Publications
& Resources
Materials
Youth Competency Assessment Training Manual
The Youth Competency Assessment (YCA) Training Manual is intended to supplement training in strength-based philosophy and the YCA that is provided by NPC Research, the developers of the YCA.
If you or your department/agency are planning to use the material in the Manual as part of a training that you are facilitating (without involving NPC), you will want to download the YCA Trainers' Guide that may also be found at this Web site. The Trainers' Guide briefly discusses each piece of the Manual and provides explanations for how to use the exercises. The Guide will enable you to make the best use of the material in the Manual that is possible without benefit of the formal training.
If you have any questions about the Training Manual, the Trainers' Guide, how to use this material, or how you may arrange for a training, please contact Juliette Mackin or Judy Weller at NPC Research, (503) 243-2436, mackin@npcresearch.com.
The PDF file below of the complete training manual is large and may take up to several minutes to open, depending on your Internet connection speed.
YCA Training Manual Complete (5.9 MB)
Individual Items for Training Manual (additional items will be added as permissions are obtained)
1. Front Cover
2. Title Page and Authors Internal Cover
3. Table of Contents (tab titles)
4. Exercise 1: Attitudes About Delinquents Inventory
5. The Power of Lenses to Shape Services to Youth
6. Branches of S-B Approach
7. Why Focus on Competencies? and What is the Youth Competency Assessment?
8. The Strengths Perspective
9. Approach and Philosophy
10. Ecology Staff Exercise
11. Ecology Exercise
12. Overview of Adolescent Development
13. Exercise 2: Emmanuel· Case #1· Case #2· Implications of Dissonance Between the Two Cases
14. What Strengths Aren't
15. What Strengths Are
16. Strengths Worksheet
18. Future Model
19. Problem-centered vs Strength-Based
20. YCA Visual Model 1-20-04
21. YCA FAQs
22. Strengths project findings summary
23. Domains Portrait 3-2-04
24a. YCA Notes Version 1-20-04
24b. YCA Short Version 6-20-05
25. YCA Long Version 1-20-04
26. YCA Supplemental Questions
27a. Youth Intake Interview Form
27b. Strengths Bill of Rights
28. Well-formed Goals
30. Sample YCA Follow-Up Form 4-26-06
31. Using SBA with Difficult Cases
32. Using a SBA with Resistant Parents
34. Types of Skills
35. LifeCircleYouth
37. LifeCircleParent
39. Resiliency Quiz
40. Strength-Based Strategies for Working with Clients
41. Solution-Focused Interviewing Reference
42a. Thinking About the Kinds of Questions We Ask Clients
42b. Helping as Solution-Building
42c. Get a Big Head Start
42d. Solution-Focused Approaches
42e. EARS
42f. Solution-Focused Substance User's Competency Worksheet
42g. Solution-Focused Questioning Lead-ins Drug Court
43. 40 Developmental Assets (April 06)
44. Best Practices Positive Youth Development
45. Asset-Based Youth Development 2_03
46. Restorative Justice Signposts
47. Strengths-Based Competencies for Alcohol & Drug Services
48a. Creating a Community Strengths Resource Guide 4-25-06
48b. Using the YCA for Implementing Competency Development (Case) Plans 4-25-06
49. Policy Level Implementation Guidelines 4-21-06
50a. YCA User Protocol 4-21-06
50b. Implementation & Supervision Strategies
51. Focusing on Strengths (Taxonomy of Strengths)
52a. ActionStratResources
52b. Five Steps Toward a Strengths-Based Approach
52c. Building Communities from the Inside Out - Charts
52d. Building Communities from the Inside Out - Article
53. References from YCA Training Material
54. Strength-Based Approaches...(biblio) Web link

