Teen Leadership Program

Older youth who participate in teen leadership programs are still youth participants and not staff or volunteers. Therefore, even though they are often given more responsibility, teens in the leadership programs must be provided with guidelines regarding appropriate behavior, and then supervised accordingly. In addition, staff and volunteers must understand and recognize that these teens are still youth and not their peers. Therefore, the following guidelines are recommended for teen leadership programs:

a. Create a screening process for teen leaders which includes:

• A standard application.

• An interview with behaviorally based interview questions.

• References (from teachers, counselors, family, friends, etc.).

b. Train teen leaders in their role in programs and on program policies about appropriate and inappropriate interactions. This training should include the following information:

• Appropriate and inappropriate physical and verbal interactions and the importance of maintaining behavioral boundaries between teen leaders and younger youth and between teen leaders and staff and volunteers.

• Prohibiting teen leaders from being one-on-one with youth.

• Prohibiting teen leaders from escorting youth to the bathrooms.

• Prohibiting teen leaders from assisting youth with changing their clothes.

c. Create a system to monitor the teen leaders that includes:

• Designate a specific employee or volunteer who is in charge of the teen leadership program and its participants.

• Require teen leaders to wear clothing or lanyards that identify them as leaders-in-training and differentiate them from both staff, volunteers, and from younger youth.

• A staff person should be assigned to work directly with each teen leader.

• Consider requiring teen leaders to keep a log documenting their daily activities and any problems they encounter. The program supervisor should review these logs daily.