Community Programs to Promote Youth Development, edited for the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine by Jacquelynne Eccles and Jennifer Gootman (2002), is a thorough review of available research on community programs that promote positive outcomes for youth. This report presents a set of eight features of youth program settings that encourage positive youth development. The more settings youth experience that have these features, the more likely they are to gain strengths and assets that lead to well-being. Youth Who Thrive confirms that these eight features are well supported by current research evidence, and adds two more. However, there is still a lack of research that focuses on a wider range of youth populations over a longer period of time to understand which program elements contribute in which ways for particular youth.

For those who design and deliver programs, this review has an important message — it is the processes of interaction of the youth in the setting or program that is important. When adolescents walk in the door, it is not what they see that is important, it is how they become engaged. The features of the program set the stage for young people’s engagement.