NCJ Number
169326
Date Published
1997
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This report describes credentialing activities that seek to establish standards and promote professional development of the youth development field to ensure the quality of services delivered to young people.
Abstract
The discussion notes that more credentialing activities were recorded during 1996-97 than at any other time. Individuals, organizations, associations, and universities are working toward professionalizing the youth development field. However, Federal and State policymakers have given relatively little attention to enhancing the qualifications and credentials of professionals and volunteers who work with youth. In addition, the United States currently lacks an education and training system specially geared toward credentialing youth workers. Therefore, most youth worker education and training is haphazard and sometimes ineffective; it occurs through on-the-job experience and sporadic inservice training and seminars. Professional activities are occurring in many areas to address this gap. Organizations have specified competencies as a basis for developing professional development activities, developed systems for training. Nevertheless, great variation exists in the quality of content, expertise instructional approaches among staff development efforts. Profiles of 14 credentialing activities and the organizations involved, reference notes, and appended definitions of credentialing and chart on the core competencies for youth workers and school-age care