Every day, youth workers — adults who support young people beyond school hours, throughout the year, and outside traditional classroom settings — create spaces where young people feel safe, seen, and supported. Their efforts, often behind the scenes and overlooked, are foundational to positive youth development and community well-being.

During Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week, we paused to reflect on what it truly means to support young people and what it takes to ensure the adults working with them are supported, prepared, and valued in return.

At the Forum for Youth Investment’s recent Commit to Quality symposium, supported by The Wallace Foundation, youth development leaders from across the country reminded us that youth work is not just technical; it’s deeply relational. And it’s essential.

Youth Work Is a Calling and a Career

Findings from the Power of Us Workforce Survey, shared by Jill Richter of the American Institutes for Research, made it clear that youth work is a field rooted in passion and purpose. Many professionals entered the field in their teens or twenties, and they’re not just passing through. They’re here to stay.

“Respondents see youth work as a long-term career,” Jill shared. “They feel a deep sense of belonging and value in their roles, and most view themselves as part of a larger, national community.”

Despite this strong commitment, access to professional development remains uneven. Many youth workers rely on learning opportunities provided by their employers and face barriers like lack of funding or time to access additional support. If we want to sustain this dedicated workforce, we have to invest in their learning and leadership.

Program Quality Is Relational Work

While frameworks and assessments help us define quality, real change happens through connection. That was the central message from panelist Deyara Morris Burns of the Family League of Baltimore:

“Tools and frameworks are important, but quality work is fundamentally relational.”

From one-on-one coaching with site managers to adapting professional learning based on what staff are asking for, Deyara’s team centers relationships in all they do. Their commitment to responsive support includes tailoring Weikart Center training content to meet the evolving needs of experienced OST professionals — and doing it with joy, empathy, and urgency.

When Young People Help Define Quality, Everyone Benefits

Genesis Griffin, youth leadership coordinator with the Kalamazoo Youth Development Network, spoke from personal experience. A recent youth program participant herself, she now leads an initiative called Powered by Youth, which trains young people to assess youth programs and recommend improvements.

“We help youth understand what quality looks like in OST programs, and then invite them to tell us how to make it better,” Genesis shared. “They know what they need. We just have to create the space and trust them to lead.”

Young people involved in the initiative observed programs, revised language in assessment tools, and offered new insights on how staff can create welcoming, supportive spaces. They were paid for their time and treated as true contributors.

Systems Work Best When Everyone’s at the Table

John Lewis, Quality Counts Lead for the Denver Afterschool Alliance, reminded us that sustainable quality improvement doesn’t happen in isolation. It requires intentional investment at every level, from frontline staff to organizational leadership.

In Denver, that looks like a city-supported cohort of SEAL (Social and Emotional Academic Learning) champions. These OST leaders reflect on hiring practices, staff development, and how to build supportive environments across their organizations.

“We realized that without organizational buy-in, strong site-level efforts would fizzle out,” John shared. “Sustainability requires system-wide support and shared ownership.”

It’s a reminder that building better systems means looking beyond one-size-fits-all approaches and listening to what people actually need to succeed in their context.

Creating Spaces Where Everyone Belongs

All three panelists reflected on how the pandemic reshaped their work and the work ahead. Whether helping staff rebuild trust, addressing academic and mental health impacts, or embedding youth-led inquiry into programming, one message rose above all:

Youth work is sacred, human work. And it must be seen, supported, and sustained.

As we look forward, let’s carry the wisdom of these leaders with us:

• Center relationships with staff, with youth, and with the communities you serve.
• Invest in professional development not as a perk, but as a necessity.
• Listen actively and act on what you hear.
• Create space for authenticity because quality begins when people can show up as their full selves.

If we want to strengthen the youth development field, we need to center the people who make it work: the staff and leaders who create safe, welcoming spaces every day. That means investing in their development, listening to their feedback, and making sure they have what they need to help young people thrive.

Whether you’re a youth worker, coach, system leader, or advocate, your efforts are part of something bigger. You’re helping to build communities where young people, and the adults who support them, can thrive.

Explore More:

• Power of Us Workforce Survey
• Tools and Training from the Weikart Center
• Our statement on the FY2026 proposed skinny budget and the potential consolidation or elimination of 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) funding: Congress Must Protect Funding for Afterschool and Summer Learning