What is the BEST Network?
NTI is expanding the National BEST Network! There are 32 communities currently offering youth development training for their youth workers and we’re ready to respond to the interest brewing among other cities across the country.
What exactly is BEST?
BEST stands for Building Exemplary Systems for Training Youth Workers. Cities in the BEST network offer youth development training and other professional development opportunities to better equip youth program staff to serve young people from a developmental approach. Participants in the youth development trainings come from all types of youth-serving settings including school-based after-school programs, residential juvenile justice facilities, parks & recreation centers, faith-based programs, independent out-of-school time programs, and many others.
What does NTI do in the BEST Network?
With nearly a decade of creating resources to establish local and regional systems of training and education for youth workers, NTI’s training and technical assistance has been proven to strengthen youth-serving sectors and improve youth worker practice. NTI provides on-site and telephone guidance to new BEST communities as well as a variety of trainings, materials, and other resources. NTI also promotes the work of the BEST sites on its website and advocates for their participation in new opportunities, such as the ABC’s of Youth Work.
Why should we join the BEST Network?
If your community joins the BEST network, every youth worker and youth-serving organization will have the opportunity to participate in NTI’s youth development training programs and receive technical assistance to support youth development practice. We will tailor a package that fits your community’s needs.
NTI’s training and technical assistance packages include:
- Local delivery of the Advancing Youth Development (AYD) 3-day course for youth workers by certified national BEST faculty – so classes of 25-30 youth workers at a time can learn the common language of youth development and how to put it into practice
- Local delivery of the 2-day Supervising Youth Development Practice course by certified national BEST faculty – so youth program supervisors can support their staff using youth development and be advocates throughout the organization
- Training of facilitators from your community at a National AYD Training of Facilitators program in Washington – so your community will be able to continue to deliver youth development training for years to come
- An on-site visit by NTI Director, Elaine Johnson, with key stakeholders in your community to promote the BEST training program – so local stakeholders from the funding and youth-serving sectors in your community can learn more about how the BEST program can help improve outcomes for youth
- On-site and phone coaching on BEST training delivery and professional development system design – so you can benefit from local and national experts who have launched BEST systems over the past 10 years
- Access to technical assistance tools, including the cross-network sharing of resources, best practices, and peer consultation on other youth worker professional development – so you can learn directly from your colleagues
- Opportunities to participate in the Youth Development Practitioner Apprenticeship programs (as recognized by the US Department of Labor) as well as local youth worker networks and other local innovations – so you can build a variety of elements into your community’s unique youth worker professional development program
What are the benefits of the BEST training programs?
The youth-serving sector is eternally searching for research based approaches that improve outcomes for young people. Numerous research studies have documented that programs guided by the youth development approach give staff the ability to:
- foster positive relationships with youth,
- provide youth with activities that facilitate academic success, and
- facilitate the full participation of youth in their own healthy development.
In the evaluation of the BEST system, youth workers, supervisors and community stakeholders were interviewed to determine the impact of the AYD training program on youth workers and youth-serving organizations. Samples of findings from the enclosed report are below.
- 75% of youth workers indicated that the training had a “great deal” or “good amount” of impact on their practices
- Over two-thirds reported that the AYD training had an impact on their organization overall
- According to one executive director whose staff participated in the training, “BEST is a win-win for all." It helps organizations fulfill their missions and helps ensure that youth will be out there on a successful course”
How can your community join the national BEST network?
We are currently enrolling up to six new BEST communities by the end of 2006. The timeline for enrolling these communities will be:
- Summer/Fall – documentation of stakeholder interest and funding support to become a BEST community
- Late Fall – local delivery of the AYD course by national faculty to 25 youth workers
- Winter/Spring – participation by two local AYD graduates in a National TOF Program to become certified AYD facilitators
For communities needing more time for planning and building stakeholder support, NTI will enroll a second group of communities in early 2007.
Feel free to share this page with other leaders in your community. NTI would be happy set up an exploratory conference call to discuss your questions about joining the BEST network as well as the costs and timeline for bringing BEST to your community. To set up the call, please email Elaine Johnson, Director of the National Training Institute for Community Youth Work at ejohnson@aed.org or call her at (202) 884-8265.
