To solve a problem, we must first identify, work to understand, and then remove the root causes (based on indicators) that create the problem.
Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Network wholehearted believes in this statement. The organizational design of YES Network is based on identifying, understanding, and resolving issues (root causes) for agencies that serve youth and consequently barriers for youth receiving those services. To accomplish this goal, YES Network subscribes to and follows the Arizona Youth Survey's Risk and Protective Factor Model of Prevention and the Arizona Strategic Prevention Framework model to empower positive change in at-risk youth in Tucson and Pima County.
Based on the Arizona Youth Survey, the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission believes that risk factors can be identified across disciplines. In the summary for Pima County, the report references the fact that doctors are highly effective at diagnosing and reducing problems associated with health based on what medical researchers have found concerning risk factors. That same logic is applied to risk factors that impact youth in the area of community, family, school and individual/peer. According to the 2006 Arizona Youth Survey;
"The Risk and Protective Factor Model of prevention is based on the simple premise that to prevent a problem from happening, we need to identify the factors that increase the risk of that problem developing and then find ways to reduce the risks." Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, 2006
In working to reduce substance abuse by Arizona residents, the Governor's office convened and staffed a work group that was committed to identifying, understanding, and reducing indicators that lead to substance abuse problems. As stated in the report submitted by the Epidemiological Work Group;
"From the beginning, it was tacitly assumed that indicators that would eventually be used must have data that are reliable, regularly collected, and readily accessible. The data must be of sufficient quality to provide some certainty for the conclusions drawn from them. The data must also be constantly updated, usually on a yearly or every other year basis, and have a good chance of being collected into the near future or at least over the [life] of the [Project]." Arizona Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant: Statewide Epidemiological Profile and Problem Areas, 2005
Like both the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission and the Governor's Office, YES Network is committed to effectively solving problems by identifying, understanding and reducing or completing eliminating risk factors associated with at-risk youth based on research indicators. By doing so, YES Network expects environmental and programmatic solutions, provided by coalitions, to significantly empower the lives of Tucson and Pima County?s at-risk youth ages 6-17.
To solve youth related problems in Tucson and Pima County, we must first identify, work to understand, and then remove the root causes (based on indicators) that create problems. To do this, YES Network needs your partnership.
As you go through our website the major theme you will see is "partnership". Partnerships are the heart of what we do; financial partnerships, direct service partnerships, community partnerships and youth and family partnerships. These partnerships are the key to successfully empowering positive change in at-risk youth.
Strategically working together,
Anthony Simms
Executive Director
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