Ready by 21

1. Ready by 21 models of big picture thinking, planning and action February 25, 2009 Elizabeth Gaines Program Director The Forum for Youth Investment Elizabeth@forumfyi.org Youth Development and Education Policy Spring Term 2009

2. The Forum for Youth Investment • Nonprofit, nonpartisan “action tank” dedicated to helping communities and the nation make sure all young people are Ready by 21 -- ready for college, work and life. • Working in partnership with the business, government, education and nonprofit sectors, we provide a framework, coaching and tools for leaders who care about youth. • Our Mission:To create powerful opportunities and incentives for youth and adult leaders to think differently, act differently and act together because they are: • linked by core beliefs about what is needed, • guided by a shared sense of accountability, • girded by compelling data, and • driven by a common desire to ensure that all children, youth, families and communities have the supports and opportunities they need to succeed.

3. The Ready by 21 National Partnership Managing Partner National Mobilization Partners Technical Partners

4. Supporting State and Local Youth Policy • Children's Cabinet Network: • Over 20 states with Children’s Cabinets/ Councils/ Commissions • Youth Councils Network: • Over 30 states and cities with youth led advisory and decision-making bodies • Youth Policy Institutes • Almost half the states have participated in these Ready by 21 Institutes co-hosted by NCSL, the Forum and NGA over the past 4 years

5. Leaders – change-makers – are the pivot point of the Ready by 21 approach moving the small gear makes a big difference Source: Ready by 21

6. WHO: Definition of Leaders The goal of the partnership is to provide supports and incentives to state and local leaders everywhere whose actions & decisions touch the lives of youth. Specifically, we identify and support change-makers who recognize the need for a changed approach to youth issues and have: • Capacity (funds, expertise, time) • Motivation • Authority • Ability to engage others State and local leaders engaging incritical tasks that represent the fundamentals of good planning & accountability vital for addressing critical issues across the three gears

7. AllYouth Can be Ready. EveryFamily and Community Can be Supportive. EachLeader Can Make a Difference. The AmericanDREAM

8. The AmericanREALITY Too FewYouth are Ready.Only 4 in 10 are doing well. Too FewFamilies and Communities are Supportive. Fewer than 2 in 5 youth have the supports that they need. Too Feware Trying to Make a Difference.

9. The AmericanDILEMMA At a time when“Failure is NOT an Option” (The Hope Foundation)and“Trying Hard is NOT Good Enough”(Mark Friedman) THE GAP BETWEENVISION AND REALITYHAS TO BE CLOSED

10. In the Middle 35% Doing Well 43% Doing Poorly 22% Too Few Young People are Ready • Researchers Gambone, Connell & Klem (2002) estimate thatonly 4 in 10 are doing wellin their early 20s. • 22% are doing poorly in two lifeareas and not well in any • Productivity: High school diploma or less, are unemployed, on welfare • Health: Poor health, bad health habits, unsupportive relationships • Connectedness: Commit illegal activity once a month • 43% are doing well in two lifeareas and okay in one • Productivity: Attend college, work steadily • Health: Good health, positive health habits, healthy relationships • Connectedness: Volunteer, politically active, active in religious institutions, active in community

11. Skills Valuable to Employers Employers ranked 20 skill areas in order of importance. The top skills fell into five categories: • Professionalism/Work Ethic • Teamwork/Collaboration • Oral Communications • Ethics/Social Responsibility • Reading Comprehension From the Report: Are They Really Ready to Work?

12. Employers Find These Skills in Short Supply • 7 in 10 employers saw these skills as critical for entry-level high school graduates (8 in 10 as critical for two-year college graduates, more than 9 in 10 as critical for four-year graduates.) • Employers reported that 4 in 10 high school graduates were deficient in these areas (Note: Only 1 in 4 of four-year college graduates were highly qualified.)

13. We Know What it Takes to Support Development • The National Research Council reports that teens need: • Physical and Psychological Safety • Appropriate Structure • Supportive Relationships • Opportunities to Belong • Positive Social Norms • Support for Efficacy and Mattering • Opportunities for Skill-Building • Integration of Family, School and Community efforts

14. Do these Supports Really Make a Difference? Even in Adolescence? ABSOLUTELY • Gambone and colleagues show that youth with supportive relationships as they enter high school are5 times more likelyto leave high school “ready” than those with weak relationships… SOURCE: Finding Out What Matters for Youth: Testing Key Links in a Community Action Framework for Youth Development

15. Do these Supports Make a Difference in Adulthood? • … and those seniors who were “ready” at the end of high school were more than4 times as likelyto be doing well as young adults. SOURCE:Finding Out What Matters for Youth: Testing Key Links in a Community Action Framework for Youth Development

16. Providing These Supports CAN Change the Odds • Gambone/Connell’s research suggests that if all young people got the supports they needed in early adolescence, the picture could change… From 4 in 10 doing well To 7 in 10 doing well

17. The Challenge for All Community Stakeholders:To Fill the Developmental White Space 21 . . . 0 Civic Social Emotional Physical Vocational Cognitive Outcome Areas ? Ages ? ? School After School Morning . . . Night At its best, school only fills a portion of developmental space Times of Day

18. Who is Responsible for the Rest? ? • Families • Peer Groups • Schools and Training Organizations • Higher Education • Youth-Serving Organizations • CBOs (Non-Profit Service Providers and Associations) • Businesses (Jobs, Internships and Apprenticeships) • Faith-Based Organizations • Libraries, Parks, and Recreation Departments • Community-Based Health and Social Service Agencies

19. Even the Smallest Communities have Too Many Initiatives Civic Engagement Physical Health Delinquency & Violence Pregnancy & HIV/AIDS Dropouts & Illiteracy Core Supports & Opportunities Educational Attainment Unemployment Substance Abuse, Suicide, Depression Vocational Readiness & Success Social & Emotional Health

20. … See a Problem, Convene a Task Force, Create a Program…Has Created a Tangle of Inefficiencies Children’s Services in Los Angeles County SOURCE:Margaret Dunkle

21. Using a Common Framework • Can help with language confusion across sectors and agencies • Helps focus on the results you want to see • Set long term goals • Track progress with indicators and metrics • Track policies and resources and set priorities • Track programs and services geographically • Link issue/population specific action plans …..and more

22. Take Aim on the Big PictureHow are Young People Doing?

23. Take Stock of the Big Picture

24. Traditional Approach Children Enter School Ready to Learn

25. But What Happened to the Rest of the Picture? Children Enter School Ready to Learn Children Enter School Ready to Learn

26. But What Happened to the Rest of the Picture? Children Enter School Ready to Learn Children Enter School Ready to Learn

27. But What Happened to the Rest of the Picture? Children Enter School Ready to Learn

28. Alternative:Learning to Focus Differently Shifting Red to Yellow, Yellow to Green

30. The Blueprint for Action

31. Partners • Big Tent Partners- advocates, business leaders, community- and faith-based organizations, state agency career staff, young people • Shared Responsibility – performance measures and evaluation and reporting requirements

32. Goals Messages and Frameworks- cover a full range of developmental stages, developmental areas and needed family and community supports Data and Metrics- use a common core set of child and youth indicators

33. Strategies • Engage Youth and their Families –system for all youth and their parents to engage in local decision-making • Align Policies and Resources –drive collective policy and funding decisions • Increase Demand –legislative forums, engage public agency staff, align communications of all departments • Improve Services and Coordinate Systems & Programs –common assessment criteria and research agenda across agencies

34. Structural Considerations • Organizational Home • Authority • Parallel Local Structures • Scope of Vision and Mission • Staffing and Resources • Composition and Scale

35. State Ready by 21 examples • Maine Governor’s Children’s Cabinet –collaborative planning and priority setting among the state agency heads • Oregon Commission on Children and Youth – organizing their data with private sector input and connecting to local commissions • New Mexico Governor’s Children’s Cabinet-state agency heads collaborating on legislative priorities and examining the budget and youth outcomes together; also involving youth themselves in this process • Maryland Governor’s Children’s Cabinet- Using a results framework and doing action planning for certain age groups; also connecting work to local bodies • Iowa Collaboration for Youth Development- Collaboration between state agencies and non-profits to improve quality of programs and services and develop strategic plan • Minnesota Ready by 21 Legislative Caucus – forming to organize the framework of the legislature in support of children and youth

36. Shifting the work of the Maine Children’s Cabinet • In August of 2006, the Maine Children’s Cabinet brought in the Forum for Youth Investment to facilitate the development of the “dashboard” tool. • They shifted from simply reporting trend data to prioritizing cross-cutting initiatives related to systems priorities, they articulated and now use a tool that tells them: • specific agency/stakeholderactivities (Who is doing what, where and how?), • performance measures (How are we doing), • investments (What are we spending and from what source?), • measurable outcomes (What has changed, as a direct result of efforts/investments?), • policy implication (How does the outcome data inform policy change?). • The cabinet focused on 3 big priority areas: early childhood, adverse childhood experiences and youth transitioning to adulthood and then organized their work into the 13 priority strategies that would impact many results.

37. Maine Results by age and outcome

40. Maryland’s Youth Policy Structure Joint Committee for Children, Youth and Families Children’s Cabinet Advisory Council For Children Youth Council Governor’s Office for Children (GOC) 24 Local Management Boards (LMBs)

41. Maryland’s Child Well Being Results Child Well-being Results

43. Maryland’s 3-year Children’s Plan Goals: • Develop a comprehensive prevention strategy • Develop a Transition Aged Youth Plan • Build on established foundations: • Children enter school ready to learn • System of care to ensure stable and economically independent families • More for Maryland Opportunity Compacts • Support locally determined community plans

44. Next Steps: A “Ready by 21 Leadership Team” has been created as a permanent workgroup of the Maryland Children’s Cabinet to oversee implementation of and accountability for the Ready by 21 Action Agenda.

45. Unique Work in Massachusetts • State agencies, united ways, private funders, community organizations and youth together • Creating a vision and results framework, developing measures • Aligning the work of moving trains and getting to a comprehensive set of strategies and action steps • Pioneers in developing leadership results, measures and strategies • Linking to big coordinating body

46. Ready By 21 Process in MA The stakeholders Statement of Purpose Results framework Contributing Factors Priority Strategy Areas Shared Accountability

47. Massachusetts Moving Trains • Recently generated action plans: • Readiness Commission • Governor’s Adolescent Health Council/Shared Vision • Mass GOALS • Special Commission on Afterschool and OST • Task Force on Youth Aging Out of Foster Care

48. AmeriCorps Achieve Massachusetts American Diabetes Association’s Advocacy Committee for Massachusetts Beverly Community Council Boston and Beyond Teen Initiative Boston Youth Services Network Barnstable County Council for Children, Youth & Families Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness Brockton Blueprints Coalition City of Worcester Youth Office Planning Team City of Worcester Social Justice Roundtable Council of Massachusetts United Ways Commonwealth Corps Coalition for Asian Pacific American Youth Childhood Obesity Reduction Task Force Department of Mental Health’s Transition Age Youth Initiative Department of Mental Health’s Youth Development Committee Department of Public Health Youth Violence Prevention Coalition EOHHS youth-related initiatives Equal Justice Partnership Expanded Learning Time Schools Governor’s Adolescent Health Council Governor’s Anti-Crime Council Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee Governor’s Readiness Project Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative Interagency Task Force JP Unidos Latino Partnership for Youth Development Local Officials Human Services Coalition (Mass Municipal Association) Mentoring Organizations Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy Mass Health Wellness Advisory MA Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs Massachusetts Campus Compact Mass Mentoring Network Mass Non-Profit Net Mass. GLBT Youth Commission North Shore Cape Ann Community Health Network Obesity Task Force Pioneering Healthy Communities Prevention First Coalition Racial & Ethnic Disparities Workgroup Suffolk University Center for Restorative Justice and Community Governance Special Commission on Afterschool and Out-of-School Time Summer Safety Funder Collaborative The Juvenile Defense Bar The Partnership for Latino Success Teens Leading the Way Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition United Way/Youth Venture WestMOST Network Worcester Violence Prevention Coalition Workforce Investment Boards Youth ACT YMCA’s of Massachusetts YWCAs of Massachusetts YWCA 30 under 30 Campaign Massachusetts Agenda for YouthLarge Coalitions/ Commissions Represented by Members

49. All Children and Youth… Are college & career ready Have optimal emotional & physical health Are civically engaged Are valued & empowered through supportive relationships Are safe from harm All Families…. Are economically stable & resilient Have safe, affordable & appropriate housing Have access to quality physical & mental health resources All Communities…. Are rich in social & economic capital Are safe & enriching places to live, work, learn, & play Are healthy places to live All Leaders… promote social justice and address root causes foster the development of new leaders  are competent, accountable and responsive to the needs of children, families and their communities and build bridges to ensure their success  Massachusetts leaders will not rest until:

50. Develop 21st Century Skills C &Y Will be college & career ready Foster healthy Lifestyles and resiliency C&Y have optimal emotional & physical health C&Y are valued & empowered Families have access to quality physical & mental health resources Communities are healthy places to live Provide Pathways for Economic Self Sufficiency [C &Y will be college & career ready] Families are economically stable & resilient Communities are rich in social & economic capital Build Safe and Connected Communities C&Y are safe from harm Families have safe, affordable & appropriate housing Communities are safe & enriching places to live, work, learn, & play Create a New Paradigm for community leadership and engagement C&Y are civically engaged Leaders promote social justice and address root causes Leaders foster the development of new leaders  Leaders are competent, accountable and responsive… MA results statements (grouped by priority area)