"Kishoree Kontha" ("Adolescent Girls' Voices") was implemented in Bangladeshi villages to build the developmental assets (e.g., support from others, social competencies) of rural girls through peer education in social skills, literacy, and school learning. The Developmental Assets Profile (DAP) measured the project's impact on…

Youth transitioning out of foster care and into adulthood need multiple supports to navigate the challenges they face. Over the past three decades, federal child welfare policy has significantly increased the availability of those supports. In 1999, the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program was created, increasing the amount of funds potentially…

An asset-based approach is being championed by the field of child and youth care work, focusing on strengths as opposed to weaknesses, assets as opposed to deficits. This article highlights the Search Institute's theoretically-based and empirically-supported model of developmental assets (Benson, Leffert, Scales, & Blyth, 1998; Scales, Benson,…

This action research project was designed to have the majority of middle school students engage in healthy relationships with their peers and teachers as the data suggested the need for improved interactions with others. Students contributed to team building lessons; implemented school community service learning projects; participated in an…

Ninth grade is a pivotal year for students. Numerous studies find that academic performance in 9th grade often sets the student's trajectory throughout the high school years, as well as the probability of graduation. The Building Assets Reducing Risks (BARR) model is a comprehensive approach that addresses developmental, academic, and school…