Youth Development Institute

The Arkansas Youth Development Institute is free online professional development training for front line youth service providers.  The curriculum ranges from positive youth development approach to bullying prevention and more. Content is added and updated on a continuous basis, so visit the site for the most current curriculum list! Each course takes anywhere from one to two hours to complete. You can pick and choose which classes you want to take in any order. Your supervisor may also work with you to determine the courses best suited to your professional development at this time.
These online trainings were designed so that participants can navigate through them easily and have some interesting features, some of which are:
  • You will find potentially unfamiliar terms highlighted within the text of the courses and defined in the glossary.
  • If you are not sure where you read something, you can use the search feature to find it.
  • You will be able to discuss course content and share your own experiences with other youth development workers on the discussion boards.
  • You will find links to additional helpful resources and relevant web sites embedded in the course content.
  • You can move from one course to another easily and without having to logout or return to a homepage.
  • After you successfully finished a course and pass the knowledge check associated with it, you can request a certificate of completion.
  • A select number of courses have corresponding “Supervisor’s Guides” which are free downloadable guides that contain meeting plans each lasting between 45-60 minutes that can be used by site administrators to enhance and advance the learning of staff based on the YDI courses. 
Have additional questions?  Visit the FAQ section and find the answers to commonly asked questions.
Ready to get started?  Starting is easy! Choose ‘Click Here To Begin’ below with your mouse and you are ready to begin.  You will be redirected to a new page.  In the upper right hand corner of the screen there is a link to "create a new account".  Enter all the information asked to, register for as many courses as you want to [all the ones identified as "YDI" are free for Arkansas residents], and then wait for a confirmation of your enrollment.  The confirmation email will be coming from schiappetti@pffac.org so watch your SPAM. There is usually about a 72 hour wait time for your account to be set-up.  This wait time only happens the first time you open up an account.  Once you have been granted access you can login and work on courses at any time. 
 
 
 
 
 
Click here for more information about Course Listings


Thank you for including the Arkansas Youth Development Institute as part of your professional development plan. We hope you enjoy participating in these courses and that you find them beneficial to the work that you do with the children, youth, and families you serve. As a YDI user, your name will be added to the AOSN list serve
 
 For more information contact Karl Benz at kbenz@astate.edu or 501.660.1014