The youth development approach has gained traction over the past twenty-plus years, across a range of youth-serving fields, including public health. While it is important for Adolescent Health Coordinators and other practitioners and policy makers focused on youth to be familiar with youth development concepts, it is critically important that they know how to apply those concepts in the context of their work. This paper describes concrete ways to incorporate youth development principles into state adolescent health programs, and is relevant across a range of issues (e.g. teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, violence, substance abuse, etc.).