The wellbeing of children and youth is a core feature of flourishing societies. Yet, current socioeconomic inequality demands attention to subgroups who, by virtue of their social class, racial/ethnic background, and/or immigrant status face low resources and other barriers to well‐being. Although scholarship recognizes the powerful role of systems and settings as drivers of youth development, little research focuses on the low-wage and/or part-time practitioners who work daily with youth in low-resource, marginalized communities. 

Active from 2017-2019, IHDSC’s Workforce Development group synthesized research and practice on paraprofessionals and professionals operating in an array of sectors and settings, including child welfare and juvenile justice, childcare and early education, schools and afterschool programs, and family and community services. The group ultimately produced a special journal issue in the American Journal of Community Psychology entitled “Understanding and Strengthening the Child- and Youth-Serving Workforce in Low-Resource Communities” to build knowledge about these practitioners and the factors that influence them, and to identify methods for enhancing workforce skills and strengths, and ultimately, youth wellbeing.