Afterword: Toward an Asset-Based Policy Agenda for Children, Families, and Communities

Abstract

This volume has presented a practical and pathbreaking approach to linking youth and community development strategies pioneered by Search Institute. The volume also offers critical reflections by researchers and practitioners on the importance and applicability of this approach to youth and community development. In addition to the enormous potential value that this approach has for communities seeking to fashion new strategies for creating and promoting the resources for youth development, the assumptions, ideas, and evidence presented also have broader implications for national, state, and local public policy focused on work, family, health, and education.