The quality of relationships and how a community interacts are essential to communities seeking to overcome challenges facing our communities youth. Parents, human service agencies, the faith-based community, businesses, and government agencies all play an important role in any community engagement effort. Huff developed a framework for community engagement that has been replicated in over 50 communities in 7 states. Referred to as The Bright Futures Framework, the model enhances communication between community agencies, creates partnerships allowing quick access to resources, effectively utilizes social media to engage community members at the grassroots level, builds community leadership capacity, and provides service learning activities for youth. It has been nationally recognized as a “best practice” by the White House, Corporation for National and Community Service, U.S. Department of Education, and the National School Boards Association.
