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Dear Forum Flash Reader,
The flowers are blooming and so is the Ready by 21 Partnership. We are proud to announce our partnership with nFocus Software®, a leading provider of data management and analysis software.
Why document the child and youth program landscape in your community? Find out in our latest Ready by 21 Webinar, Program Landscape Mapping, and learn how valuable this information can be.
Also, find out what happened during our last webinar on a results based framework, read about the latest in high school after-school in our Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary, how to define and measure quality in New Directions for Youth Development and more below! |
| Defining and Measuring Quality in Youth Programs and Classrooms
Karen Pittman and Nicole Yohalem, with Robert Granger, just finished editing the latest issue of New Directions for Youth Development: Defining and Measuring Quality in Youth Programs and Classrooms. In this volume, scheduled for summer 2009, scholars who study classrooms, youth programs and mentoring dyads reflect on what constitutes quality and how to think about measuring it. The authors focus on quality "at the point of service" -- the specific practices, processes and interactions that occur among adults and youth in a setting -- and offer practical advice to practitioners and policymakers on how to incorporate quality assessment into their work.
Look out for this issue's release online.
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TOMMORROW! New Ready by 21 Webinar: Program Landscape Mapping -- Thursday, May 14 2:00-3:00pm EST
 Landscape mapping enables stakeholders to identify or take inventory of existing youth services and organizations. This approach can help move communities and states to examine their current assets, create connections, be more efficient in how they use limited resources and inform community members of what is available. Explore how to create one, what to do with the information you gather and the Forum's web-based mapping survey developer.
Space is limited -- sign up today!
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| The Forum and nFocus Software Partner to Bring Improved Accountability to Youth Development
 The Forum and nFocus Software® have entered into a partnership agreement to bring improved accountability to youth development. nFocus Software® is a leading provider of data management and analysis software enabling nonprofit organizations, Fortune 500 companies and the federal government to proactively increase program effectiveness.
Read the joint press release.
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Out of School Time Policy Commentary: 
"After School Grows Up: Helping Teens Prepare for the Future"
This commentary takes readers on a cross-country tour of after-school innovation -- from northern and southern California to Chicago, New York and New Hampshire. In this issue, we describe two very different school-based models in California, summarize lessons from recent evaluations of After School Matters in Chicago and the OST Initiative in New York City and identify studies to watch for. We also speak with leaders from New Hampshire where an ambitious high school redesign effort is building upon successful high school after-school programs.
Read the latest issue of the OSTPC.
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In the Field
A Ready by 21 Webinar Summary: Using a Results Based Framework for Child & Youth Indicators
The session, part of the Ready by 21 Webinar Series, featured presenters from Massachusetts, Maryland and Child Trends, a member of the Ready by 21 National Partnership. The webinar explored the latest developments in tracking youth indicators and outcomes. Best practice examples highlighted new and proven ways to develop a balanced range of both positive and negative youth indicators.
Check out the related resources and webinar summary.
Supporting Youth In Transition to Adulthood Symposium
The Forum convened six field leaders from youth development, youth employment and post-secondary education who work with disadvantaged and disconnected young people. Participants attended the Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform's Supporting Youth in Transition to Adulthood: Lessons Learned from the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems symposium. On the second day, these leaders were joined by the staff of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at the Forum's offices for a broader conversation on exploring ways to expand the policy conversation beyond exclusively those young people in the care of public systems.
Read more about the symposium.
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Sincerely,
Karen Pittman and Laura Mattis
The Forum for Youth Investment
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