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1. Take a Trauma-Informed Approach

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3. See Young Adults as Individuals

2. Focus on Strengths and Assets

The next step is to work with young adults to define success metrics that reflect their goals.Chances are, many of the young adults you work with have been trained to view themselves negatively. Helping them shift that thinking is critical to assisting them to overcome past trauma and internalize that they can succeed.

Jump to: Takeaways

Who is this play for?

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Organizational Leaders

Direct-support Staff

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Marketing and Communication Staff

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Young Adult Employers

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Many OY have been conditioned by society to adopt a “deficit-based” mindset. They have been defined by what they lack or by other people’s negative perceptions of people their age. This causes them to see themselves as “the problem.”

Even worse, sometimes well-meaning organizations fall into this trap. They present their work as an attempt to “fix” youth and young people. In reality, this is still maintaining a deficit-based approach.

Focusing on strengths means seeing young adults for what they bring—not just the challenges they face. Every participant arrives with skills, knowledge, values, and lived experience that can be activated and grown. This play shifts the story from “what’s wrong” to “what’s possible,” and aligns daily practice—language, intake, goals, roles, and measurement—to that belief.

Why this
matters:

Deficit-framing discourages participation.

Constantly emphasizing gaps undermines motivation and trust.

Staff morale improves.

Looking for potential instead of problems sustains hope and reduces burnout.

Strength-based practices build engagement.

When young adults feel seen for their value, they lean in.

It leads to better outcomes.

Confidence, persistence, and completion rise when growth is visible and celebrated.

More effective program design consider YA's strengths.

Programs built on people's real assets are more relevant and effective.

Put it into action

Here are 5 steps to use to bring this play to life in your program. Click through each tab to learn more.

1) Reframe your language and materials using asset framing.

Words shape reality. Audit your website, flyers, slide decks, and intake scripts: wherever you’ve described people by what they lack (at risk, disconnected, low-skill), replace with language that recognizes aspirations and contributions (building skills, seeking stable work, committed to family). Add brief “why it matters” notes for staff so the shift is shared and intentional, not cosmetic.

Create a one-page style guide with examples of “say/do say” and keep it current. Asset-Framing® (coined by Trabian Shorters and BMe Community) offers a practical philosophy: define people by their aspirations and contributions before noting any challenges; tie resources to enabling goals, not “fixing” people. Start here for a primer and tools: https://www.bmecommunity.org/asset-framing. For message clarity, pair that approach with the FrameWorks Institute’s practical guidance on framing and plain language: https://www.frameworksinstitute.org.

A quick plain-language checklist helps keep copy readable on phones: https://centerforplainlanguage.org/. (CA note: see tools and tips to direct people to all the links/resources

2) Run a strengths-centered intake and assessment.

Forms collect data; conversations uncover assets. Begin intake by inviting stories of ability and pride: “What are you most proud of right now?”, “Where do people already come to you for help?”, “What work feels meaningful to you?” These prompts surface transferable skills—caregiving, problem-solving, digital savvy, conflict navigation—that may never appear on a résumé.

Use structured tools that keep the focus on relationships and capabilities. The Search Institute’s Developmental Relationships Framework provides concrete prompts for expressing care, challenging growth, and expanding possibilities:

https://www.searchinstitute.org/developmental-relationships/. Consider Casey Life Skills for a youth-friendly, strengths-based self-assessment you can adapt for ages 16–24: https://www.casey.org/casey-life-skills/.

Explain privacy and choice up front, and keep the process trauma-informed so young adults never feel “tested” or labeled: a concise overview is available from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network: https://www.nctsn.org/trauma-informed-care.

3) Co-create goals that build from strengths—and make wins visible.

Translate intake insights into a short, shared plan that ties existing strengths to near-term action. Instead of “improve time management,” anchor a goal in an asset: “You already organize siblings’ schedules; let’s port that skill to planning your study/work blocks.” Chunk goals into two-week steps, and close every coaching session with a written “who/what/when” plus the next check-in.

Use simple, phone-friendly tools to sustain momentum (a shared Google Doc, Trello board, or one-page PDF). Coach with SMART objectives so wins are concrete and trackable (quick primer: https://www.cdc.gov/phps/ace/strategic-planning/smart-objectives.html).

To keep growth reflective and youth-led, pull short activities from YouthPower’s Positive Youth Development toolkit—great for weaving reflection into coaching or cohorts without adding lots of time: https://www.youthpower.org/resources/positive-youth-development-toolkit.

4) Embed strengths in daily roles—create real opportunities to contribute.

Move beyond compliments to activation. Offer micro-roles that tap participants’ strengths: tech captain for onboarding tablets, community liaison for event outreach, peer facilitator for a topic they know well, shop lead for a task they’ve mastered. Keep assignments short and specific at first (e.g., one event, one module, one week), then build from there. These contributions transform “clients” into co-creators and make talent visible to staff and employers.

Compensate where appropriate (stipends, gift cards, paid near-peer roles) and recognize growth with micro-credentials or digital badges that name the competency demonstrated (e.g., “Facilitated a 20-minute peer lesson with feedback”). If you credential, use recognizable standards like Open Badges so achievements are portable: https://www.1edtech.org/initiatives/digital-credentials/openbadges.

For mentoring as a pathway to leadership, see MENTOR’s practice guides and near-peer models: https://nationalmentoringresourcecenter.org/ and https://www.mentoring.org/.

5) Measure, celebrate, and communicate strengths-based growth.

What you count signals what you value. Track participation and outcomes, but also capture “growth indicators” tied to assets: leadership moments, peer support provided, initiative taken, quality of collaboration, and confidence gains. Collect artifacts in a simple portfolio—a slide deck, Google Site, or folder with (goal → artifact → reflection)—and end each cycle with a short “showcase” to peers, staff, or partners.

Evaluate program climate with tools that emphasize youth experience (e.g., Youth Program Quality Assessment for safe, supportive, interactive, and engaging settings: https://forumfyi.org/weikartcenter/). When you share results, use equitable data practices so the story doesn’t slip back into deficits: the We All Count framework offers practical steps for inclusive, strength-forward reporting: https://weallcount.com/.

Close the loop with a monthly “You Said / We Did” that spotlights changes you made because young adults contributed their insights.

Tip: Make the shift observable. A four-item checklist on every agenda (asset language, strength-first check-in, one strength-anchored goal, one growth celebration) keeps the practice alive without adding meetings or paperwork.

Exploring strength-based learning language

BONUS

It’s common for the past and current struggles of Opportunity Youth to be framed using deficiency-based language. This can lead to them internalizing the feedback and thinking of themselves as deficient. That thinking can lead to them shutting down and giving up. Communicating with them using strengths-based terms helps keep them engaged and reminds them that while they may be experiencing problems, they are not inherently the problem.

Strengths-based framing

Deficiency-based framing

Dropped out of school.

From a broken home.

No clear career goals

Exploring alternative education and career paths.

Navigating complex family dynamics with resilience.

Exploring interests and options for the future.

Keep in mind:

Strengths-based language (sometimes also referred to as “asset-based” language) avoids blaming challenges on an individual or community. I However, it does not ignore systemic barriers that impact communities.Programs should recognize both individual strengths and system-level challenges.

Takeaways:

Many people have been trained to use deficit-based thinking: here is what is wrong with me.
Strength and asset-based approaches begin by identifying strengths, skills, and assets that can be cultivated.
From intake, staff coach participants by helping them identify specific strengths, link those skills to their goals, design tasks to cultivate them, and measure their progress.
It’s important for participants and staff to regularly practice framing and reframing the way participants talk about their skills to identify when they shift back into a deficit approach.
Strength and asset-based framing is an integral part of trauma-informed approaches.

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