In the past decades, the norm for youth-serving organizations (including most schools and health centers) has been to operate with little to no youth input regarding organizational decision-making. In school-based health centers (SBHCs), health care professionals have worked diligently to determine services, set policy, design exam and waiting rooms, and promote services among student populations, sometimes with youth input but often without. They are guided by state and federal laws, standards of care, policies, and sound data, and have done their best to meet the needs of the young people they serve.
It is important to note that youth engagement does not come without its challenges. Youth councils can be hard to start up, and harder still to sustain. Many adults who work with young people find it challenging to keep youth “coming back.” Fortunately, listening to young people themselves can help us keep youth interested, challenged, and prepared for the next stage of their lives – and, as research supports, it comes down to youth engagement.