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Youth Voices in Community Action and Governance Study

Youth Voices in Community Action and Governance Study. Carrie Mook and Julie Petrokubi, UW-Madison in collaboration with Youth Voices in Community Action and Governance Work Team Financial support provided by Morgridge Center for Public Service at UW-Madison.

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Youth Voices in Community Action and Governance Study

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  1. Youth Voices in Community Action and Governance Study Carrie Mook and Julie Petrokubi, UW-Madison in collaborationwith Youth Voices in Community Action and Governance Work Team Financial support provided by Morgridge Center for Public Service at UW-Madison Wisconsin 4H Youth Development Conference 05/11/05

  2. Youth in Governance (YIG) • YIG:“Young people making decisions and taking actions that affect communities.” • YIG identified as a priority for state and national 4-H • Work team wanted to know more • What’s already happening around the state? • What’s helping and hindering implementation? • What is needed to support YIG in counties?

  3. Phase I: Surveys METHOD: Self-report questionnaire mailed to each county 4-HYD staff member (68 returned) PURPOSE: To get a snapshot of YIG practices throughout all of Wisconsin • Standardized, comprehensive data to build on previous case studies and informal reports

  4. Phase I: Surveys • In what settings do 4-HYD agents involve youth in governance? • What is the nature of YIG in these settings? • What roles do agents play in supporting YIG? • What expertise about YIG can agents share with each other? • What resources or supports to agents want to promote YIG in their counties? RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

  5. Q1. In what settings do agents involve youth in governance?

  6. Q1. In what settings do agents involve youth in governance?

  7. School System • School-based program partnered with Extension (8) (e.g., Money Wizards, Friends Helping Friends, service learning) • School district committee (3) • Student governance body (2) • High school forum (2) • School board (1)

  8. Legislative System • Other legislative settings (5)(e.g., Project Citizen, Superior Days, lobby groups) • Legislative committee (1) • City council (1)

  9. Judiciary System • Teen Court (13) • No other judiciary settings identified

  10. Executive System • Executive board or commission (2) • No other executive settings identified

  11. Multi-Agency Coalitions • Issue-specific coalition, project, event (30)(e.g., Tobacco Coalition, Healthy Communities Healthy Youth) • Multi-agency committee (11) • Multi-agency youth advisory group (6)(e.g., Teen Leadership Council) • Community foundation (1) • Other multi-agency setting (1)

  12. VARIANCE BY DISTRICT

  13. VARIANCE BY DISTRICT

  14. VARIANCE BY CLUB MEMBERSHIP

  15. Q2. What is the nature of YIG in these settings? TYPES OF YOUTH ROLES • Consulting • Decision-Making • Programming/Implementation • Evaluating • Fund-Developing/Grant-Making

  16. Q2. What is the nature of YIG in these settings? NUMBER OF ROLES IN EACH SYSTEM

  17. Q2. What is the nature of YIG in these settings? ESTABLISHMENT OF YOUTH ROLES

  18. NATURE OF PARTICIPATION

  19. NATURE OF REPRESENTATION

  20. DEGREE OF DECISION-MAKING POWER

  21. LEVEL OF PARTNERSHIP

  22. Q3. What roles do agents play in supporting YIG?

  23. VARIANCE BY DISTRICT

  24. VARIANCE BY CLUB MEMBERSHIP

  25. Q4. What expertise do agents with to share with each other? • Comments typed and available for you. • THEMES: • Recruiting/choosing adults • Recruiting/choosing youth • Advocating, building confidence • Focusing on vision & outcomes • Getting started • Building relationships & partnerships • Designating authentic roles for youth • Educating & training • Mentoring & encouraging

  26. Q5. What resources/supports do agents want to promote YIG? • Comments typed and available for you. • Work team will use this data to plan for future.

  27. Other data work team will consider • Your additional feedback for the work team • Agents’ interest in mentoring others in YIG

  28. Phase II: Interviews with 4-HYD county staff

  29. Research Questions • What factors do 4-HYD county staff identify as contributing to the adoption of YIG practices at the local level? • What are opportunities and supports for implementation? • What are challenges and barriers to implementation?

  30. Methods • In-depth interviews with 14 county staff • Two or more counties from each district • Sites selected to represent a range of YIG experience

  31. Preliminary Findings: Key Themes • Staff promote YIG by “planting seeds” • Staff support YIG by laying a solid foundation • 4-H tradition is both a barrier and support • Staff roles vary widely across counties

  32. Common Challenges • Finding time and resources to “do it right” • Recruiting representative youth • Fostering authentic partnerships • Influencing decentralized clubs • Finding balance between projects and issues

  33. Management Strategies • Planting seeds: Focusing attention on YIG • Walking the talk: Translating ideas into action • Making YIG “how we do business”Promoting shared ownership and sustainability

  34. Planting Seeds: 4-HYD • Connect YIG with 4-H mission, values and tradition • Provide examples of successful projects in Wisconsin 4-HYD • Focus on new volunteers and transitions in leadership

  35. Planting Seeds: Community • Build community networks • Develop a good pitch • Find a champion • Capitalize on opportunities and issues

  36. Planting Seeds: General Strategies • Provide stakeholders with concrete examples and constant updates. • Ask tough questions that challenge adults to explain why youth are not at the table. • Talk about YIG in terms that resonate with your community’s interests and needs.

  37. Initiation Stories: 4-HYD • 4-HYD staff model effective Y-AP • 4-HYD staff ask volunteers “Where are the youth?” • 4-HYD volunteers get inspired by YIG in other counties

  38. Initiation Stories: Community • 4-HYD as initiator and advisor • 4-HYD as co-founder • 4-HYD as community collaborator

  39. Walking the Talk: General Strategies • Provide training and resources that prepare youth and adults to work together. • Facilitate activities that build relationships and skills. • Prepare adults for change by providing examples of how they can adjust their structures to support meaningful youth participation.

  40. Making YIG “How we do business”: General Strategies • Institutionalize YIG by documenting models and policy changes. • Recruit a wide age range of youth to ensure that youth will not all age out at once. • Be intentional in planning for an eventual decrease of 4-H staff involvement in implementation of projects.

  41. Next Steps • Gather feedback from today’s discussion • Work team meets in June to plan next steps • Continue analyzing interviews • Conduct case studies

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