Community youth development professionals: Providing the necessary supports in the United States

This paper explores the educational opportunities available to community youth development professionals in the United States. Given the complexity of the needs of today's young people, it is both timely and prudent to increase the type, quality, and quantity of educational experiences available to community youth development professionals. Researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funding agencies have all begun to explore the importance of providing educational opportunities to community youth development professionals. The findings of this investigation indicate a need for a comprehensive multidimensional educational system to provide community youth development professionals with the knowledge and skills essential to successfully meet the challenges they encounter in their daily work.