Despite the growing number of organizations that classify themselves as youth development organizations in the country, we know very little about them, particularly as hosts of positive youth development (PYD) programming (Roholt, Baizerman, Rana & Korum, 2013). Absent from the literature is an understanding of how youth development organizations are responding to environmental shifts that have occurred over the past 20 years as the PYD movement has gained ground and legitimacy. Out of this movement has emerged an asset-based framework for working with young people. This framework is starkly different from the traditional view of youth, which historically has treated this age group as deficient and as passive recipients of services. PYD, on the other hand, sees youth as active contributors to society. PYD’s focus is on helping youth gain the skills and competencies necessary to transition successfully into adulthood. This study explored how PYD is influencing the work of community based youth development organizations. In addition, this study looked at how institutional pressures are influencing the way organizations are responding to PYD. The following research questions grounded the study: 1) How is PYD influencing community-based youth development organizations? 2) Are community-based youth development organizations responding similarly to the PYD logic? 3) How are isomorphic pressures influencing the adoption of PYD in community-based youth development organizations? 4) What is the relationship between the isomorphic pressures organizations face and the degree to which PYD strategies are implemented in daily practice? This study used a qualitative multiple case study method to examine three community-based youth organizations in a northeastern city of the United States. This study yielded three main findings: 1) PYD is influencing the work of community-based youth organizations; 2) implementation of PYD varies across organizations; and 3) institutional pressures explain some, but not entirely how PYD is being adopted in community-based youth development organizations. The findings from this study provide important insights on how PYD is influencing community-based organizations by describing how organizations are translating PYD into practice and how this relates to institutional pressures faced by these organizations.

<div>The purpose of this research was to develop and validate an instrument designed to assess programming of youth development organizations. The instrument can be used by leaders of youth development organizations to monitor the organization’s performance in developing productive and engaged citizens. This research viewed youth development organizations as a microsystem that youth interact with (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006). A complete review of the literature on youth development organizations was conducted to determine the components of positive youth development organizations. The resulting conceptual framework consisted of project, skills and knowledge, community contribution, high-density experiences, environment, non-parental adult, and near-peer role models.</div><div><br></div><div>An item pool was developed based on the literature available on youth development organization programming. This item pool was reviewed by experts in youth development organization programming and inclusion. Then the items were entered into two tools to assess grammar and concise language. Third, the items were administered to a small sample then analyzed for correlations and contributions to reliability. Items were eliminated if they correlated too highly with other items and if they did not contribute to the reliability of the scale. Fourth, the items were administered to a broader sample and correlations and reliability measures were analyzed again with more items removed. Finally, the items were administered to another sample and analyzed for multicollinearity and reliability. The final sample took the survey a second time and responses were compared based on paired t-tests to establish test-retest reliability.<br></div><div><br></div><div>The 15-item instrument exhibits appropriate measures of validity and reliability to recommend its usage by youth development organization leaders to evaluation programming. The instrument is parsimonious so leaders can add program-specific questions while avoiding participant fatigue. A complete version of the instrument is available in the appendices.</div>