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Reports and Publications :: The World According to Our Kids
Overview
In June of 2001, the Arlington Partnership for Children, Youth, and Families (the Partnership) conducted two surveys of
youth in middle and high school. This report summarizes the initial findings from the surveys, focusing on the following questions:
What factors in the community are affecting the development of our youth, both positively, through assets, and
negatively, through deficits?
The survey results show real strengths, such as high levels of family support. But the results also show that few
young people have the ideal level of assets.
Are youth in our community engaging in risky behaviors with potentially serious consequences for their health and safety?
Data reveal some cause for concern, with a significant minority of students engaged in persistent and serious behavior patterns that
threaten their well-being.
How do assets and deficits shape the behavior of our young people?
Research
has shown that key developmental assets protect youth from risky behaviors and promote positive outcomes such as school success,
healthy lifestyles, and leadership. The survey results for Arlington County confirm and reinforce these findings.
How Will the Partnership Use this Data?
The Partnership anticipates that the data from these surveys will benefit the community in numerous ways by:
- Helping shape the Partnerships recommendations to the County and School Boards this year and in the future;
- Giving schools, agencies, and non-profit service providers insights into how to improve their programs and target their services;
- Supplying foundations and organizations with data needed to identify the communitys most pressing needs for funding from grants.
We hope that all community members will reflect upon the findings here. We ask that adults, in particular, consider how they
can help - as individuals and as part of larger organizations - to strengthen the developmental foundation for youth in our community.
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