YPQA Self Assessment Consensus Meeting

1. YPQA Self Assessment Consensus Meeting

2. Agenda Welcome Community Building: Lost at Sea What, Why, and How of Consensus Group Agreements YPQA Item Review Reflection

3. Objectives Understand what a consensus meeting is and why we are using this process Come to a shared understanding of the YPQA items Agree upon scores for YPQA items based on self assessments

4. Interactive Exercise: Lost at Sea

7. The What, Why, and How of Consensus

8. What is a consensus meeting? A way of decision making that helps groups reach agreements through a creative and dynamic process A respectful dialogue between parties that are considered to hold skills, experience, or expertise that is equally valuable to the conversation

10. Consensus Process

11. Interactive Exercise: Group Agreements

12. YPQA Item Review

13. Safe Environment

14. Emotional Safety Item 1

15. Item 1: Positive emotional climate This item assesses the climate; that is, the general feel of the social and emotional environment. Do the youth and staff respect each other? Do people get along? Are there lots of conflicts? Do youth include each other in activities? There is no magic pill for establishing a positive climate, and, indeed, it is not completely in the control of the youth worker. But the climate begins with the staff setting a positive tone, modeling positive climate and encouraging youth to do the same.

17. Item 2: Lack of bias This item specifically deals with bias along the lines of religion, ethnicity, class, gender, ability, appearance and sexual orientation. Bias, no matter how it is intended, can have a negative effect on program climate. It is particularly important to address subtle bias (e.g., youth say “that’s so gay” to indicate dislike for something). A common question is this: What if our youth playfully tease each other and that’s part of how the youth build community? Here are two questions in response: Is there any way to know that every youth in every situation is not affected negatively by such teasing? Could you help the youth build community in a way that does not rely on stereotypes and slander?

19. Item 1: Free of health and safety hazards This item assesses whether the program space is free from hazards. This item generally scores high unless there is something clearly out of place; however, safety hazards are not always obvious. Although these items appear to be simple and straightforward, make sure you are very careful about assessing safety hazards.

21. Item 2: Clean and Sanitary This item assesses whether the program space is clean and sanitary. These items generally score high unless there is something clearly out of place.

23. Item 3: Adequate ventilation and lighting This item looks at the ventilation and lighting. In scoring, generally this should score high unless there is contrary evidence (e.g., a youth squinting and complaining about the lighting).

25. Item 4: Comfortable temperature A key point to remember is that these items are assessing adequate temperature in the program space – like all items in the Youth PQA – are about youth experience. If the room feels hot to the adults but all the youth are comfortable, item four would score a 5.

27. Item 1: Posted emergency procedures This item assesses whether a physical environment for youth has posted emergency procedures.

29. Item 2: Accessible fire extinguisher This establishes that a fire extinguisher is accessible and visible. If it is in the hallway, but the staff can see it from the entrance or doorway to the program space, then it still counts for a 5. The staff can see it without leaving the room to find it and it is accessible nearby.

31. Item: 3 Visible first-aid kitThis item establishes that a first-aid kit is accessible and visible.

33. Item 4: Appropriate safety equipment This applies if the program offers activities that require special safety equipment such as swimming, boating, etc. Any special safety equipment should be in good condition.

35. Item 5: Supervised indoor entrances This assesses the security of access points to the indoor program space. If those points of access are not actively supervised but locked, these items should score a 5.

37. Item 6: Supervised access to outdoors This assesses the security of access points to the outdoor program space. If those points of access are not actively supervised but locked, these items should score a 5.

39. Item 5: Supervised indoor entrances This assesses the security of access points to the indoor program space. If those points of access are not actively supervised but locked, these items should score a 5.

41. Item 5: Supervised indoor entrances This assesses the security of access points to the indoor program space. If those points of access are not actively supervised but locked, these items should score a 5.

43. Item 5: Supervised indoor entrances This assesses the security of access points to the indoor program space. If those points of access are not actively supervised but locked, these items should score a 5.

45. Item 5: Supervised indoor entrances This assesses the security of access points to the indoor program space. If those points of access are not actively supervised but locked, these items should score a 5.

47. Item 6: Supervised access to outdoors This assesses the security of access points to the outdoor program space. If those points of access are not actively supervised but locked, these items should score a 5.

49. Item 1: Sufficient space This is about having enough space to move around in comfortably.