Our Vulnerable Youth

Young people who are considered ‘vulnerable’ or ‘at risk’ are a particular target of various policies, schemes and interventions. But what does vulnerability mean? Interrogating Conceptions of “Vulnerable Youth” explores this question in relation to various policy fields that are relevant to young people, as well for how this plays out in practice and how it is experienced by young people themselves. What makes this book unique is that most authors had the opportunity to jointly explore these issues during a two-day workshop, and their chapters are informed by their cross-agency and cross-discipline discussions, making for a nuanced and thoughtful set of contributions. This collection is highly recommended for researchers and research students in the social sciences, as well as professional staff working in youth policy and youth services, in government departments and in NGOs. “Those who are most vulnerable should receive our greatest moral attention. However, the translation of generalised moral principles into effective policy and programs has never been easy. Political interests have invariably intervened, leading to complex debates about how vulnerability should be defined, classified, measured and represented. In recent years, these debates have become further complicated, as nation-states around the world have preached austerity. This timely book suggests that the responsibility for protecting the vulnerable cannot be left to individuals, but demands collective action, through institutions such as education, health and welfare. It examines some of the ways in which public policies and programs represent those who are vulnerable, involving a range of assumptions about the social, economic and political conditions that produce their vulnerabilities.” From the Foreword by Professor Fazal Rizvi

How to build bounce-back kids, families, schools, and communities is the theme of Resiliency In Action: Practical Ideas for Overcoming Risks and Building Strengths in Youth, Families, and Communities. It is edited by internationally recognized resiliency expert, trainer, and consultant Nan Henderson, M.S.W., whose publications are used in more than 25 countries. The book is a research-based, practical guide for educators, counselors, parents, community organizers, and mentors and is filled with the latest strategies for helping children, families, schools, and communities bounce back from risk, stress, trauma, and adversity.More than two dozen experts in the fields of child, family, organizational, and community resiliency contributed to the book, which challenges a widely accepted myth about people especially young people, who experience risks, stress, trauma, and adversity in their lives, according to Henderson. Contrary to popular opinion, the majority of these individuals, over time, do bounce back and do well. There is a growing body of scientific research from several fields that documents this fact and yields important information as to what can be done every day to facilitate this process of overcoming.This book is really three books in one: it contains the most recent research, hands-on and practical strategies, and stories of resilient individuals and best practices. The book includes 60 chapters grouped in seven sections: The Foundations of Resiliency, Resiliency and Schools, Resiliency and Communities, Resiliency Connections (Mentoring, Support, and Counseling), Resiliency and Youth Development, Resiliency and Families, and Resiliency and the Brain.

Walk into any kindergarten classroom and choose six students. Would you be surprised to learn that one of those young students will drop out before finishing high school? Somewhere along the way, young students are losing their excitement to learn and beginning to feel hopeless in our current educational system. And what about the children who don't leave school but who go home to abuse, hunger, and neglect? Kicked to the Curb is an accessible and powerful new book aiming to help teachers, administrators, policy makers, and adults who care help our kids get everything they can out of their education and life. This book will help us see that: - Each student has a different idea of "normal," and it's probably different than you'd think. - Some students' priority is survival, not learning to read and calculate. - Students with behavioral disorders may require alternative methods of learning and care. - The adults in our kids' lives may not have the tools to help their child improve. - Children and youth may not trust the adults in their home, so they may not immediately trust you, either. So, how can we build the relationship so they can see we want help them? This bold book on education policy focuses on the importance of personalized instruction and introduces innovative ways to help each student learn. From improving adult education to saying hello to students in the hallway, author Susan Lockwood shares how you can make sure that no student ever feels kicked to the curb.

Adolescents obviously do not always act in ways that serve their own best interests, even as defined by them. Sometimes their perception of their own risks, even of survival to adulthood, is larger than the reality; in other cases, they underestimate the risks of particular actions or behaviors. It is possible, indeed likely, that some adolescents engage in risky behaviors because of a perception of invulnerabilityâ€"the current conventional wisdom of adults' views of adolescent behavior. Others, however, take risks because they feel vulnerable to a point approaching hopelessness. In either case, these perceptions can prompt adolescents to make poor decisions that can put them at risk and leave them vulnerable to physical or psychological harm that may have a negative impact on their long-term health and viability. A small planning group was formed to develop a workshop on reconceptualizing adolescent risk and vulnerability. With funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Workshop on Adolescent Risk and Vulnerability: Setting Priorities took place on March 13, 2001, in Washington, DC. The workshop's goal was to put into perspective the total burden of vulnerability that adolescents face, taking advantage of the growing societal concern for adolescents, the need to set priorities for meeting adolescents' needs, and the opportunity to apply decision-making perspectives to this critical area. This report summarizes the workshop.

The potential for early intervention to prevent social problems later in life has become the focus of much debate in recent years and finds itself at the centre of contemporary social policy. The meaning of ‘vulnerability’ – one of the key concepts in this drive – is examined in this book, as well as the relationship between vulnerability and the individual, communities and society. This book introduces students to a broad debate around what constitutes vulnerability and related concepts such as risk and resilience, and examines how vulnerability has been conceptualised by policy makers with a clear focus on early intervention. Adopting a case study approach, it opens with chapters examining the concept of vulnerability from sociological, psychological and social policy perspectives before looking at examples around disability, homelessness, leaving care, victims of violence, sexual abuse, prison, the Internet and drug use. Supporting students in engaging with and evaluating the conceptualisation and application of vulnerability in professional practice, this book is suitable for anyone either preparing for or currently working within the children’s workforce, from social work and health care to education and youth work.

"This bold book on education policy focuses on the importance of personalized instruction and introduces innovative ways to help each student learn. From improving adult education to saying hello to students in the hallway, author Susan Lockwood shares how you can make sure that no student ever feels kicked to the curb." -- Page 4 of cover.