Guidance for Youth Programs

Stay at Home Order has Expired. Programs Think about "What's next?"

As the Stay at Home order expired on May 18, many of us are wondering what businesses and social spaces opening up may look like.  In order to help organizations make healthy decisions in order to serve their youth, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) have made recommendations for youth programs on how and when they should reopen. The questions posed in these materials are important to consider when your organization plans to reopen.

The CDC provided this flow-chart graphic to ask important questions on whether your facility will be ready for opening including, what personal protective equipment (PPE) will you need to provide youth that you are serving and other important procedures. After you have met specific safety protocol, the important question to consider is how you will monitor and create policies if there are sick individuals at your site or in the community.

MN Guidelines for Reopening

The MDH has provided information that is specifically related to Minnesota guidelines for reopening after the Stay at Home order ends.  This guide asks youth workers to consider logistics such as room layout, meals, and individual materials to prevent sharing.  MDH urges the importance of daily wellness checks and plans, as well, about plans are put in place to make this transition successful. Youth Programming Guidance Webinar Recording from MN Dept of Health and Slide Deck from that presentation

Exlusion Guidance - Decision Tree for When Youth or Staff cannot participate in programming 

Guidance for Social Distancing in Youth SportsGuidance for Social Distancing in youth Sports.pdf

Growing Youth Worker Skills Remotely

Youth Work in the Time of COVID-19:How the Values of Youth Work can Shape our Practice During COVID-19

This Youth Work in the Time of Covid - Planning Guide is a guide to give you and your colleagues something to work from and play off as you make decisions and choices about how to do your work in the next 6-12 months.  It is not perfect, it is meant as a new idea generator and to take some of the pressure off you to design programs when it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Check HERE for a variety of supportive documents. Join a convresation either Tue 26th or Thur 28th to dig into these materials.

Looking for training and supports.... check here for more  Info and workshop registrations HERE.

These materials ask that programs and decision-makers be innovative and flexible as we figure out what our new normal is.  Professional Development, Brown bags and “sandbox” meetings in which youth workers can explore new ideas and resources for distance learning are hosted by those in the Sprockets network.  Please visit THIS PAGE to share your ideas for youth programming and distance learning!