The YES Adaptation Guide is now available to assist organizations and communities in making decisions about selecting, implementing and adapting the Youth Empowerment Solutions (YES) program. The Guide is designed for individuals who are responsible for choosing, supervising and carrying out youth programs. This guide is intended to be used in conjunction with the Youth Empowerment Solutions for Peaceful Communities curriculum. It includes sections on YES core components, assessing readiness to implement YES, determining the need for adaptations, designing adaptations and reflecting on their results.
The YES Adaptation Guide was developed at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and supported by a partnership among the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the CDC Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Violence Prevention.
We are indebted to the Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere (STRYVE) sites based in the following local public health departments: Boston Public Health Commission, Boston, MA Multnomah County Health Department, Portland, OR Monterey County Health Department, Salinas, CA Houston Department of Health and Human Services, Houston, TX.
STRYVE is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We would also like to thank our colleagues in schools and community organizations in Flint and Genesee County, Michigan, who have carried out the YES program with over 400 youth to date. Much of our knowledge about adaptations has been based on their input.
The Adaptation Guide is available for download from the University of Michigan Technology Transfer website.