Youth Development Model

Every LGBTQIA+ youth and young adult who passes through the doors of Out Youth becomes family for life. Out Youth is a family of over 25,000 strong. Every youth is loved, acknowledged, and accepted for who exactly who they are. Each youth is a unique individual with strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, hopes, and dreams. Out Youth has concrete goals for all family members, divided into six domains of youth development. All youth come into Out Youth with their own personal assets and goals for change and growth. Out Youth seeks to help youth reflect on their particular assets and goals, and align them with the common goals of development Out Youth has for all youth. The objective is not for all youth to reach an unattainable 100% improvement in all six domains; rather, Out Youth strives for youth to achieve any improvement in the domains most important to each individual youth.

This Youth Development Model outlines Out Youth’s six domains of youth development, desired outcomes of each domain, common indicators of improvement, potential assessments, and life-long impacts. Every new youth and young adult will complete the Asset Mapping Assessment at intake to identify strengths within these six domains, as well as goals for growth and development at Out Youth. As youth improve their skills they receive feedback and support from peers and adult mentors. Then, youth and young adults re-complete the Asset Mapping Assessment each quarter to reassess assets and shift developmental goals as needed. In this way youth are regularly reflecting on their short-term and long-term goals, and fulfilling their potential while growing each day. This Youth Development Model and the Asset Mapping Assessment are two major tools that ensure that each and every youth receives the most positive experience possible at Out Youth.