Search Institute

Search Institute® is an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide leadership, knowledge, and resources to promote healthy children, youth, and communities. As a result of over 30 years of research, Search Institute designed the framework of 40 Developmental Assets®, which are positive experiences and personal qualities that young people need to grow up healthy, caring, and responsible. Schools and communities that work together to provide all youth with access to activities, experiences and supports based upon this framework increase the protective factors and decrease the risk factors for their youth, thus helping them develop into healthy, caring adults. For more information go to: www.search-institute.org

The Developmental Assets Framework

At the heart of the institute’s work is the framework of 40 Developmental Assets, which are positive experiences, relationships, opportunities, and personal qualities that young people need to grow up healthy, caring, and responsible. Created in the 1990s, the framework is grounded in research on child and adolescent development, risk prevention, and resiliency.

Assets are easy to build! Asset building is about relationships—anyone can do it. You can make a difference and help a young person succeed!

The Importance of Assets

Search Institute’s research shows that the more assets young people have, the less likely they are to engage in risky behaviors. In addition, these common themes about the importance of assets have emerged from numerous findings:

Assets promote academic success.
Assets divert youth from risky behaviors and increase civic engagement.
Assets give young people the strengths they need to make positive choices in life.
Across the United States—in big cities and small towns—most young people now experience fewer than half of the 40 Developmental Assets.

Assets Promote Achievement: To more clearly understand how assets promote academic achievement go to: http://www.search-institute.org/system/files/IE-10-03-brief.pdf

Asset Building is Culturally Competent: To more clearly understand how African American, American Indian, Asian American, Latino/Latina, White, and Multiracial youth all benefit similarly from experiencing more of the 40 Developmental Assets in their lives, regardless of their socioeconomic status go to:

http://www.search-institute.org/system/files/InsightsBrief-11-03.pdf

Asset Building Prevents ATOD use: To more clearly understand how asset building helps prevention youth from alcohol, tobacco and other drug use go to:

http://www.search-institute.org/system/files/Insights-ATOD-Brief-03-04.pdf

Assets and Care Team

Care Team Collaborative uses the 40 Developmental Assets as the fundamental prevention framework in all of our work. Care Team members, school staff (including administrators, faculty, support staff) and students are all trained to understand the 40 Developmental Assets and how they can use the assets to help build relationships, improve school climate and increase academic achievement. Each tier on our Continuum of Care focuses on building Developmental Assets as one of the strategies to meet student needs.

Care Team Collaborative also supports asset building in many schools that are not involved in Care Teams. We call these schools “asset-building schools”. Asset-building schools have teams consisting only of school based staff members who are leading the way. The majority of their work is focused around Tier 1 (prevention). They are committed to building strong relationships and evaluating their programs, practices and environments to ensure that the school is meeting the needs of all children. These teams then use school based resources to meet the needs of more at risk students (Tier 2). These schools do not have the added benefit of having our Tier 3 weekly Care Team meetings with agency partners, so when significant concerns arise, an administrator or guidance counselor works with the family to refer out for necessary services.

Care Team schools generally begin their Asset work by introducing Asset building slowly to staff through job embedded professional development. After school programs introduce Asset building to youth involved in Tier 2 and Tier 3 activities. As students and staff begin to see how Asset building is helping these targeted youth, the initiative grows.

Care Team members partner with school staff and administration to design whole school Asset building activities designed to introduce the Assets to the entire population. Often, youth involved in Care Team and after school programs lead the way. Care Team Collaborative has Search Institute trained facilitators who can lead student and staff retreats to help them plan and implement ways to use asset building to change school climate.

Several Care Team and Asset building schools have been involved in asset building for three or more years. As the initiative grows we are seeing these schools deepen their commitment to asset building. The Care Team Collaborative provides support and training to schools as their needs change. Here are just a couple of the great ideas that have come out of this work:

Powerful Teaching Coaches Clinic: Classroom teachers from eight different schools (Care Team and asset- building schools) have developed a professional learning community where teachers are working collaboratively to identify ways that educators can more effectively imbed Asset building into standards based curriculum and instruction. They will be designing lessons and training modules to share with other educators. (Facilitated by Care Team Collaborative staff)
Parent Path: Two day training for school staff to help them brainstorm ways to more effectively engage parents in their child’s education. Schools will then work with youth to design and lead family night activities that will act as a kick off to future parent engagement. (Facilitated by Agency partners)
Parenting Partners: Three week parent training opportunity to help parents learn about the 40 Developmental Assets and how they can be effective asset builders for their children. This will be piloted in one of our elementary schools this spring. (Facilitated by Care Team Collaborative staff)