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Within the youth development field a growing movement exists to establish youth member positions on community teams (e.g. organizational boards and planning committees). The involvement of youth on decision-making teams is commonly referred to as youth engagement. As a relatively new approach to youth and community development, the existing research shows the potential positive impacts youth engagement efforts may produce and encourages youth practitioners to incorporate such efforts into their programs and organizations. In doing so, successful youth engagement efforts may be sustained within teams that best adapt their organizational structure, policies, and practices to complement the developmental needs of youth. Such adaptations begin with the four team characteristics presented in this paper: adult support, a youth-friendly environment, opportunities to complete meaningful tasks, and opportunities to learn and use new skills. When these practices are woven through the work of the team, youth engagement may flourish.

This feature article shares the results of a national environmental scan conducted to identify professional development programs offered for school age providers across the nation through the Cooperative Extension System. A purposeful sample comprised of representatives from state extension offices throughout the country included 135 respondents from 48 states. Results showed 139 professional development programs for school age providers were offered through the Cooperative Extension System. The majority of programs offered professional development in the areas of health, nutrition, safety, youth development, and quality afterschool environments. This article summarizes the findings of the environmental scan, including number of contact hours, program scope, and program partners, as well as discussion and recommendations for future work in this area.

The present study uses an ecological systems perspective to examine how parental involvement in school-related activities in sixth grade influences early adolescents' school bonding and academic achievement in eighth grade. Results of multilevel models of multiple data sources (i.e., adolescents, parents, and principals) suggested that parents' involvement in school, as reported by the adolescent in sixth grade, was a significant predictor of school bonding and academic grades in eighth grade. Furthermore, parent reports of guidance, support, and involvement in school and non-school activities were unrelated to their adolescents' grades and school bonding. Finally, schools' efforts to engage parents did not consistently predict an association between parental involvement and adolescent outcomes.