1. White House Office on Children and Youth Presented to: Kennedy School February 4, 2009

2. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 Overview The need The proposal The models The progress

3. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 The need The White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth identified 339 programs to serve children and youth administered across 12 departments “The complexity of the problems faced by disadvantaged youth is matched only by the complexity of the traditional Federal response to those problems. Both are confusing, complicated, and costly.”

4. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 EducationHealth & FoodSocial Services Child & Family Services Mental Health & Probation Mom Dad 9 year old5 year oldMom’s sister Boyfriend in trouble Baby 1 1/2 Medi-Cal – EPSDT Healthy Families Parent Expansion Child Health & Disability Program Expanded Access Primary Care Trauma Case Funding Co-payments for ER Services Child Lead Poisoning Prevention Program HIV/AIDS Prevention & Education Breast Cancer Screening Food Stamps WIC TANF GAIN, CAL Learn, Cal WORKS, etc. School-Based MH Services for Medi- Cal Kids Probation Officers in Schools Cardenas-Schiff Legislation Health Care Through Probation Mental Health Evaluations Juvenile Halls Child Care – CCDBG, SSBG, Cal WORKS Child Care, etc. After-School Programs – 21 st Century Learning Centers, etc. Promoting Safe & Stable Families Child Abuse & Neglect Programs Foster Care – Transition, Independent Living, Housing, etc. Adoption Assistance, Adoption Opportunities Public Schools ESEA, Title I School Lunch & Breakfast Head Start IDEA After-School Programs Textbook Funding Tests & Achievement Teacher Issues GED Status Quo Children’s Services in LA County SOURCE: Margaret Dunkle

5. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 The problem No overall strategic plan No overarching benchmarks and public accountability No integrated approach to program quality No high level youth voice

6. The proposal

7. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 White House Office on Children and Youth Develop and oversee National Youth Strategy Oversee National Child and Youth Development Council House the National Youth Advisory Board Fund parallel state efforts $50M/year ($40 to states)

8. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 National Youth Strategy Overarching goals and performance measures Reports Child and youth report card (indicators of well being) Program availability (quality and quantity of youth services) Child and youth budget (spending) All disaggregated by age, race, gender, geographic distribution, population density, SES, etc.) Strategic plan (program and budget priorities) Youth views and perspectives

9. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 National Child and Youth Development Council Membership Chaired by the President All relevant Secretaries 2 State Children’s Cabinet Directors 3 NGO leaders Duties Assist in the development and implementation of the National Youth Strategy Solicit advice from the National Youth Advisory Board

10. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 National Youth Advisory Board 14-24 year olds Advise the President and senior government officials Work in partnership with state and local youth advisory boards to solicit views from young people across the country Prepare written input into each section of the National Youth Strategy

11. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 State funding $40M State Youth Services Coordinating Entities and State Youth Advisory Boards To develop and implement state versions of the National Youth Strategy To empower State Youth Advisory Boards in the development and implementation of the strategy

12. The Models

13. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 Domestic Models 24 members of State Children’s Cabinets and Councils Network 12 members of State Youth Councils Network

14. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 Commonwealth of Nations’ Youth Charter (1) Form a national youth policy as a framework for all agencies and organizations; (2) Form a national action plan to achieve the policy; (3) Nominate a lead agency in government responsible for coordinating youth matters across government; (4) Create government machinery to achieve a coordinated and holistic government response (e.g., inter-Ministerial committee); (5) Establish consultative and participatory mechanisms with young men and women; (6) Establish a youth affairs collaborative mechanism among government, non-government organizations, communities and youth; (7) Create an annual gender disaggregated youth budget, including the total contribution of government toward youth across all ministries; (8) Develop capacity-building mechanisms within the fields of training, development, professional networking and research.

15. The Progress

16. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 Legislative Progress In 2005, the House of Representatives passed the Federal Youth Coordination Act (FYCA; H.R. 856) by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 353 to 62 It was later incorporated into the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (PL 109-365) as Title VIII First time funding for its implementation was included in the House FY09 Labor-HHS-ED Appropriations bill FYCA is up for reauthorization and has been introduced by Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) as H.R. 7004

17. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 Executive branch progress Web site: www.whitehouseofficeonchildrenandyouth.org www.whitehouseofficeonchildrenandyouth.org Letter to Obama signed by more than 90 of the country's leading child and youth organizations, more than 300 state and local government agencies and non-government organizations, and more than 1000 highly involved individuals signed on. Outreach to transition team members Continued outreach to senior administration officials

18. © The Forum for Youth Investment 2008 For more information Thaddeus Ferber Program Director The Forum for Youth Investment thaddeus@forumfyi.org www.whitehouseofficeonchildrenandyouth.org www.forumfyi.org