In this activity, you are asked to learn more about home-, school-, and community-based events and programs in your community, drawing on the descriptions of these program models in this week’s notes. Then, you will describe one of the programs in your community to your classmates.

Step 1:

Think about the CYC programs, services, and events in your community. Try to identify at least one formal and one informal initiative delivered in the home, school, or community. In your learning journal, reflect on the following questions:

For home-based delivery:

• Who is involved in home-based delivery?
• What examples are there in your community?
• How are they managed?
• What are the benefits and issues of such programs?

Think about any school-based programs in your community:

• How are they managed?
• Who do the programs serve?
• What is the role of the school staff?
• What are the benefits and issues in having programs at a school site?

Think of your community celebrations, gatherings, and community meetings:

• What is happening in your community now?
• Who is involved in this and how does it work?
• How was this created? By whom?

Step 2:

Review the programs, services, and events you identified in your learning journal. Describe one of these initiatives in 200-300 words. Include your reflections on the perspectives reflected in the program/initiative, and how they fit with the overall context of your community. Is the program oriented to individual and community strengths? How can you tell? Why or why not? In what ways does the program reflect a developmental perspective? Does the program/initiative explicitly reflect an ecological perspective? Does a program/initiative reflect an ecological perspective simply by being located in the community? Why or why not?

In describing the program/initiative, and in discussing how the program/initiative reflects the perspectives considered so far in the course, remember to draw on the writing and organizing skills we have reviewed last week and this week (see class notes).