By Karen Pittman, December 2008

The core belief here at the Forum for Youth Investment – that all young people should be Ready by 21 – ready for college, work and life – often provokes public criticism.  The exchanges typically go like this:

“Not every young person needs to go to college,” calls out one person from an audience. True, I say, but all should be ready to.

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.

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.

The Forum, along with the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, recently completed the Fourth Annual Youth Policy Institute.  The Institutes bring together state policymakers and are designed to help state governments obtain better outcomes from their youth policies and programs.

There are numerous child and youth development frameworks being used by youth serving organizations and government entities.

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.