[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-590481-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-590481-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","growing-our-own-former-participants-as-staff-in-afterschool-youth-development-programs","Growing Our Own Former Participants as Staff in Afterschool Youth Development Programs","","The text describes a routine site visit to an afterschool youth development program serving middle-school students and illustrates how former participants who become staff can positively de-escalate conflict in real time. It profiles Susan Matloff-Nieves and connects her observations to broader research and program models, arguing that hiring youth participants as staff benefits both the agency and the youth through development, employment opportunity, and sustained community-oriented practice.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/growing-our-own-former-participants-as-staff-in-afterschool-youth-development-programs/590481/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/growing-our-own-former-participants-as-staff-in-afterschool-youth-development-programs/590481.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Pentious","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-22","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":22},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What happens during the described cafeteria observation in the afterschool program?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"Two older boys begin play-fighting, and Scott calmly intervenes to separate them and speak quietly. Luis asks if help is needed, but Scott handles the situation effectively, and the boys return to their seats.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"Why does the author emphasize hiring former participants as staff?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"The text argues it provides a dual benefit: it supports the agency with workers already aligned to the program’s mission, and it advances youth through opportunities for social, cognitive, and employment-related development.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"What earlier research and historical sources are cited to support the practice?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"The text references studies and program overviews, including Beacon Profiles and research on Beacons in New York City, and a historical account of afterschool programs tracing the practice back to the early 1900s due to resource constraints and practical necessity.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},590481,1792678665,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":22,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":123,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},1374404730887,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","growing  \nour own Former Participants  \nas Staff in Afterschool Youth Development Programs  \nby Susan Matloff-Nieves  \nWe are in the cafeteria of a middle school in Queens, New York. I am making a routine site visit to an afterschool program that serves 100 sixth-through eighthgrade students five days a week. The participants sit at long cafeteria tables in small groups.  \nTwo of the older boys begin play-fighting, delivering air kicks and waving their arms at eachother. Within seconds, Scott is moving toward them. Approaching from another direction is his colleague Luis. Both are college students, age 20.  \n“Do you need help, Scott?” asks Luis.  \n“No, thanks, I got it covered,” replies Scott. He calmly separates the two boys, stepping between them and speaking to them in a low voice. They respond quickly, dropping their flailing limbs and returning quietly to their seats. (program observation, Spring 2003)  \nWhile scenes like this are common in well-run afterschool and youth development programs, I am impressed. I have known Scott since he was a shy tenyear-old in the Forest Hills Community House (FHCH) summer day camp. In those days, Scott seemed to avoid conflict and often kept to himself while other kids engaged in horseplay. As a teen, he was an active participant in every youth development activity available, forming close relationships with adult mentors. However, it was his role as an afterschool program staff member, in which he applied the lessons learned in his earlier youth development activities, that solidified his leadership skills.  \nObserving Scott and other graduates of our teen programs as they integrated what they learned in FHCH programs into their work as staff members with younger children sparked my interest in the  \nSUSAN MATLOFF-NIEVES, LMSW, is the assistant executive director for youth services at the Forest Hills Community House in Queens, New York, where she has worked with youth for 15 years. Prior to joining FHCH, she spent 13 years as a community organizer. She holds an MSW degree from Hunter School of Social Work. Her current research interests include professional development and youth development workforce issues.  \nbenefits of the practice of hiring participants as staff. for income-eligible teens, helps programs meet manAnother participant-turned-staff-member spoke to me dated staff-to-child ratios. The advent of the Beacon about the impact of his job as a youth worker on areas youth development model, which serves young people of his life that had been a source of past difficulty. These continuously from age 5 through 21 and even potentwo threads led me to explore what it means to youth tially into adulthood, created opportunities for youth participants to be hired as staff. who “aged out” of childcare programs to volunteer or  \nHiring former participants as staff provides a dual work in afterschool programs. Eighty Beacon centers in benefit, to the agency and to the youth. The program New York City, operated by community-based organigets a worker who is already well oriented to the pro- zations in public school buildings, offer comprehensive gram’s and agency’s mission, policies and procedures, youth and community development activities after and philosophy of youth development. The young peo- school as well as evenings and weekends. Though aple benefit from an exemplary youth development prac- search of the Harvard Family Research Project database tice that offers an opportunity to make a real (2006) reveals few studies of the practice of hiring forcontribution to the life of their mer participants, two studies of  \ncommunity while developing their Beacon programs confirm that the  \nsocial, cognitive, and employment Lack of resources and low practice can serve as a youth develskills. Working in an afterschool budgets made employing opment strategy that provides ageprograworldmofhcelps brhildhoidgodeathnde prothetecteinded- former participants a cost- appyourtoprh toiacteontianvueenuthee","cbCaijLiefZXKSRq","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijLiefZXKSRq","pdf",709295,"English","# Program Observation\n## Hiring Former Participants as Staff\n# Benefits and Evidence\n## Community Involvement and Workforce Development\n# Historical Context\n## Origins of the Practice","[{\"question\":\"What happens during the described cafeteria observation in the afterschool program?\",\"answer\":\"Two older boys begin play-fighting, and Scott calmly intervenes to separate them and speak quietly. Luis asks if help is needed, but Scott handles the situation effectively, and the boys return to their seats.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the author emphasize hiring former participants as staff?\",\"answer\":\"The text argues it provides a dual benefit: it supports the agency with workers already aligned to the program’s mission, and it advances youth through opportunities for social, cognitive, and employment-related development.\"},{\"question\":\"What earlier research and historical sources are cited to support the practice?\",\"answer\":\"The text references studies and program overviews, including Beacon Profiles and research on Beacons in New York City, and a historical account of afterschool programs tracing the practice back to the early 1900s due to resource constraints and practical necessity.\"}]","Growing Our Own Former Participants as Staff in Afterschool Youth Development Programs | PDF",1792069724,25]