1. A Background on a Shared Youth Vision Information for Our Council Chairs

2. 2 In This Presentation A Background on a Shared Youth Vision The Federal Shared Youth Vision Maine Children’s Cabinet The Task Force to Engage Maine’s Youth

3. 3 The Federal Shared Youth Vision Partnership http://www.doleta.gov/ryf/ A Federal Partnership between the United States Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, Transportation, the United States Social Security Administration, and the Corporation for National & Community Service.

4. 4 Creating a Collaborative Approach to Prepare Youth for Success in a Global, Demand-Driven Economy In response to the 2003 White House Task Force Report for Disadvantaged Youth, a Federal Interagency Work Group was created to: In response to the 2003 White House Task Force Report for Disadvantaged Youth, a Federal Interagency Work Group was created to: enhance communication, coordination, and collaboration among Federal agencies, and ensure that well-designed and coordinated programs provide the neediest youth opportunities to successfully transition to adult roles and responsibilities.

5. 5 Objectives Develop and coordinate policy, within existing policy structures, to address the needs of our neediest youth Maximize interagency collaborations to utilize the significant expertise within specific Federal agencies Develop innovative approaches that efficiently and effectively respond to serving youth Enhance the quality of service delivery and improve efficiencies Improve the outcomes for the youth we serve

6. 6 Federal Youth Vision Partners US Department of Education US Department of Health & Human Services US Department of Housing & Urban Development US Department of Justice US Department of Labor US Department of Transportation Social Security Administration Corporation for National & Community Service

7. 7 COLLABORATION IS THE KEY! Working together the Federal Partners have accomplished the following:

8. 8 Prioritized investments for: Youth in foster care or aging out of foster care Children of incarcerated parents Court involved youth or those at-risk of involvement Migrant youth Youth with disabilities Native American youth Homeless and runaway youth Out of school youth High school drop-outs

9. 9 Identified State Challenges and Federal Opportunities: The need for information on resources and services across programs/agencies Engagement of state/tribal leadership Models for collaboration Common message/common language Continued support of teams

10. 10 In response to requests for additional resources: A “Solutions Desk” was created to provide a technical assistance (TA) resource that will: Provide a gateway to each of the federal partners’ resource centers, clearinghouses, and training and technical assistance providers, and Provide a gateway to each of the federal partners’ resource centers, clearinghouses, and training and technical assistance providers, and Assist State Teams with their Shared Youth Vision activities.

11. 11 The Federal Partnership is Moving Forward!

12. 12 Resources: White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth Final Report, October 2003 http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/fysb/content/docs/white_house_ta skfforce.pdf http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/fysb/content/docs/white_house_ta skfforce.pdf “New Strategic Vision for the Delivery of Youth Services Under the Workforce Investment Act.” (Training & Guidance Letter No 3-04, http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL3-04.pdf “TEGL 28-05: Expanding ETA’s Vision for the Delivery of Youth Services Under WIA to Include Indian and Native American Youth and Youth with Disabilities.” http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2224

13. 13 Maine Children’s Cabinet http://maine.gov/cabinet/ The mission of the Children's Cabinet is to actively collaborate to create and promote coordinated policies and service delivery systems that support children, families and communities.

14. 14 History of the Children’s Cabinet In 1995, The Children's Cabinet was established to oversee and coordinate the delivery of services to children and youth in Maine. The Children's Cabinet was then composed of the departments of: Corrections, Education, Health & Human Services, and Public Safety. In September of 2003 Governor John E. Baldacci appointed First Lady Karen M. Baldacci Chair of the Maine Children's Cabinet and the statute was amended to also include the Department of Labor as a full standing member. As you can see Maine has once again been ahead of the Federal curve!

15. 15 Based upon the belief that children's needs are best met within the context of relationships at the family and community levels, the vision of the Children's Cabinet is that: The value we place on children and youth… –Children respected, safe and nurtured in their communities; –Children succeeding in school and schools succeding for children; and –Youth Prepared to enter the work force. The value we place on families… –Families having opportunities to work and play; –Families recognizing the rewards and responsibilities of raising children; and –Families living safe and healthy lives. The value we place on communities… –Communities capable of meeting the needs of children and families in all of their diversity; –Communities creating collaborative partnerships; –Communities promoting and modeling clear standards of behavior; and –Communities keeping children and families at the heart of all decisions

16. 16 How the Children’s Cabinet adds Public Value Coordinates approaches to the delivery of services; Establishes administrative priorities across departments and agencies/bureaus; Distributes through its Senior Staff and the Regional Children’s Cabinets Pooled Flexible Funds to fill one-time family needs where there is no other eligibility-related service available to keep a child or teen safely in the home; Leverages resources both human (staff) and financial, that maximizes funding by collaborative grants and best use of federal funding streams, as mandates allow. Operationalizes the Governor’s commitment to creating better outcomes for children and youth in Maine.

17. 17 Former System Renewed System Problems reach crisis stage before action is taken. Prevention and early intervention solve emerging problems well before they reach the crisis stage. Thousands of family problems receive minimal or no response either by the State or private system because of a lack of resources. A child or family receives help the first time it is requested. Community and State agencies act independently of each other. Community and State agencies work collaboratively to find solutions for high needs kids with low assets. Schools have limited options to deal with the problems of children, culminating in policies of expulsion and suspension. Schools and communities develop a capacity to deal with emerging problems within the school and community system. Juvenile cases are handled with "retributive justice". Juvenile cases are handled with "restorative justice". Media highlights violence.Media highlights well being of children and families. Voices of young people rarely heard in shaping youth policy. Young people communicate their needs and desire in shaping policy and are heard.

18. 18 The work of the Cabinet is accomplished through the efforts of the Commissioners and the Senior Staff representing each department, the Regional Children’s Cabinets composed of staff from each department, staff working together from each department, all working collaboratively with various local and regional partners. One of the hallmarks of the Cabinet’s approach to its work is the close collaboration it has formed with the University of Maine, primarily through the Edmund S. Muskie Institute for Public Sector Innovation.

19. 19 The Task Force to Engage Maine’s Youth http://www.mainesupportnetwork.org/taskforce/ The mission of the task force is to promote success for all youth by engaging school age youth and their families in educational and/or vocational programming.

20. 20 The Governor’s Mandate The specific mandate was to: –create by June 30, 2007 a collaborative plan identifying strategies to engage Maine’s youth into school and work –review state and national research and data on challenges and solutions –develop by December, 2006 statewide policy and legislation that ensures any student experiencing disruption in their educational program and/or receives instruction in non-traditional settings are awarded credits or competency of standards that meet Maine state graduation requirements based on demonstrated skill acquisition. –report findings to the Governor and Commissioners. –report findings to the Governor and Commissioners.

21. 21 Questions that guided the Task Force Why are youth becoming disengaged from school and/or work? Who are these youth? What are current strategies? How do community and state resources connect with schools? How do we prevent youth from disengaging, intervene when they are at risk and re-engage youth when they have left school and work?

22. 22 Reasons for Concern In 2004 Maine experienced a 75% increase in the number of teens, ages 16 to 19, who were not in school or working, pushing the share of idle teens to 4,527 or 7% of youth (Maine Children’s Alliance) As of January, 2006, 2255 children were in the care and custody of DHHS. Of the 1,048 youth that entered care since 10/1/04 and were still in care as of 11/1/06 –38% (399) youth have had 1 placement, –28.5% (300) have had 2 placements, –17% (179) have had 3 placements and –16.1% (170) have had 4 or more placements in that 2 year period. 1,141 youth were reported as homeless by DOE (2006) In 2005 there were 417 committals to juvenile correctional facilities and 1,870 children and youth were detained (Maine DOC) School administrators report that 35% to 45% of their students are “at risk” (JMG, 2006)

23. 23 Target Population The recommendations are designed to address the challenges of Maine’s youth who are not engaged, or who are at risk of disengaging from school or work. Disengagement may result from a variety of conditions that may or may not be within the youth’s control. They include issues related to high mobility as often experienced by –youth in the foster care system, –youth with psychiatric illness, –youth who are homeless, –youth who live in poverty and –youth who are involved in the juvenile justice system.

24. 24 The Task Force’s Recommendations 1. Increase capacity to identify, track and analyze the status of youth to inform decision making, allocate resources, and assure accountability to Maine’s youth and families. 2. Provide equitable access to a spectrum of high quality learning and service opportunities utilizing a youth-driven, family-centered approach to policy development, services and supports. 3. Collaborate to develop a process so agencies can cross- reference outcomes or policies and services for implementation, efficiency, and reduction of cross-purpose programming 4. Implement and evaluate “An act to implement the recommendations of the task force to engage Maine’s youth regarding successful school completion. 5. The final recommendation calls for an annual cross-departmental report to the Governor that cites the status of the action steps contained in the report and the impact on policy and program changes.

25. 25 Now the Shared Youth Vision Moves Forward…

26. 26 What are we asked to do? We are asked to promote collaboration and improved communications among the various state agencies and community based partners. We are asked to lead the effort to advise and address issues confronting youth ages 9-24 in transitions. We are asked to be guides of the development and implementation of strategic plans. We are asked to review all child/youth population needs with priority given to those youth in transition. We are asked, will we answer?

27. 27 The Partnership Priority The Council shall focus on the following Partnership Priorities, determine goals and primary action steps to address each over time that are aligned with the Task Force recommendations, and evaluate progress: 1. Public and Private Partnerships 2. Youth and Family 3. Community 4. Fiscal Resources