New Materials

This commentary takes readers inside the world of the Beacons, to understand their approach to supervision. In it, we ask and answer the questions: What does good supervision of youth work professionals look like? How can we strengthen supervision in ways that improve practice and reduce turnover?

This month in Forum Flash, read about Karen's experience with seemingly prepared high school seniors and think about the true meaning of "readiness," register for the next Ready by 21 webinar and read about the Forum's efforts to support the youth development field.

This session examined tools that can assist leaders answer questions that need to be asked. Larry Pasti, Director of Field Services for the Forum for Youth Investment, presented on data tools and methodologies to ask and respond to more complex questions about who and where children are; how well they are doing; what they are participating in; and how these critical supports are, in turn, being

This month in Forum Flash, we have announced our next webinar on the Ready by 21 Tool Kit - so be sure to save the date. Also, find out more about the Ready by 21 Leadership Network, which will let leaders take full advantage of the Ready by 21 Approach and Partnership.

As a condition for receiving State Fiscal Stabilization Funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, every governor and chief state school officer has agreed to develop statewide longitudinal data systems that can follow individual students from early learning through K-12 to postsecondary education and into the workforce.  This publication provides an in-depth look at the collaborat

This webinar series will introduce participants to the core and advanced components of Ready by 21®. This challenge calls on states and communities to change the odds for youth by changing the way they do business. This requires broadening definitions of what it means for youth to be ready, for schools and communities to be supportive and for all leaders to be engaged.

In this edition of Forum Flash, get the details on the Search Institute's Healthy Communities, Healthy Youth 2009 Conference and why the Ready by 21 National Partnership is a lead sponsor.

Ready by 21 isn't a program or a campaign or even an initiative.

We've got exciting news this month! We're proud to announce our Ready by 21 Video and Brochure – these are great resources that lay out in a simple way the Ready by 21 Challenge, Approach and Partnership. In the video, hear the story of leaders in Richmond using Ready by 21 to improve their community.

Effective leadership for changing the odds for children and youth requires motivating a number of distinct groups to act. It is essential for leaders to develop an aligned and focused advocacy and communications strategy that articulates and builds demand for changing the odds for children and youth.

On any given day, scores of young people with limited individual and social capital are simultaneously struggling to exit some systems and enter others: foster care, residential treatment centers, higher education, mental health programs, gainful employment.

Landscape mapping is a process that enables community members, decision makers and stakeholders to identify or inventory existing youth services and organizations. The approach can help move communities and states to examine their current assets, help to create connections, improve efficiency in the use of limited resources and assist community members to know what is available to them.

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 On the Ground we describe two very different school-based models in California.

Considering the heightened focus on data-driven decision making, this webinar will explore the latest developments in tracking youth indicators and outcomes. In this Ready by 21 Webinar, best practice examples from states will be explored, highlighting new and proven ways to develop a balanced range of both positive and negative youth indicators.

Nicole Yohalem will discuss the relationship between outcomes and measures of quality and describe characteristics of quality assessment and improvement systems in an upcoming Afterschool Investments webinar: Systems Building Challenges for Afterschool Initiatives: Developing Common Measures of Quality, Thursday, February 19 from 1:00 pm–2:30 pm EST.

During these tough times, you need the right tools to figure out what's working.

Policymakers increasingly view youth development and after-school programs as solutions to a host of problems confronting youth, communities and our country overall. Yet, funds for these programs as a whole are scarce and when resources are devoted to training or workforce development, they appear to be included as afterthoughts or minor priorities.

There are numerous child and youth development frameworks being used by youth serving organizations and government entities. A common vision and framework allow for better mission and resource alignment, more precise measurement of progress and provide a useful tool for communicating goals and strategies to the public, families and youth, funders, policy makers and community stakeholders.

The Forum and our partners have been working hard behind the scenes to create a White House Office on Children and Youth.

Ready by 21 isn’t a program or a campaign or even an initiative. It is a challenge to all who care about children and youth to think differently – to learn a different way to approach all of the tasks associated with trying to manage, make or measure change at any level from the classroom to the capitol – so that they can act differently.

The Forum partnered with the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Nonprofits to publish Youth-Adult Partnerships in Public Action: Principles, Organizational Culture and Outcomes.

Ready by 21 Webinar Series, Non-Profit of the Year Award and more!

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In 2007, the Next Generation Youth Work Coalition launched the Clear Policies for Career Pathways project to identify and build upon efforts underway around the country to establish comprehensive workforce development systems for the youth work field.

The Forum is proud to revive the Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary; the first issue is focused on youth work practice and reivews studies that our broadening our knowledge. Karen Pittman's Youth Today column looks at what young people need to get through school rather than dropping out.

The Forum's OST Policy Commentary series is back! In this issue we discuss the implications of recent research led by Bart Hirsch, Reed Larson and Charles Smith. Each study helps deepen our understanding of youth work practice and can inform policy strategies aimed at developing a strong, stable, committed and prepared OST workforce.

The America’s Promise Alliance is supporting 50 state and at least 50 city Dropout Prevention Summits to be held by 2010. The purposes of the Dropout Prevention Summits are many, but the primary intention is to increase public awareness of the dropout and college-readiness crisis.

Forum staff members, Merita Irby and Karen Finn traveled to Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, May 19 and 20, where they faciliated trainings with leaders from the Illinois Department of Human Services' Division of Community Health and Prevention.

On May 8, Karen Pittman traveled to Mason City, Iowa where she delivered the keynote at the first annual Adolescent Youth Workers Summit that kicked off Mason City's participation in the Ready by 21 Quality Counts Initiative. There, Karen spoke to over 100 youth work practitioners and community leaders about the importance of improving the quality and reach of youth programs.

The six partners who in 2007 made formal commitments to work with the Forum to advance the Ready by 21 Challenge represent the education, government, nonprofit, business and community philanthropy sectors. Below are featured clips from the partner panel discussion at the National Launch in Washington, DC.

Ready by 21 isn't a program or a campaign or even an initiative. It is a challenge to all who care about children and youth to learn a different approach to the tasks associated with trying to manage, make or measure change at any level from the classroom to the capitol.

After a decade of moving ideas to impact, the Forum for Youth Investment continues to forge innovative ideas, strategies and partnerships to strengthen solutions for young people and those who care about them. Learn more about the Forum's beginnings and work in the 10th Anniversary Organizational Brochure.

The Forum for Youth Investment issues Ready by 21® Challenge to change the odds for youth by changing the way we do business.

Former Congressman Dick Gephardt and former Governor Tom Ridge join the Forum and national partners to move the Ready by 21 Challenge across the country – reaching communities in all 50 states over the next 5 years.

Find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about Ready by 21 and the Ready by 21 Challenge.

By Karen Pittman, December 2007

Embedded in the pages of the October Youth Today were two pieces that are worth revisiting so that they can be connected. Consider this a low-budget instant replay with comments.

In Maryland, there are many agencies, organizations, task forces and coalitions focused on various pieces of the puzzle needed to ensure that all youth are ready for adulthood. While aiming for similar ultimate goals, these groups are often working in parallel and occasionally at cross purposes due to funding streams and grant restrictions.

Engaging young people as partners in community change is a compelling idea, but translating that idea into effective practice requires focused attention to a range issues. The principles described in this paper emerged from the commingling of research and practice that occurred when the Forum for Youth Investment merged with Community IMPACT! USA.

This two-pager summarizes the core assumptions that philanthropists, planners and policy makers consciously or unconsciously take into account when making decisions about where to focus their efforts to bring about change.

The Council for Youth Development is the third generation of community work in Bartholomew County, Indiana, focusing on children and youth. The Council has as its ultimate goal every child in the county being Ready by 21™ – ready for learning, ready for work, ready for life.