Program Description

The Youth Health and Development Program Initiative is intended to promote research into conditions that affect the health and well-being of our youth and adolescent population. Diseases such as Juvenile Diabetes, Juvenile Arthritis, and Autism are included in the target areas of research for this Program Initiative. Any condition that affects children is a cause for concern and warrants attention.

The number of children diagnosed with autism has been increasing for the past several years. The cause for this increase is as yet undetermined and remains controversial. Recent evidence indicates that chemical sensitivities may play a role in disease progression. The Institute is therefore interested in the role that environmental factors and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity plays in formation and progression of autism.

The Youth Asset Development program is intended to promote the well-being of our youth by implementing programs that develop a positive attitude, self-esteem, and positive health behavior outcomes. The main strategy used to accomplish this goal will be to apply an asset-based approach to youth development that focuses on positive attributes and develops additional assets in the participating youth. In order to develop assets in young persons, the project will feature some of the following key strategies:

• Establishment of an on-going and consistent program for development of positive youth assets, specifically those related to drug, alcohol, and smoking behaviors.
• Involvement of parents, teachers and the community directly in developing and delivering the program.
• Alignment of program materials with local academic standards and school health initiatives.
• Establishment of train-the-trainer programs to match the curriculum used in the school settings.
• Establishment of an interactive internet-based curriculum support program.
• Assessment of outcomes using established methodologies and benchmarks of success, development of new benchmarks when appropriate, and enhancement of the program based on the assessment.

Support for this program has been received from:

• Anonymous Private Donations
• IFSH General Fund

Projects

We are currently seeking additional support for implementation of this program.