The youth development approach focuses on young people's strengths rather than their failings. It emphasizes that the four ingredients necessary for youth to develop in a positive way are a sense of competence, a sense of usefulness, a sense of belonging, and a sense of power. Youth need a sense of personal safety, structure, a sense of belonging or membership, a sense of self-worth that is predicated on achievement and character, mastery of skills, access to learning opportunities beyond the classroom, responsibility, spirituality, self-awareness, and support and guidance from caring adults. Strong leadership is a crucial element for organizations implementing a youth development approach, within both the agency and the broader community. Creating youth development programs requires collaborative planning by a community's youth-serving agencies, other social services and educational institutions, policy makers, community leaders, and youth. Recommendations and checklists, appended assessment questionnaires for leaders and organizations, list of youth development publications, and 6 references