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Youth Council Institute Home About Tools and Resources Network Members Profiles Promising Practices Newsletter Meeting and Event Archives |
About
YCi YCi began with conversations within and among the staff of both the California Workforce Investment Board and the California Department of Education regarding the need to assist California's 50 Youth Councils in developing comprehensive youth-serving systems and to expand the scope of their activities well beyond the regulatory mandates of the Workforce Investment Act. Local Youth Councils were struggling to define their role and position within their local area. Local education agencies signaled frustration with the inconsistency in the composition and perceived responsibilities of local Youth Councils, in particular their relationships to schools. Public comment at various statewide conferences and workshops consistently requested support from the state to implement local systems able to serve all youth. Local Youth Councils indicated a need for help in attracting youth members and in effectively recruiting and retaining youth program participants. Youth Councils also required a catalyst at the policy and coordination level to help leverage a broad range of local resources and to create a system that would be responsive to individual youth needs regardless of the location of a young person's initial enrollment. Youth themselves, the ultimate customers and beneficiaries of the local youth-serving system, needed a collaborative and connected system offering services on a universal basis. YCi represented a new idea for states within the workforce development system - that of the state being a collaborative partner with third-party organizations in encouraging local providers and systems to pursue an agenda beyond simple compliance. From 2001 through 2005, YCi worked closely with the state as a partner (not a funder) and with the local councils as members of a network (not as clients). YCi was also informed and enhanced by a team of senior representatives of highly respected and knowledgeable organizations from across the country. Between 2001 and 2005, YCi provided peer-networking opportunities for thousands of Youth Council members, staff, local practitioners, and partners so that they could share best practices, receive information, and engage in activities that increased their effectiveness in serving youth. YCi developed and implemented a capacity-building and technical assistance plan for local Youth Councils and their partners that included strategic planning institutes, workshop trainings, regular content conference calls, a newsletter, and dissemination of best practices through both printed and web-based media. In addition, YCi provided strategic support to assist Youth Councils with institutionalizing the capacity to provide age-appropriate, developmental services to young people. YCi developed technology-based solutions, such as a website, list serve, and email distribution list to enhance communication and dissemination of information and resources. YCi participants have consistently reported that the YCi experience, resources, and tools have helped move their work forward significantly. In recognition of the outstanding work performed by YCi and its partners, YCi received the 2002 "Architect of Change-Innovation in Customer Service Award" from the National Association of Workforce Agencies and U.S. Department of Labor. Currently the Youth Council Institute is expanding its scope beyond California to reach a national audience of state and local Youth Councils. The first stage of this expansion involves adapting materials originally designed for California Youth Councils so that they can be readily used by councils in every state. The revised version of The YCi Guidebook is part of that effort. The expansion also includes the new national focus of this web site with its library of tools, materials, and publications as well as reports of promising practices being implemented by Youth Councils from around the country. The William Randolph Hearst Foundation is supporting these efforts.The YCi Approach YCi employs the principles of collaboration and innovation, and applies state-of-the-art processes and tools to its work. YCi utilizes three frameworks for success that have evolved from the work of YCi with the input of practitioners and providers throughout California and around the nation. The three YCi frameworks address the following questions:
YCi Impacts
A comprehensive review of YCi's impacts across California and in local communities is available online in the Youth Council Institute 2005 Impact Report. (PDF 364 kb) For more information about YCi, or to sign up for the listserve, contact New Ways staff at info@newwaystowork.org. |
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