Profs. Augsberger & Collins Contribute Chapter on Youth Policy Advocacy for the Cambridge Handbook of Community Empowerment
The Cambridge Handbook of Community Empowerment is focused on helping communities influence and change the policy structures that affect their lives. Profs. Astraea Augsberger and Mary Elizabeth Collins, both experts on youth engagement, authored a chapter of the handbook, entitled “Youth Policy Advocacy in Municipal Governance.”
In the chapter, the authors analyze scholarly literature about youth engagement and real-world examples to help readers understand the organizational structure of youth councils and their prevalence around the world. They also discuss the barriers to engaging young people in this process, as well as the many benefits to involving them in policy advocacy. These guidelines can also inform policymakers, government leaders, and practitioners on the importance of youth engagement. They will be presenting their chapter as part of a work group titled, “Building community power: Learning from and strategizing across different approaches” at the International Conference on Community Psychology in Montevideo, Uruguay in September, 2024.
Prof. Augsberger serves as the director of Community Engagement for the Boston University Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Her work on youth engagement in research, policy and practice has been published in journals such as Health Affairs, Children and Youth Services Review, and the American Journal of Community Psychology. Recently, she published research on engaging young people with lived experiences in research studies.
Prof. Collins is the author of Macro Perspectives on Youths Aging Out of Foster Care (NASW Press) and has published over 90 articles and book chapters on child welfare, policy support for youth, and the needs of vulnerable youth. She recently launched a new research project through grant funding on career pathways for disconnected young people.