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Building Effective Youth Councils: Why and How to Do It

Prepared by the Forum for Youth Investment

December 2007

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Today’s Agenda

– Introductions/Objectives of Webinar– Results of Youth Councils survey– 6 Keys of Effective Youth Councils Overview– Youth Council Profiles – Panel Discussion – Q & A

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Today’s Host

Elizabeth Gaines,Senior Program Manager,Forum for Youth Investment

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Today’s Youth Council Panelists

Brittany Goings,Maryland State Youth Council

Bradford Knight, Hampton Youth Commission

Krys Melton,Des Moines Youth Advisory Board

Ben Goodman,Maine LegislativeYouth AdvisoryCouncil

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Webinar Objectives

Participants will:

• Learn about the value and importance of youth councils and youth voice in policy making

• Hear about the accomplishments of state and local-level youth councils

• Better understand the keys to building and maintaining an effective youth council

• Discuss the challenges associated with youth councils at the state and local level

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Poll Question One

Who’s on the call?– Youth council member/chair (youth)– Youth council staff person (adult)– Policy maker – Other

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Youth Councils Survey Results

How long have you been on your council?

Less than 6 months

6 months - 1 year

1-2 years

More than 2 years

Which of the following has your council accomplished in the past year?

impacted leg. Change

policymakers see youthcouncil as resource

impacted administrativechange

surveyed youth

media coverage

produced report

trained our council

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Why Engage Young People?

Source: Pittman, K., Martin, S, Williams, A. Core Principles for Engaging Young People in Community Change. 2007.

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Youth Voice in Systems Change

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Keys 1-3: Build a Strong Foundation

Source: Martin, S., Pittman, K., Ferber, T., McMahon, A. Building Effective Youth Councils. 2007.

Key 1: Determine CouncilMembership

– Define composition carefully– Select manageable size– Weigh representation goals

against size/cost– Consider age range– Create aggressive recruitment

strategy– Recruit diversity– Connect to existing

organizations for outreach

• Key 2: Ensure a Sound Infrastructure– Secure adequate, long-term funding– Assess funding needs– Lock in out-year funding– Select an appropriate administrative

home– Weigh pros and cons of being inside

government– Connect to coordinating body rather

than single department– Institutionalize Council

Key 3: Provide a Supportive Work Environment– Recruit the right staff

– Get youth development and policy backgrounds

– Find creative ways to get more expertise

– Create a strong home base

– Provide a dedicated workspace

– Plan face-to-face meetings

– Use technology to connect

– Ensure members have a strong home base back home

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Key 4: Build Youth Capacity

• Provide Ongoing Training & Support– Provide skill building for youth– Provide orientation and training for adults– Identify authentic ways to integrate training and real work– Make sure youth have skills needed to do tasks assigned– Provide informal coaching & support

• Utilize Teams– Create youth-adult teams– Create a core team if necessary– Use work teams as capacity-building and workload sharing

strategy

Source: Martin, S., Pittman, K., Ferber, T., McMahon, A. Building Effective Youth Councils. 2007.

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Key 5: Deepen Youth Motivation

• Help Youth Identify Core Issues– Reconcile youth concerns with political realities– Connect immediate issues to broader systemic challenges– Make sure members do their homework– Find creative ways to document broader youth opinions

• Help Youth Understand Strategies for Policy Change– Be sure youth know roles council can play– Help youth leverage formal and informal access– Help youth understand that change takes time

Source: Martin, S., Pittman, K., Ferber, T., McMahon, A. Building Effective Youth Councils. 2007.

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Key 6: Negotiate Opportunities for Access

• Arrange Authentic Access to Policy Makers– Create shared leadership

opportunities with policy makers

– Bring members into policy-making process

– Hire a youth liaison– Facilitate concrete

opportunities to advise top officials

– Integrate members into government departments by pairing with directors

• Create a Visible Public Presence– Develop a communications

plan– Facilitate opportunities for

youth to testify at public hearings

• Facilitate Connections to Youth Constituents– Be intentional about

creating a “ripple effect”– Convene the broader youth

community– Connect the broader youth

community to resources and information

Source: Martin, S., Pittman, K., Ferber, T., McMahon, A. Building Effective Youth Councils. 2007.

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Poll Question Two

Should youth councils advise policy makers on

solely youth-related issues (e.g., education, health, foster care issues) or on all policy issues (e.g., transportation, tax policy, economic development)?

• Youth-related issues only

• All policy issues

Hampton Youth Commission

6 Community Plan Goals1) Youth Prepared for

Careers

2) Youth have Essential Life Skills

3) Places to Go and Things to Do

4) Getting Around/ Transportation

5) Youth Share Leadership

6) Caring Relationships

How we accomplish our goals Philanthropy (Grants) Projects/ Programs Partnerships Policy

Structure of HYC Committees Executive team Liaisons

Established in 1993

Membership 16 youth representing the 8 high schools of Des Moines (3 community orgs, 8 schools, 5 at-large) 7 adults

(rep orgs, school district, homeless youth, and chamber of commerce)

Major Successes MetroStar started in 2004 Trail Ambassadors with Parks and Rec One of the first cities to receive the “ 100 Best Communities for Young People” in 2005 “National Youth Recognition “ ceremony host

Maryland Youth Council

Maryland Youth Council Mission Statement

The Maryland Youth Council is comprised of youth leaders inspiring and influencing positive changes in Maryland policy to ensure that all youth are accessing the resources they need to be ready by twenty-one for college, work, and life.

Accomplishments• Implement Ready by 21 Action Agenda (focused on making sure

older youth are ready for college, work and life)• Increase out of school time opportunities for older youth• Increase cultural diversity experiences in schools• Increase support in school (guidance counselors) to help us access

resources for higher education

Maine Legislative Youth Advisory Council

• Made up of 16 youth members, two senators, two representatives.

• Eight youth are appointed by the President of the Senate and eight by the Speaker of the House.

• Youth members are high school, college, home school students

• Authorized to meet up to six times per year with two public forums

• Consists of legislative chair (rotates house each term) and a council-elected youth chair

• First council with authority to submit legislation

• Legislative Council assigns staff (currently Office of Policy & Legal Analysis)

• Allowed to receive outside funding with approval of Legislative Council

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Questions and Answers

To ask a question:– Click on the message line

and type your question

– Click on the send icon or press enter to send the message ?

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The Report entitled Building Effective Youth Councils is available online at:

www.forumfyi.org (scroll down on the home page)