A science-based understanding of adolescent development can help us create policies and programs that more effectively help young people thrive. STEPS for Youth (Science to Enhance Policy Success) helps you bring developmental science into your policy or program design sessions with insights from the science of adolescent development, curated by the experts at UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent.
About STEPS for Youth
STEPS for Youth consists of a resource library and digital check-in tool designed to support policymakers, practitioners, administrators, and organizations as they integrate insights from the science of adolescence into their youth-serving policies and programs.
Learn More About Aligning Science and Policy to Help Youth Thrive
Decades of research shows that adolescence–approximately ages 10 to 25–is a period of remarkable opportunity. The cognitive, physical, and psychological changes that take place during these years help adolescents to learn from the environments, experiences, and relationships that surround them in ways that can profoundly shape their trajectories and prepare them to succeed in adulthood.
Unfortunately, the policies and social systems that serve youth during this developmentally sensitive period are often not aligned with the developmental needs of the adolescent years.
Actionable insights from research into adolescent brain and social development offer policymakers, community leaders, and youth-serving practitioners a tremendous opportunity to help shape positive development during these critical years.
The science of adolescent development is just one of many important inputs into designing effective policy and practices for youth. We hope that policymakers and youth-serving practitioners can use this research-based information as a first step as they partner with their communities to help all youth thrive.