Marquette & Alger Co. youth asset survey

There’s some evidence that over time, Marquette and Alger Counties are becoming better places for young people.

Every other year, the Great Lakes Center for Youth Development surveys eighth-graders, tenth-graders and 12th-graders in the two counties.

The center calls it a youth asset survey, and the agency says more youth are showing high levels of the assets that they track than ever.

“Of the 40 assets, which are proven that all kids need to grow up healthy, competent and caring, the fact that they are moving in the right direction is a good reflection on our whole community and what they’re doing,” Linda Remsburg of the Great Lakes Center for Youth Development said.

Most of the 40 assets they measure have increased noticeably since 1997.

One that could use improvement would be the general perception among young people that adults in the community value them.

“As adults, we might say ‘of course we value our youth’, but somehow, along the line, it’s maybe not getting translated to the kids that way,” Remsburg said.

Some of the assets that were most common included optimism about their own personal futures, the sense that they behave with integrity in daily life and the sense that their families provide a high level of love and support.