	Social Development and Enrichment Services for Children and Youth

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-SDE 5: Developmental and Educational Programming

Program activities provide opportunities to build skills, explore interests, experience a sense of self-efficacy and belonging, and contribute to the community.

PA-SDE 5.01

Children and youth have the opportunity to participate in a variety of engaging and challenging social, educational, and recreational activities, such as:

academic activities;
cultural enrichment activities;
sports and athletic activities;
social and recreational activities;
community service and citizenship activities;
life skills activities; and
career development activities.

Interpretation: A written program schedule should be distributed to participants and their parents or legal guardians. Ideally children and youth will have opportunities to choose among scheduled activities. Although it is important that activities be well planned, the program schedule can also allow time for unstructured play and socialization.

Research Note: Some research suggests that different types of activities may provide different kinds of opportunities and experiences, and that participating in a variety of activities is associated with positive opportunities and benefits. Accordingly, although programs may face pressure to concentrate on academics, related literature suggests that they should provide learning opportunities that differ from those offered during the school day, rather than focusing solely on remedial academic activities such as tutoring or homework help. A program seeking to improve academic outcomes might: (1) provide both academic and non-academic activities, (2) enrich academic activities with opportunities for fun and recreation, or (3) incorporate opportunities for learning into a range of non-academic activities. However, the literature also notes that it can be difficult for personnel to effectively infuse academics into recreational activities, and that there are few successful models of this strategy.

PA-SDE 5.02

When designing, developing, planning, and implementing program activities, the agency seeks the participation of:

involved children and youth;
family members; and
other community providers, including schools.

PA-SDE 5.03

Program involvement gives children and youth opportunities to:

develop new skills and interests;
make decisions and solve problems;
assume leadership roles;
become involved with their neighborhoods and communities; and
gain confidence in their personal abilities.

PA-SDE 5.04

Children and youth receive nutritious snacks or meals.

Research Note: Funding for snacks may be available through the United States Department of Agriculture’s Child and Adult Care Food Program, National School Lunch Program, or Summer Food Service Program.

PA-SDE 5.05

The agency evaluates children and youth for their ability to participate in recreational or athletic activities and obtains written, signed permission slips from participants’ parents or legal guardians.

Interpretation: If children and youth participate in strenuous athletic activities, or if their parents or legal guardians are not reachable, it may also be appropriate to obtain a medical records release or a signed document from a qualified medical professional stating that the participant is physically capable of participating.

PA-SDE 5.06

The program’s value to children, youth, and the community is considered periodically based on a review of:

the number and characteristics of program participants and whether participants are representative of the agency's target population; and
the content and quality of activities offered and whether the content and quality of activities is congruent with program goals and community needs.

QUICK JUMP TO


	PURPOSE: Children and youth who participate in Social Development and Enrichment Services gain the personal and social abilities and attitudes needed to form positive identities, build skills, navigate challenging situations, avoid negative behaviors, assume leadership roles, embrace diversity, and establish healthy connections with others in the community.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	LEADERSHIP A nonprofit organization's leadership consists of its governing body, chief executive officer, and may also include its senior management. In a public agency the term refers to the agency head and administration team. The term "leadership" is not generally applied to for-profit organizations. With respect to COA standards, in for-profit organizations the term leadership applies to the owner and board of directors if one exists.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	PARENTS Parents can include: birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Please see service standards for more specific information about use of this term.


	LEGAL GUARDIAN A person who has legal responsibility for the care and management of a person incapable of administering his/her own affairs. In the case of a minor child, the guardian is charged with the legal responsibility for the care and management of the child and of the minor child's estate.


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	PERSONNEL The body of employees and/or volunteers that carries out the organization's tasks under the organization's administration and/or supervision. This definition does not include foster parents who are specifically referenced in relevant standards


	PLANNING The process of specifying objectives, evaluating the means for their achievement, and exercising deliberate decision making about appropriate courses of action.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	QUALITY In this context, the extent to which contemporary and generally recognized standards for professional practice are met and exceeded, and desirable service outcomes achieved.