Out-of-school time program staff need a strong foundation and accurate understanding of developmental concepts and how these concepts are manifested in children and youth of particular ages. This foundation facilitates staff’s ability to work effectively with children of diverse ages and plan and carry out developmentally appropriate and supportive activities

Out-of-school time program staff need the skills to guide and manage the variety of behaviors of children and youth on a daily basis.  The development of children and youth can cause them to behave in certain ways and when staff understand what is driving the behavior, they can help to guide and encourage acceptable behaviors in order to cultivate an environment encouraging children and youth’s growth and development. 

Staff new to the out-of-school time field need a foundational understanding of core competencies of youth workers and foundational youth development principles. Through this training series, new staff will be equipped to incorporate those ideas into strategies to create safe environments for children and youth as well as effective behavior guidance and management techniques.

 Older youth are learning to become more independent and are looking for opportunities to experience their autonomy. This module is designed to give staff the knowledge and tools to effectively offer older youth engaging, enriching, relevant, and developmentally appropriate opportunities

This training series is designed to provide participants with the foundational knowledge on the important role out-of-school time programs play in helping young people develop social-emotional and character skills, as well as their relationship to the Quality Standards for Expanded Learning in California.