What Effective Youth Mental Health Programs Have in Common

Com­mu­ni­ties across the coun­try are work­ing to enhance the men­tal health and well-being of young peo­ple. A new guide holds that their suc­cess depends not only on expand­ing access to ser­vices but also on how pro­grams are designed, who helps shape them and whether they reflect the cul­tures and com­mu­ni­ties of the young peo­ple they serve.

The guide, Sup­port­ing the Men­tal Well­ness of Young Peo­ple of Col­or: Key Pro­gram Ele­ments, was devel­oped by Kalei­do­scope Path­ways, LLC, with fund­ing from the Annie E. Casey Foun­da­tion. It draws on research, prac­ti­tion­er expe­ri­ence and input from youth and com­mu­ni­ty lead­ers to iden­ti­fy 14 inno­va­tions and fea­tures of suc­cess­ful pro­grams. Orga­ni­za­tions can com­plete an includ­ed self-assess­ment to eval­u­ate their pro­grams and iden­ti­fy oppor­tu­ni­ties to strength­en sup­port for young people.

“The need to fund suc­cess­ful pro­grams that cen­ter youth and those ded­i­cat­ed to sup­port­ing them has nev­er been clear­er,” said Don­na-Marie C. Winn, pres­i­dent and founder of Kalei­do­scope Path­ways. ​“The time is now. Our youth deserve it.”

What Are the Fea­tures of Suc­cess­ful Youth Men­tal Health Programs?

Suc­cess­ful Pro­grams Reflect Com­mu­ni­ty and Context

Young people’s men­tal health is influ­enced by every­thing around them: rela­tion­ships, com­mu­ni­ty, cul­ture and the sys­tems they might be involved in. Pro­grams must view youth with­in the con­text of their fam­i­lies and com­mu­ni­ties and rec­og­nize both the chal­lenges and strengths that influ­ence their devel­op­ment and well-being. 

Learn more about ground­ing youth well-being efforts in local contexts

Pro­grams build trust and rel­e­vance by:

• rec­og­niz­ing strengths rather than focus­ing only on challenges; 
• reflect­ing local cul­ture, his­to­ry and rela­tion­ships; and
• includ­ing youth and com­mu­ni­ty mem­bers in decision-making. 

“There is real val­ue when we con­nect com­mu­ni­ty knowl­edge and expe­ri­ence with empir­i­cal evi­dence when devel­op­ing and imple­ment­ing pro­grams,” said Kim­ber­ly Spring, direc­tor of Research and Eval­u­a­tion at Casey. ​“When pro­grams do that, they are more like­ly to be rel­e­vant and sus­tain­able and make a dif­fer­ence for young people.”

Suc­cess­ful Pro­grams Focus on Strengths

Effec­tive pro­grams build on young peo­ple’s strengths and resilience rather than view­ing them through a deficit-based lens. They avoid pathol­o­giz­ing youth and fam­i­lies and rec­og­nize how broad­er social, cul­tur­al and com­mu­ni­ty fac­tors shape well-being.

Young Peo­ple Help Shape Suc­cess­ful Programs

Orga­ni­za­tions can give young peo­ple a greater role in build­ing pro­grams by:

• tak­ing a broad­er view of men­tal well-being beyond clin­i­cal care;
• rec­og­niz­ing how race, gen­der, sex­u­al ori­en­ta­tion, dis­abil­i­ty and oth­er aspects of iden­ti­ty shape young peo­ple’s experiences;
• help­ing young peo­ple build skills such as com­mu­ni­ca­tion and self-advocacy;
• cre­at­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties for youth lead­er­ship and input; and
• build­ing safe spaces where young peo­ple can process stress, devel­op cop­ing skills and prac­tice respond­ing to dif­fi­cult situations

Suc­cess­ful Pro­grams Engage Fam­i­lies and Com­mu­ni­ty Members

Effec­tive pro­grams rec­og­nize the impor­tant role fam­i­lies and care­givers play in young people’s lives. They focus on what young peo­ple need right now, pro­vid­ing fam­i­lies with rel­e­vant infor­ma­tion, resources and sup­port inside and out­side pro­gram settings.

These pro­grams engage elders and incor­po­rate cul­tur­al tra­di­tions that help strength­en iden­ti­ty, self-esteem, fos­ter a sense of belong­ing and pride, build com­mu­ni­ty con­nec­tions and sup­port healing.

Suc­cess­ful Pro­grams Are Designed for Access and Longevity

Reach­ing more young peo­ple requires flex­i­ble yet strong, sus­tain­able approaches: 

• Use online and mobile tools to expand access and reduce bar­ri­ers to support.
• Adapt to the needs of dif­fer­ent communities.
• Plan for long-term sus­tain­abil­i­ty from the start.

Bal­anc­ing acces­si­bil­i­ty with long-term plan­ning helps pro­grams con­tin­ue to meet evolv­ing needs.

What Pro­gram Lead­ers Can Learn

There is no sin­gle mod­el for effec­tive youth men­tal health pro­grams. What mat­ters is how well they reflect the lives of the young peo­ple they serve. Design­ing with youth, ground­ing efforts in com­mu­ni­ty-defined and empir­i­cal evi­dence and expand­ing how sup­port is defined can help cre­ate pro­grams that are more rel­e­vant, more effec­tive and more like­ly to last.

Read a report on cul­tur­al­ly respon­sive youth men­tal health programs