--- title: Young People Are Ready to Thrive. Are We Building What They Need? description: Search Institute’s CEO discusses our new Strategic Direction—focused on strengthening relational ecosystems, and building on our commitment to support youth thriving. image: https://blog.searchinstitute.org/hubfs/SD-Blog-Image.png --- Theme + Migration = $1489 (Pay for the Theme Only). [Learn More.](https://www.lpd-themes.com/migration) [![hlogo](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/hlogo.webp?width=187&height=90&name=hlogo.webp "hlogo")](https://searchinstitute.org) - [BLOG](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/) - [DONATE](https://searchinstitute.org/donate) - [CONTACT](https://searchinstitute.org/contact) - [RESEARCH](https://searchinstitute.org/research) - [SOLUTIONS](https://searchinstitute.org/solutions) - [INSIGHTS](https://searchinstitute.org/insights) - [FUNDERS & PARTNERS](https://searchinstitute.org/funders-partners) - [ABOUT](https://searchinstitute.org/about) [RESOURCE HUB](https://searchinstitute.org/resources-hub) [Why Relationships Matter and How to Get Started](https://searchinstitute.org/relationships-matter-get-started) Understand the foundations of developmental relationships and the power you have to strengthen those relationships for all young people to learn and grow. [Resources Tailored to Your Role](https://searchinstitute.org/resources-hub/search?query=&page=1&configure%5BenablePersonalization%5D=true&configure%5BuserToken%5D=anonymous-2aec4746-2f17-46a7-871b-a10e30f1f2f7&configure%5BclickAnalytics%5D=true&hierarchicalMenu%5Btaxonomy.lvl0%5D=Resource%20Audience) Tools to support everyone who works with young people — educators, youth program workers, schools and youth program leaders, and community members [Resources Related to the Setting Where Relationships Take Place](https://searchinstitute.org/resources-hub/search?query=&page=1&configure%5BenablePersonalization%5D=true&configure%5BuserToken%5D=anonymous-2aec4746-2f17-46a7-871b-a10e30f1f2f7&configure%5BclickAnalytics%5D=true&hierarchicalMenu%5Btaxonomy.lvl0%5D=Setting) Young people thrive when they experience a broader web of relationships, build strong relationships in a class or program, at home, and across your organization. [Resources on Key Topics](https://searchinstitute.org/resources-hub/search?query=&page=1&configure%5BenablePersonalization%5D=true&configure%5BuserToken%5D=anonymous-2aec4746-2f17-46a7-871b-a10e30f1f2f7&configure%5BclickAnalytics%5D=true&hierarchicalMenu%5Btaxonomy.lvl0%5D=Topics) Relationships are key across several disciplines including family systems, social and emotional development, social capital, and community development. [Resources in Your Favorite Format](https://searchinstitute.org/resources-hub/search?resourceTypes=Activity,Book,Guide,Journal%20Article,Measure%20/%20Assessment%20/%20Evaluation,Relational%20Practice,Report%20/%20Brief,Tool%20/%20Playbook,Video) Explore tools, frameworks, activities, guides, measures, and other research-based resources to build strong relationships with all young people. [![hlogo](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/hlogo.webp?width=187&height=90&name=hlogo.webp "hlogo")](https://searchinstitute.org) [![hlogo](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/hlogo.webp?width=187&height=90&name=hlogo.webp "hlogo")](https://searchinstitute.org) - BLOG - SHOP - DONATE - CONTACT - [RESEARCH](https://searchinstitute.org/research) - [SOLUTIONS](https://searchinstitute.org/solutions) - [INSIGHTS](https://searchinstitute.org/insights) - [FUNDERS & PARTNERS](https://searchinstitute.org/funders-partners) - [ABOUT](https://searchinstitute.org/about) [![hlogo](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/hlogo.webp?width=187&height=90&name=hlogo.webp "hlogo")](https://searchinstitute.org) - [RESEARCH](https://searchinstitute.org/research) - [SOLUTIONS](https://searchinstitute.org/solutions) - [INSIGHTS](https://searchinstitute.org/insights) - [FUNDERS & PARTNERS](https://searchinstitute.org/funders-partners) - [ABOUT](https://searchinstitute.org/about) - [RESOURCE HUB](https://searchinstitute.org/resources-hub) # Blog October 29, 2026 6 Minutes Read By : [Ben Houltberg, Ph.D., LMFT, President and CEO](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/author/benjamin-houltberg-ceo) Topics Developmental Relationships Research Developmental Assets Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Youth Programs Family Engagement Provide Support Youth Thriving Education / School Social Capital Solutions Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) SI Spotlight Share Power Expand Possibilities Student Voice Challenge Growth Youth Voice Summer Scholars Thriving Express Care Sparks Faith Data Insights Field Partner Spotlight LGBTQ+ Workshops Relationship Ready Schools Conversation Starters Sports 504 Plan Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Individualized Education Plan Learning Differences Special Education # Young People Are Ready to Thrive. Are We Building What They Need? [![Share on twitter](https://7528302.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528302/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/x-twitter-color.png?width=24&name=x-twitter-color.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.searchinstitute.org%2Fyoung-people-are-ready-to-thrive%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.searchinstitute.org%2Fyoung-people-are-ready-to-thrive%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=) [![Share on linkedin](https://7528302.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528302/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/linkedin-color.png?width=24&name=linkedin-color.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.searchinstitute.org%2Fyoung-people-are-ready-to-thrive%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on facebook](https://7528309.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528309/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/facebook-color.png?width=24&name=facebook-color.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.searchinstitute.org%2Fyoung-people-are-ready-to-thrive%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) ![](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/hubfs/SD-Blog-Image.png) [Developmental Assets](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/developmental-assets) [Social Capital](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/social-capital) [Faith](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/faith) [Family Engagement](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/family-engagement) [Developmental Relationships](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/developmental-relationships) [Youth Programs](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/youth-programs) [Education / School](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/education-school) [Research](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/research) [Solutions](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/solutions) [Youth Voice](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/youth-voice) [Youth Thriving](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/youth-thriving) # Young People Are Ready to Thrive. Are We Building What They Need? By [Ben Houltberg, Ph.D., LMFT, President and CEO](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/author/benjamin-houltberg-ceo) October 29 2026 6 Minutes Read I believe something deeply about young people: Every young person has inherent value. That value is not something they earn through achievement, behavior, or compliance. It is already there, in the strengths, passions, interests, ideas, and sense of purpose that make each young person who they are and shape what they can contribute right now. Our responsibility as adults is not to create those things for young people. It is to recognize and nurture what is already there and make sure young people have access to the relationships, opportunities, and environments that allow those strengths to grow. That responsibility feels especially important right now. Young people are growing up in a world changing at extraordinary speed. Artificial intelligence and other technologies are reshaping how they learn, communicate, create, and prepare for work. Schools and youth-serving organizations are navigating shifting expectations, workforce pressures, and constrained resources. Communities are confronting disconnection and inequitable access to opportunities even as new ways of learning and connecting emerge. In the midst of all that change, young people continue to bring extraordinary strengths, ideas, creativity, and possibility. And the fundamentals of human development have not disappeared. Young people still need to be known. They need to belong. They need people who recognize their strengths, listen to them, challenge them, share power with them, and connect them to new opportunities. The question is whether the systems around them are designed to make those experiences possible consistently, rather than leaving them to chance. For more than 60 years, Search Institute has studied what young people need to learn, grow, contribute, and thrive. More than 6.3 million young people have participated in our surveys, more than 11,000 organizations have been served, and more than 118,000 youth-serving professionals have participated in our professional development. That work has contributed to a substantial body of research and practical knowledge about Developmental Assets, Developmental Relationships, social capital, youth voice, and thriving. Our next chapter builds on that foundation while asking a bigger question: How do we help communities create the conditions for thriving more intentionally, consistently, and equitably? ### **Relationships Don’t Exist in Isolation** Throughout our work, one lesson has remained clear: Young people develop through the dynamic interaction between who they are and the people, opportunities, resources, and environments around them. One caring adult can have a profound influence on a young person’s life. A teacher notices a strength. A coach listens. A mentor opens a door to a new possibility. Those moments matter enormously. But no single relationship can provide everything a young person needs. Young people develop within interconnected relational ecosystems that stretch across families, schools, neighborhoods, sports teams, afterschool programs, faith communities, and other places and spaces in their lives. Our work on Developmental Assets, Developmental Relationships, and Developmental Contexts gives us different but interconnected ways to understand what is happening within those ecosystems. [Developmental Assets](https://searchinstitute.org/developmental-assets) help us understand the what: the internal strengths young people bring and the external supports and opportunities around them. [Developmental Relationships](https://searchinstitute.org/developmental-relationships) help us understand the how: the everyday interactions through which young people experience care, support, challenge, shared power, and expanded possibilities. Developmental Contexts help us understand the where: the families, schools, organizations, and community spaces that can cultivate and sustain those relationships and assets. When these elements reinforce one another, they create stronger relational ecosystems. And when those ecosystems are working well, we can see it in young people’s lives through indicators of thriving such as belonging and connection; sparks, meaning, and purpose; agency and voice; and character and contribution. This way of thinking also changes the question we ask. Instead of asking only whether a young person has a good teacher, mentor, program, or opportunity, we can ask whether the ecosystem surrounding that young person is consistently creating the conditions they need to thrive. Consider a middle school student who is deeply interested in design but does not yet see herself as a leader. A teacher recognizes this spark. An afterschool mentor gives her a meaningful role in a project. Her family is part of the conversation about the interests and opportunities that matter to her. A community partner creates a pathway for her to explore design beyond school. Her spark was recognized, nurtured and activated in the community in a meaningful way. The point is not that every young person needs the same sequence of supports. It is that the people and organizations around young people can become more intentional about recognizing strengths, building relationships, expanding possibilities, and responding when an important connection, resource, or opportunity is missing. That is the shift from hoping young people encounter what they need to building environments where they are more likely to experience it. ### **Intention Is Not the Same as Experience** That distinction matters because good intentions, while essential, are not the same as positive developmental experiences. Adults who work with young people overwhelmingly want them to succeed. Organizations develop programs with the goal of supporting them. Communities invest time, expertise, and resources in creating opportunities for them. But ultimately, we need to understand what young people themselves are experiencing. Our research provides an important reminder of that gap. Too many young people still lack the web of strong developmental relationships they need. One in five young people in our research reported no developmental relationships at all, while another 20 percent reported only one. Fewer than three in ten reported strong developmental relationships with at least four of five important adults in their lives. Research has also identified differences between how adults perceive relationships and how young people experience them. Those findings are not an indictment of adults or organizations. They are an invitation to look beyond what we intend to provide and pay closer attention to what young people actually encounter. They provide a multidimensional roadmap to direct us collectively toward intentional relational practices that meet the developmental needs of young people across. Are their strengths being recognized? Do they feel known and valued? Are they being heard? Do they have meaningful opportunities to exercise agency and contribute? Are they connected to people, experiences, resources, and opportunities that expand what they believe is possible? And are those conditions available consistently and equitably? These are questions about more than individual relationships. They are questions about the environments and systems we create around young people. When young people’s experiences do not match our intentions, we need the humility and capacity to listen, learn, and change. That is also why young people’s perspectives cannot be supplemental to our understanding of development. Their lived experience is an essential form of wisdom, alongside developmental science and the practical expertise of the people who work alongside young people every day. ### **From Knowing What Matters to Building What Thriving Requires** Search Institute has spent decades helping the field understand what young people need. Our Developmental Assets and Developmental Relationships frameworks, along with our work on social capital, youth voice, developmental contexts, and thriving, have helped translate developmental science into practical ways of understanding young people and the environments around them. That knowledge remains foundational. But knowing what matters is not enough. The challenge ahead is to help organizations and communities put that knowledge to work across the many settings and systems that shape young people’s lives. That requires a different kind of partnership. It means moving beyond a framework, survey, training, or program as an endpoint and working alongside organizations to understand what young people are experiencing, identify existing strengths and gaps, act on what the data and lived experience tell us, and keep learning and improving. It also requires bringing different forms of knowledge together. Developmental science brings one kind of wisdom. Practitioners working alongside young people every day bring another. Young people and families bring expertise rooted in their own lived experience. Our [Strategic Direction](https://searchinstitute.org/strategic-direction) calls this shared wisdom: the idea that the most useful insights emerge at the intersection of developmental science, practitioner knowledge, and youth experience. It is paired with a commitment to transformative partnerships and co-created solutions, so that what we build is not simply delivered to communities, but developed and strengthened with them. That is an evolution in how Search Institute sees its role. We will continue to conduct rigorous research, develop practical tools, provide professional learning, and create ways to measure young people’s experiences. But increasingly, we want those capabilities to work together, helping partners build stronger relational ecosystems and continuously learn from what happens. ### **Building the Next Chapter Together** This Strategic Direction sets the destination and the principles that will guide us. It is intentionally not the final word on exactly how every part of the work will look. The next phase is about turning this direction into practice. We are developing new ways to bring research, measurement, learning, tools, technology, and human partnership together. We will test and refine those approaches with young people, practitioners, organizations, and communities. We will learn what works in different contexts, adapt when it does not, and share what we learn so others can build on it. In other words, this next chapter will not arrive fully formed. It will be built through the same approach we are asking of the field: listen, learn, act, measure what matters, adapt, and keep improving. Our aspiration is ambitious. We want to help create relational ecosystems in which the inherent value of every young person is known, nurtured, and activated, and where access to the relationships, strengths, supports, and opportunities young people need does not depend on luck. No single person or organization can make that happen alone. Search Institute certainly cannot. But together, we can become much more intentional about the environments we build around young people. We can recognize and cultivate the assets already present within young people and their communities. We can strengthen the relationships that help those assets grow. We can shape contexts that sustain those relationships and opportunities. And we can listen closely enough to young people to know whether our efforts are actually making a difference. Young people have much more to offer than simply their potential for the future. We need their strengths, ideas, passions, purpose, and contributions now. When young people thrive, our communities are stronger for it. That is what I hope we can build together.   [![Strategic Direction CTA](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Strategic%20Direction%20CTA.png?width=2560&height=1000&name=Strategic%20Direction%20CTA.png)](https://searchinstitute.org/strategic-direction)   [Developmental Assets,](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/developmental-assets) [Social Capital,](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/social-capital) [Faith,](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/faith) [Family Engagement,](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/family-engagement) [Developmental Relationships,](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/developmental-relationships) [Youth Programs,](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/youth-programs) [Education / School,](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/education-school) [Research,](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/research) [Solutions,](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/solutions) [Youth Voice,](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/youth-voice) [Youth Thriving,](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/youth-thriving) [![Picture of Ben Houltberg, Ph.D., LMFT, President and CEO](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/dr-benjamin-houltberg-named-president-and-ceo-of-search-institute.jpg)](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/author/benjamin-houltberg-ceo) #### Ben Houltberg, Ph.D., LMFT, President and CEO Author ## Recommended For You [![](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/The-Ties-That-Transform-Practical-Ways-for-Educators-to-Strengthen-Student-Teacher-Relationships-1.jpg)](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/the-ties-that-transform-practical-ways-for-educators-to-strengthen-student-teacher-relationships) 3 Min Read ### [The Ties That Transform: Practical Ways for Educators to Strengthen Student‑Teacher Relationships](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/the-ties-that-transform-practical-ways-for-educators-to-strengthen-student-teacher-relationships) [Search Institute June 21 2021](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/author/search-institute) [Developmental Assets](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/developmental-assets) [Developmental Relationships](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/developmental-relationships) [Youth Programs](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/youth-programs) 1 Min Read ### [How Your Organization Can Build And Strengthen Relationships With Youth](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/organization-can-build-strengthen-relationships-youth) [searchinstitute July 12 2017](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/author/searchinstitute) [![](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/walking-our-talk-on-equity-2.png)](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/walking-our-talk-on-equity) [Equity and Inclusion (DEI)](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/equity-and-inclusion-dei) [Diversity](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/tag/diversity) 3 Min Read ### [Walking Our Talk on Equity](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/walking-our-talk-on-equity) [Kent Pekel June 30 2020](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/author/kent-pekel) ![search-footerlogo](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/hubfs/search-footerlogo.png "search-footerlogo") ## Search Institute 2550 University Avenue West Suite 200N St. Paul, MN 55114 800.888.7828 612.376.8955 i[nfo@searchinstitute.org](mailto:info@searchinstitute.org) - [Research](https://searchinstitute.org/research) - [Solutions](https://searchinstitute.org/solutions) - [Insights](https://searchinstitute.org/insights) - [Funders & Partners](https://searchinstitute.org/funders-partners) - [About](https://searchinstitute.org/about) - [Blog](https://blog.searchinstitute.org/) - [Donate](https://searchinstitute.org/donate) - [Contact](https://searchinstitute.org/contact) - [Subscribe to our Newsletter](https://searchinstitute.org/subscribe-to-our-enewsletter) - [Cancellations, Returns & Refunds](https://searchinstitute.org/cancellations-returns-refunds) - [Public Records](https://searchinstitute.org/nonprofit-status-public-records) - [Permissions Request Form](https://survey.search-institute.org/s3/Permissions-Request-Form) - [Keep Connected](http://keepconnected.searchinstitute.org/) ©2024 Search Institute | [Terms of Use](https://www.search-institute.org/terms-of-use/) Search Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable corporation. 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