on recruiting and engaging youth and to support their youth engagement activities.
Purpose / Youth Engagement is a community based strategy that supports multiple SNAP-Ed activities.
Duration / 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Preparation

Trainer materials needed / A/V needs
laptop
projector
speakers
flip chart pad and easel
markers
posters
DVDs
Index cards
other
Table materials
pencils/pens/markers
sticky notes
manipulatives (things to touch/play with)
other – yarn, polly spots, bean bags
Miscellaneous
blue tape
snacks
other
Materials for Trainees / Participant Workbook
Training Workbook – Stepping Stones 2 and 3 activities
PowerPoint Handout
Links used in PPT / NEOPB Youth Engagement webpage: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/cpns/Pages/YouthEngagement.aspx
USDA’s Empowering Youth with Nutrition and Physical Activity: http://www.fns.usda.gov/empowering-youth-nutrition-physical-activity
John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities webpage: http://gardnercenter.stanford.edu/our_work/yell.html
Oregon Health Authority, Healthy Youth Development webpage: http://public.health.oregon.gov/HEALTHYPEOPLEFAMILIES/YOUTH/Pages/youth.aspx
Preparation prior to training / Prepare sheets (flip-chart paper) for: Group Agreement, Bike-Rack, Venn Diagram activity (if applicable)
Room Setup / If venue allows, have round tables for group work and chairs in “U” shape for group discussions.

Agenda

Time
Guidelines / Section / Leader
8:00am - 9:00am / Set-Up
9:00am – 9:30am / Welcome/Check-in
9:30am – 9:50am / Warm-Up Activity (Introductions)
9:50am – 10:05am / Group Agreement
10:05am – 10:30am / Team Building (Venn Diagram)
10:30am – 11:00am / Recruitment (Community Mapping)
11:00am – 12:00pm / YE and the IWP (Ideal vs. Real)
12:00pm – 1:00pm / LUNCH
1:00pm – 2:30pm / Working with Community Partners
(Ideal vs. Real continued)
2:30pm – 2:50pm / Wrap-Up
2:50pm – 3:00pm / Evaluation

Facilitation Guidance

Title / Welcome and Warm-Up Activity
Time / 30 minutes
Facilitator
Materials and Preparation / Participant folders, index cards, writing instruments, flip chart paper with Learning Objectives listed, blank flip chart paper and marker (for “Parking Lot/Bike Rack”)
Welcome
/ Say: Welcome to today’s Recruiting and Engaging Youth training and thank you for joining us today.
Real quickly some housekeeping items:
  • Bathrooms are located…
  • We will have a break sometime during the morning activities but feel free to excuse yourself any time to use the restroom.
  • We will break for lunch by 12pm.
When you checked in this morning we gave you a folder for today’s training. In the folder you will find:
  • On the left side of the folder you will find:
  • Today’s agenda.
  • Pages to take notes during each activity we do today.
  • A page to note what you like or don’t like about the activities today. This will be a tool for you to complete the evaluation that you receive by email after today.
  • On the right side of the packet you will find:
  • Sample activities that you or your adult ally can use when working with your youth teams, including an overview of the Stepping Stones.
  • Two pages list ways to work with youth and how to recruit.
  • Finally there is a page with a list of additional resources (links) on youth engagement.
[next slide]
/ Say: Today’s training is a California SNAP-Ed Statewide training funded by USDA SNAP-Ed and it is tailored to fit the needs of all CA SNAP-Ed Local Implementing Agencies conducting youth engagement activities.
[next slide]
/ Do: Review needs assessment / registration results with group. (if applicable)
[next slide]
Warm-Up Activity (Introductions)
Materials: Index cards, writing instruments, flip chart paper with Learning Objectives listed, blank flip chart paper and marker (for “Parking Lot/Bike Rack”)

/ Instructions: (overview) Facilitators will introduce themselves and welcome attendees to the training. Attendees will pair off and introduce themselves to each other. Each person in pair will note the other person’s: name, where they are from (organization/city or county) and what they would like to get out of the day’s training. Group will come back together and then each pair will introduce each other to the group.
Do: As you discuss activity, pass out index cards and writing instruments to all. (optional)
Say: We’d like to start the day off with everyone getting to know each other in the room today. We are going to have you pair up with another person in the room – someone you don’t know or didn’t come to the training with today.
You’ll have a few minutes each to introduce yourself (name and where you are from) and what you hope to get from today’s training to each other. Then we’ll come back together as a group and you’ll introduce each other to the group. Alright, find your new friend!
Do: Monitor time and how everyone is doing. After 3-5 minutes, do a check-in.
Ask/say: (check-in) How’s everyone doing? Has everyone switched? Does anyone need more time? All done? Great! Who would like to introduce each other first to the group?
[next slide]
Do: As they share what each person would like to get out of the training, facilitators will note how the Learning Objectives for the day cover this or will write the topic in the “Bike Rack” for follow-up at a later time.[WM(1]

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Title / Group Agreement Activity
Time / 15 minutes
Facilitator
Materials and Preparation / Writing instrument, flip chart paper with Group Agreement listed at top and additional blank flip chart paper (if needed).
Group Agreement Activity
Overview: Using modified version of activity below. Activity will use index cards prepared with sample group agreement statements and placed under some attendee seats. Number of cards is dependent on number of attendees.

/ Know: Most likely attendees will have varying levels of experience with group agreements.
Say: Some of you have a large index card under your chair with something written on it. Please look for the card and hold it up if you have one.
We are going to talk about setting group agreements. If you like, you may reference handout in folder to take notes.
Ask: Why are group agreements important? Who has used an agreement like this for a meeting or project? How did it/does it make you feel?
[Allow 5-10 minutes for discussion by attendees.]
Ask: Who would like to read what their card says first? [Example of statement: Don’t yuck someone’s yum.] What do you think this means?
Do: After each statement is read, go over meaning of statement until all cards have been explained.
Ask: What else may be listed on a group agreement? For adults? For youth?
Say: Group agreements are used to create a safe space in a group (adults or youth). The agreements hold each other accountable and make it easier on members in a group to participate and share their thoughts.
This is also a good exercise for team building.

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Title / Overview of YEI and YPAR
Time / 20-30 minutes
Facilitator / Facilitator
Materials and Preparation / Any materials needed for this section or preparation that should be done prior to this activity
Overview of Youth Engagement Initiative (YEI) and YPAR
Overview: This activity includes an overview of YEI and YPAR. It includes discussion on the levels of youth engagement and how to increase engagement of youth teams. In closing of this section, facilitator reviews YPAR process and steps to support a youth engagement project.






/ Facilitator: Dalene
Image on slide: Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world."[2] He is the founder and the Chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as being the chairman of The Elders, a group founded by Nelson Mandela. He has been involved in several humanitarian projects and won several awards including the Kora All Africa Music Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.
Say: Now we are going to provide a brief overview of the YEI and discuss the YPAR process and the levels of youth engagement. But first we’d like to pose a question to the group:
Ask: Why youth? Why is engaging youth important?
[Ask for volunteer. Below are examples that can be provided to start conversation off, if needed.]
• Partnerships between youth and adults ultimately make programs more successful.
• Youth know youth! Youth have unique perspective and can be honest about what they need & want.
• Youth are ready to take on leadership roles and have valuable insight.
• Youth are incredibly powerful spokespeople. Stakeholders listen to youth.
Say: Thank you all for sharing! These are important reasons to engage youth.
Say: Building authentic youth/adult partnerships is a foundational part of the YPAR process and a “youth-led” approach is grounded in the following key principles.
• Youth opinions are solicited, respected, and applied.
• Youth identify their own issues, problems, and possible solutions.
• Youth initiate project ideas, carry out planning, and goal setting.
• Youth drive the process and are involved in all stages of decision-making.
• Youth teach other youth.
[next slide]
Say: The Youth Engagement Initiative was piloted in six sites primarily in the Bay Area and southern California in 2006. Since then there have been over 70 youth groups across the state.
Youth ages 12 to 18 years:
Say: The years from age 12 to 18 are important for the development of young people as they move from childhood to adulthood. Involving youth is an important part of the development of citizenship and youth development. Plus, young people bring with them new ways of thinking and acting that add value to the work your agency does.
[next slide]
YPAR Process:
Say: The YPAR process is exactly what it sounds like. Young people, with support from adult allies, take on a participatory role in our democratic society by identifying and researching an issue of importance to them and their community, and through action build their capacity to share their expertise and take leadership in overcoming the issue.
YPAR also promotes a sense of belonging among team members as well as within their community, it provides the opportunity to participate in decision-making, and to develop and practice leadership.
Supports many SNAP-Ed related activities:
YPAR is a method that can be implemented to achieve the policy, system, and environmental changes laid out in the SNAP-Ed guidance.
Strategy to Implement Healthy Community Changes:
Regardless of your focus, your organization will benefit from youth participation in implementing health community changes.
[next slide]
Say: Now let’s talk about the levels of engagement of youth.
[next slide]
Say: The graphic you see before you is called “Hart’s Ladder of Participation”. This tool was developed by Dr. Roger Hart, a professor of psychology and geography at the City University of New York, to help adults think about ways to:
• Engage young people
• And, to provide them the opportunity to take an active part in decision making processes
Say: As I discuss the ladder and the eight levels of youth participation, I want you to think about:
• Which level are your youth currently at?
• And , how you can move your youth to the level that is “right” for your community?
Say: I say “right” because every youth project is different. The level of participation that is “right” for your youth depends upon the unique circumstances in your community.
It may not always be appropriate for youth to participate at the top levels. But, the ladder can encourage adult allies to move youth up from the lower levels and to provide youth with a genuine voice in their communities.
The bottom three levels on Hart’s Ladder are considered to be non-participatory:
• At the manipulation level, adults have complete authority and use youth for their own gain.
• At the next level, youth may be used as decoration where they take part in an event, but have no input – they are just in the background.
• Tokenism provides youth with a limited voice within strict guidelines that regulate what can be said.
• These bottom three levels provide no meaningful opportunities for young people to influence the decisions that affect their lives and communities.
The next five levels show an increase in youth participation:
• At the fourth level, assigned but informed, the adults decide on the project and young people volunteer for it. Young people understand the project and its purpose.
• At the fifth level, young people are consulted and informed. Adults design and facilitate the project and young people’s opinions are considered in the decision-making process.
• At the sixth level, adults develop the initial framework and youth are responsible for implementing the project using their own ideas and organizational strategies.
• At the seventh level young people initiate the framework and have full power and creative license over the project.
At the top level, young people initiate ideas and invite adults to join in, creating an equal partnership which utilizes the potential and resources of both groups. The top level of engagement is not solely youth led, but is a joint effort.
[next slide]
Say: Participatory Action Research (PAR) is an inquiry process that includes critical thinking, information gathering, analysis and logical problem solving. The YEI involves projects utilizing a youth-led PAR framework otherwise known as YPAR (Youth-led Participatory Action Research) where youth research an issue in their community and assess, plan and execute a solution in the process.
It is a multi-step process where youth with the support of an adult ally …
  1. Identify an issue or problem
  2. Define what they know about it
  3. Identify what additional information is needed to understand it
  4. Determine research methods (PhotoVoice, surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc.) and develop an approach for collecting data and then work as a team to accomplish it
  5. Use the information for education, action and community change
[next slide]
Review Stepping Stones 1-8.
Say: There are eight steps (or Stepping Stones) in the process to help you implement it.
We will discuss Stepping Stones 1 and 2 first, which focus heavily on preparation and planning and also teambuilding. Then we will open it up to everyone for questions and discussion.
Then we’ll talk about stepping stones 3-6 that focus on identifying an issue to work on, developing skills, and collecting and analyzing data. And then again open it up for discussion.
And then finally Stepping Stones 7 and 8, pulling everything together to create a report and finally to taking action!

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Title / Team Building (Venn Diagram Activity)
Time / 25 minutes
Facilitator
Materials and Preparation / Writing instruments, blank flip chart paper for each group and additional blank flip chart paper (if needed). [no PowerPoint for this activity]
Team Building Exercise (Venn Diagram Activity)
Overview: This activity will help facilitator’s and attendees understand the differences and similarities in what each other value. The activity can be done in multiple ways – youth only, youth and adults, or adults only.
The activity for this training has been tailored for an adult only audience.
PowerPoint slide titled Venn Diagram Activity / Know: Size of groups in this activity will depend on number of all attendees. Can vary from 2-3 people in group or larger. Again, attendees can reference handout in folder to take notes.
Say: We are going to do an activity using a Venn Diagram. Each group has flipchart paper and markers and will draw a large Venn diagram on the flipchart paper. Use the entire page!
If attendees are not familiar with this, explain: A Venn Diagram is two circles with a slight overlap of the two circles. [If time allows, facilitators can draw the circles on the flipchart ahead of time for this activity.]
Say: First start by discussing what you value or feel is important to you or to adults in general. Mark these ideas in the left circle.
[Give groups about 5 minutes to do this.]
Ask: Now, brainstorm what you think youth value or think is important. Mark these ideas in the right circle. If you come to an idea that you already have in the left circle, cross it out and write it in the center where the circles overlap.
[Give groups about 5 minutes to do this.]
Do: Monitor time and how everyone is doing. After 3-5 minutes, do a check-in. If everyone is complete, move forward with discussion on activity.
Ask: (to guide debrief)
  • How was that activity? Any surprises?
  • Any similarities or differences that stood out to you?
  • How can this activity help you (and adult allies) in youth engagement efforts?
  • How do you think it can help youth teams/youth members?

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