NEW ULM -The public had the opportunity Sunday evening to hear a presentation at the District 88 Administrative Center highlighting the results from a recent county-wide survey of area youth.
The program, which was billed as "What's Up With Our Kids?' attracted fewer than 100 people.
A Search Institute Attitudes and Behavior survey was given to youth from seven schools in Brown County last October. Private and public students in grades seven, eight, 10 and 11 from New Ulm, Sleepy Eye, Springfield and Comfrey participated in the survey, for a total of 1,205 students.
"This evening is more than just hearing the results of the survey," said Executive Director of Healthy Communities/Healthy Youth (HCHY) Mike Brigger, "We're here to tell youth they are valued. We need to tell youth that what they say is valuable. We need to engage the youth. They have a lot of important things to say to us."
HCHY, a youth programming group supported by the United Way and other agencies, spearheaded the 2009 survey.
Shelby Andress, who is a Search Institute trainer, presented information relating to the survey results and trends for the county.
"It is a huge undertaking to do what we've done here," said Andress, "It's a lot of work. I think of you all here tonight as the trustees of this information."
Throughout the presentation she asked people to get into small groups and discuss various questions. Students, teachers, health care professionals, law enforcement officials, parents and others were in the audience.
"I have a great and positive sense of what can happen in the next three to five years in this county," said Andress, "I am hopeful. My sense is you have a lot of key people who love this community and want the best for the youth here. I wish you well. Thank you for your devotion for being here."
The survey asked young people to respond to questions with the goal to evaluate the presence or absence of 40 "assets" known to be necessary for healthy development in youth.
Students answered a total of 159 questions, Andress said.
Some assets are "external" in nature, such as empowerment, boundaries and expectations. But other assets were listed as "internal," like a commitment to learning, a positive identity as well as values, and social competencies.
In this community, 9 percent of the surveyed students reported 31 or more of the 40 assets. There were 14 percent of the students who reported zero to 10 assets. Another 37 percent of the students surveyed who reported 21 to 30 of these assets. About 40 percent of the students reported 11 to 20 percent of the assets.
Basically, the more assets a young person has in life, the more likely he or she will grow up to be a healthy, caring and responsible individual.
"Everyone can become an intentional asset builder," said Andress, "You definitely do have assets in your community."
Youth with higher asset levels would be less likely to take part in "high-risk" behaviors including violence, sexual activity, drug use and suicide attempts. These youth are more likely to take part in "thriving" behaviors such as helping others, doing a good job in school and taking on roles of leadership.
One positive thing revealed in the survey results was that 70 percent of the youth surveyed felt that they have family support - that their family life provides high levels of love and support.
"To me, this is really, really important," said Andress.
The survey also revealed that 15 percent of the students surveyed in the "constructive use of time" category for the asset "Creative Activities" said that they spend three or more hours per week in lessons or practice in music, theater or other arts.
"I really want to thank you all for showing up tonight," said Brigger, "It wasn't large numbers here. I know we can move forward. We can improve these numbers. I know it's inside of us."
Data collected from the survey can be studied by many different groups within the community.
Each school will get a report of its own as well as the county-wide results.
