COLORADO YOUTH LACK SUPPORT
FROM ADULTS AND COMMUNITIES

Assets for Colorado Youth Releases Results of Statewide Poll

DENVER - Nearly one-half of young people in Colorado don't think adults spend enough time with them, and close to one-third do not feel sufficiently valued, involved, or cared about.

These findings are part of a survey released today by Assets for Colorado Youth, which asked 825 Colorado young people, ages 11-18, about the degree to which adults and communities provide them with support and positive opportunities. The survey was sponsored by Norwest Banks and The Colorado Trust and conducted by Minneapolis-based Search Institute and the Norwest Public Policy Research Program at the University of Colorado-Denver. It is the second half of a two-part survey of adults and youth conducted across the state and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.

Assets for Colorado Youth conducted the polls as part of its five-and-one-half-year, $10 million statewide initiative that was developed in partnership with Search Institute and The Colorado Trust. Assets for Colorado Youth is designed to promote 40 developmental building blocks - or "assets" - that help children and adolescents to grow up healthy, caring, and responsible.

The youth poll found marked differences in how young people in various geographic sectors of the state perceive the way they are supported by adults. Just 64 percent of Denver youth responded that they have "five or more adults other than their parents who really care about them," versus 72 percent of youth in the Denver suburbs, 76 percent in the other Front Range counties, and 84 percent in rural areas of Colorado.

"Clearly, young people are saying they want adults in their lives with whom they can have positive and meaningful relationships," said Maria Guajardo Lucero, Ph.D, director of Assets for Colorado Youth.

Several findings from the Colorado adult poll, released in April, support the idea that youth are not a priority to adults. The adult poll found that a mere 20 percent of adults strongly agree that "youth are a top priority in their communities," and more than half of all adults do not volunteer with youth, do not support spending money on youth activities and are not interested in obtaining information about how to get involved with young people.

"We adults need to do a better job of showing we care through our actions - by getting involved with youth, making them feel important, fostering relationships with them, and treating them as a priority," said Guajardo Lucero.

In addition to questioning young people about their relationships with adults, the youth poll also asked them if they feel supported by their communities. Overall, a majority of youth strongly agree that their community is a good place to grow up. However, more white youth (74%) have this perception than youth of color (56%). Likewise, 76 percent of white youth strongly agree they feel safe in their neighborhoods, compared to 65 percent of youth of color.

"Our hope is that these findings will be a call to action for communities statewide to ensure all our young people are supported, respected and valued," said David Bailey, president and COO of Norwest Banks.

The youth poll also found that younger teens more strongly agree than older teens that there are a lot of activities available for them outside of school. Among 5th-7th graders, 61 percent strongly agree there are a lot of good activities for them, while only 38 percent of 8th-12th graders say they strongly agree.

According to Peter C. Scales, Ph.D., senior fellow at Search Institute, "The Colorado youth and adult polls are the first statewide studies undertaken to examine the quality of relationships among youth, adults and communities. The polls asked youth and adults similar questions to find out what youth and adults are doing - or can do - to ensure young people's healthy development."

Results of the Colorado youth and adult polls have been published in a report, "Voices of Hope: Building Developmental Assets for Colorado Youth." For a copy of the report, or for more information on the 40 developmental assets, call Assets for Colorado Youth (toll-free): 1-888-KID-7871.

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