	Social Development and Enrichment Services for Children and Youth

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-SDE 7: Family and Community Connections

Connections with families, community members, and other community providers increase the ability of the agency and community to support children and youth.

Note: See Research Note to PA-SDE.

PA-SDE 7.01

Family members of children and youth are informed about program activities and events and are appropriately involved with the program.

Interpretation: Appropriate family involvement may vary based upon the characteristics of the service population. For example, while agencies serving younger children may encourage parents to participate directly in the provision of services, it may be more appropriate for agencies serving older youth to involve family members by seeking their collaboration on an ongoing basis and inviting them to recognition ceremonies or milestone events. Although family involvement may sometimes be difficult to achieve, at a minimum family members should have opportunities to become involved with the program.

PA-SDE 7.02

The agency collaborates and partners with other community providers, institutions, and members to:

draw on a variety of existing community resources;
help young people develop connections with the community; and
assess the range of services available in the community, and advocate for additional supports and services needed to support children and youth.

Interpretation: Relevant community providers and institutions may include: other youth-serving providers, schools, libraries, parks and recreation services, cultural institutions (such as museums), local businesses, and faith-based institutions. When the program is housed at a site operated by another provider (such as a school), it may be especially important to collaborate and develop relationships with that provider's personnel.

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	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.


	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.


	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."


	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.


	SERVICE POPULATION A group or target population that the organization's services are designed to serve in accord with its mission, and which includes the organization's service recipients. An organization's service population may be defined by geographic location, specific problems or needs, religion, ethnicity, culture, or other factors.


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


	OLDER YOUTH In the context of Volunteer Mentoring Services, middle school and high school students.


	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