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54th ANNUAL
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT LEADERSHIP TRAINING CONFERENCE

The Association of NYS Youth Bureaus is excited to welcome registrants to the Annual Youth Development Leadership Training Conference. Join us at the Saratoga Hilton, 534 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 on May 6-7, 2026.

Registration & Hotel Information

May 6-7, 2026, Saratoga Hilton, Saratoga Springs, NY

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Registration Fees:

Youth Bureau Director: FREE

Subsequent YB Staff Member: $150/person

Non YB Member: $200/person

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Single Day (May 6 Only): $125/person

Single Day (May 7 Only): $100/person

 

Register Here

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Hotel Accommodations:

 

Link to Reserve: 

 

Cutoff date to make reservations:  

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The ANYSYB Staff Development Training conference is not intended to sell, promote products or proprietary models. The content presented should be actionable for attendees without future sales. ANYSYB does offer sponsorships and vendor tables, more information coming soon.

Agenda at a Glance

Youth Development Training Conference

May 6, 2026

10:00-11:15AM Early Bird Sessions

11:30AM-12:30PM Keynote Speaker

12:30-1:15PM Lunch with Welcome Speakers

1:30-2:45PM Concurrent Sessions

3:00-4:15PM Concurrent Sessions

4:30-5:00PM Annual Meeting of the Association

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May 7, 2026

8:00-8:30AM Breakfast and Networking

8:30-10:00AM Plenary Session

10:15-11:30AM Concurrent Sessions

11:45AM-1:00PM Concurrent Sessions

1:00PM Conference Adjournment 

Youth Bureau Director's Training
For Youth Bureau Director's only. Not included in this registration system. Directors will receive registration email directly.

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May 5, 2026

11:00-12:00PM Registration

12:00-1:00PM Welcome and Networking Lunch

1:00-2:15PM General Session

2:30-3:40PM Breakout Sessions

3:45-5:00PM General Session

5:00-6:00PM Networking Reception

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​May 6, 2026

8:00-8:30AM Breakfast Cafe Chat

8:30-9:45AM General Session

10:00-11:30AM General Session

11:30AM-12:30PM ANYSYB Conference Keynote Speaker

Call for Presentations - Share Your Expertise

Proposals must be submitted virtually here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QWKFTXT

 

The deadline for submission is April 17, 2026
If you have any questions, please email: nysyouthbureaus@gmail.com

Workshop Proposal Tracks

Please use the following as guides for your session proposal.  Sessions that embrace best practices, emerging trends and pertinent issues which address both theoretical and practical skills are preferred. Youth co-presenters are encouraged.

Positive Youth Development Topics of Interest

Youth Employment/Workforce Initiatives

  • Recruiting/Retaining Youth Employees

  • Staff Management & Development

  • Summer Youth Employment Program

  • Initiatives for Career Readiness

 

Youth Development Funding & Budget Management

  • Exploring Additional Funding Resources

  • Sustainability/Grant Writing

  • Federal, State & Local Funding Opportunities

  • How to Develop RFPs

 

Citizenship Civic Engagement

  • Youth Engagement/ Leadership/Programs Run by Youth

  • Youth Voice; Student and Parent Advisory Councils

  • Youth Program Quality Assessment

  • Peer Advocates/Credible Messengers/Mentoring

  • Youth Advocacy

 

Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare

  • Juvenile Justice Programs and/or Reforms

  • Juvenile Delinquency Diversion

  • Alternatives to Incarceration/Youth Court/Police Dept. & Court Partnerships

  • Partnership with Probation

  • Integrating Positive Youth Development with High Risk Populations

Afterschool Programming

  • Engagement & Empowerment

  • Professional Development

  • Inclusion for Differing Abilities

  • Integration of Family, School and Community

  • Early Childhood Interventions & Therapies

  • PYD Outcomes/Links to Performance Measures

  • Parks and Recreations

  • LEAPS Updates and Practices

  • Sports Education

  • Sports Team Funding Updates and Practices

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Community

  • Community Building/ Reinvestment

  • Needs Assessment and Planning

  • Cultural Competencies

 

Runaway & Homeless Youth

  • Rules and Regulations: Challenges and Opportunities

  • LOS Issues, Age Requirements and more: What’s working, what’s challenging

  • Cross System Collaborations

  • New Counties: What to Expect

  • Sexually Exploited Youth & Safe Harbor

  • Meeting RHYA Coordinator's Needs

 

Family

  • Understanding Cultural Diversity

  • Family Support/Engagement & Sustainability

  • Family/Youth Rights

  • Custodial Relationships

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

  • Social Justice Issues for Youth and Families

  • Fostering DEIB in Afterschool Programs

  • Restructuring Programs to Advance Racial Justice

  • LGBTQ+ Youth Supports

  • Working with Youth after Racially Motivated Acts of Terror

  • Race Equity Resources for Youth Development/Child Welfare/Juvenile Justice

 

Physical, Mental and Emotional Health

  • Afterschool and School Partnerships for Mental Health

  • Remote Work/Home Life Balance

  • Post-Pandemic Working with Youth

  • Suicide Prevention

  • Children/Family Mental Health

  • Stress Management for Staff/Preventing Burnout & Promoting Self-Care

  • Stress Management for Youth

  • Sources of Strength-based Suicide Prevention

  • Strategies for Coping with Youth through a Trauma-Informed Lens

  • Adolescent Brain Development

  • Substance Abuse/Addictions & Prevention Programs

  • Social Media & Cyber Bullying Awareness & Prevention

  • Building Healthier Generations

8 Features of Youth Development Settings

(School, Home, Community)

Physical & Psychological Safety:

Safe and health-promoting facilities; practices that increase safe peer group interaction and decrease unsafe or confrontational peer interactions.

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Appropriate Structure:

Limit Setting; clear and consistent rules and expectations; firm enough control; continuity and predictability; clear boundaries, and age appropriate monitoring.

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Supportive Relationship:

Warmth; closeness; connectedness; good communication; caring; support; guidance; secure attachment, and responsiveness.

Opportunities to Belong:

Opportunities for meaningful inclusion, regardless of one’s gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability; social inclusion, social engagement, and integration; opportunities for sociocultural identity formation; and support for cultural and bicultural competence.

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Positive Social Norms:

Rules of behavior; expectations; injunctions; ways of doing things; values and morals; and obligations for service.

 

Support for Efficacy and Mattering:

Youth-based; empowerment practices that support autonomy; making a real difference in one’s community; and being taken seriously. Practice that includes enabling, responsibility granting, and meaningful challenge. Practices that focus on improvement rather than on relative current performance.

Opportunities for Skill Building: 
Opportunities to learn physical, intellectual, psychological, emotional, and social skills; exposure to intentional learning experiences; opportunities to learn cultural literacy, media literacy, communication skills and good habits of mind; preparation for adult employment; and opportunities to develop social and cultural capital.


Integration of Family, School and Community Efforts: 
Concordance; coordination; and synergy among family, school and community.

Sponsors & Exhibitors
Click Here to View the Sponsor and Exhibitor Prospectus

The Association of NYS Youth Bureaus invites you to be a part of the 54th Annual Youth Development Training Conference by purchasing exhibit space or becoming a sponsor. The conference, scheduled for May 6-7, 2026 at the Saratoga Hilton in Saratoga Springs, NY will attract youth development professionals, county and municipal youth bureau directors & probation/child welfare officials, educators, researchers, advocates, law enforcement personnel, not-for-profit agencies, parks and recreation professionals, and other youth development stakeholders from across New York State.

 

More than ever, the field of youth development continues to grow and provides valuable support in keeping our youth healthy, safe and in their homes and communities. Our participants are interested in products and services that provide and promote youth development skills which they can take back to their organizations and share with their youth, families and colleagues.

 

If you are interested in exhibiting or sponsoring at this exciting conference, please click the REGISTER HERE button below to complete the registration form by Friday, April 24, 2026.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact ANYSYB at nysyouthbureaus@gmail.com with any questions

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