Core Competencies

The Kansas and Missouri Core Competencies for Youth Development Professionals represent the combined efforts of groups from Kansas and Missouri to define the academic preparation, skills, knowledge and abilities for youth development professionals in our states - that is, what youth development professionals need to know and be able to do to provide quality services for youth and their families. Download the Kansas and Missouri Core Competencies for Youth Development Professionals.

Quality Standards

The Missouri Quality Assessment tool has been designed to be used by any non-school hour program seeking to improve the quality of their services, including th ose pursuing stat licensure, a quality rating by the Missouri Quality Rating System (QRS) or accreditation such as those offered through Missouri Accreditation (MOA) or National Afterschool Association (NAA). Download the Program Standards and the Self-Assessment tool.

These Program Standards can help afterschool programs leverage qualityimprovement efforts by:

• Providing a common language of quality for program administrators and frontline staff to discuss program strengths and areas for improvement.



• Identifying staff training needs and professional growth.



• Focusing limited human and financial resources for best results.



• Framing financial needs or demonstrating the support necessary to impact and improve program quality

Resources Summary

Need help finding valuable information on topics related to youth work?   Visit our Reports, Statistics and Websites pages to find information that could help with grants, policies and programming.