Making Research Practical: Assets Based Development in Action!

NCFR is excited to devote several sessions during the Saturday of its 2022 annual conference toward connecting researchers and practitioners together on issues related to youth and families in Minneapolis, this year's host city.

Three Saturday sessions at NCFR 2022 will shine a spotlight on practitioners who work with youth and families with the goal of "making research practical" and showing assets-based development in action. Practitioners and researchers alike are invited to attend and connect on the topic of  youth development.

Agenda Overview

1. Coffee and Networking Time — Time TBA

2. Closing Plenary with Derek Peterson — 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. CT

3. Special Session featuring Minneapolis-area youth agency — 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. CT

4. Postconference Workshop with Derek Peterson — 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. CT

How to Register

$ 75 for Professionals or Students if not registered for the conference
$ 40 for Professionals or Students if registered for full conference or Sat. 1-day attendance

Conference registrants may attend the first three sessions as a benefit of their registration. Please RSVP so we can plan for the coffee and networking time.

You can add any pre- or post conference workshop when you register for the conference, or add it to your registration separately.

To add items to a completed registration, log in my.ncfr.org, click the Events menu item, then click Edit next to the conference event for which you'd like to modify your registration.

Session Details

Session 1: Closing Plenary — 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. CT

Playing With Light: Making the Invisible Visible

Plenary presenter Derek Peterson, M.Ed., uses a multidimensional, multi-theoretical approach in his Integrative Youth Development framework. Why do some teens come through these tough years seemingly unscathed while others constantly struggle or don't make it through at all? How can a thick and vibrant Full Color Web of Support™ promote thriving? Read full abstract.

Session 2: Local Initiative Special Session — 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. CT

Learning is a Two-Way Street: Lessons From "Boots on The Ground" Experts

Panel: Sue Abderholden, M.P.H., NAMI Minnesota; Jose Tori Maguiña, Ed.D., Latino Youth
Development Collaborative; Lisa Mears, M.A., Bridge for Youth Homeless Shelter

During this session, representatives from a Minneapolis-area agency that work with youth and families will discuss their program along with issues the program is facing and a description of program needs. The goal of the session is for conference participants to learn more about the agencies, their work and experiences of the families with whom the local representatives work, and to begin a dialogue and relationship between local agencies and NCFR members. There will be ample opportunity for panelists and audience members to participate, contribute, and interact with each other in meaningful ways.   

Session 3: Postconference Workshop — 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. CT

Increasing Youth’s Success by Building Their Web of Support

Derek Peterson, M.Ed., is the founder of the Integrative Youth Development Program (IYD). The IYD program is a holistic, strengths-based approach to creating a healthy developmental ecology for children and youth. All children and youth deserve to live a healthy life and have the support of myriad caring adults—that is, a Web of Support. The Web of Support connects every child and youth to at least five positive, caring adults (anchors) who have high expectations of the children and youth and provide unconditional love and support. Anchors teach, model, and provide research-based support to build strings in the web of support that are needed in the lives of children and youth. This web helps children and youth to avoid risk-taking behaviors and increase self-agency and resilience to be more successful in school and in life. We say that “the LOVEs are in the details.”

In this post-conference, you will learn more about the full spectrum approach to youth development and the Web of Support. Specifically, you will learn about the comprehensive phramework and seven phactors that help to support young people from all cultures. Peterson will discuss the elements, conditions, pillars, development assets, assets, virtues, and supports on this approach. You will also learn about how to use the metrics and measures of IYD™ for when working with youth and anchoring adults.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Give the Napkin Talk;
• Measure the 7 colors in the life of a child or youth;
• Describe your Web of Support as a youth;
• Apply the metrics of IYD™ in a safe and respectful way;
• Connect with other local practitioners; and
• Carry the learning forward.

For more information, please see the Institute for Community and Adolescent Resiliency—Unifying Solutions.