Ready by 21 State Policy Survey: Child and Youth Policy Coordinating Bodies in the U.S.
Children's council or cabinets are active in 29 states and DC; they link the heads of state agencies to coordinate services and foster the well-being of children and youth. The Forum for Youth Investment and RAND Corporation released Ready by 21 State Policy Survey: Child and Youth Policy Coordinating Bodies in the U.S., the first comprehensive survey of what makes these coordinating bodies work best. The survey is attached below (in PDF format).
The survey was released at a June 8th briefing on Capitol Hill, during which the Forum named the eight winners of its first Ready by 21 ® Policy Leadership Award. The Policy Leadership Award recognizes efforts that improve the effectiveness of government policies and procedures to help ensure that all youth will be “ready by 21 – ready for college, work and life.” Several of the awards recognize the work of children’s cabinets, which are composed of leaders from state agencies that are involved in youth issues, who meet regularly to coordinate services, policies, funding and other resources in order to make those services as efficient and effective as possible.
Awards were presented to Martha Moorehouse (director of the Children and Youth Policy Division at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), Alberto Retana (director of Community Outreach for the U.S. Department of Education), U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Colorado's José Esquibel, the members of the Florida Children and Youth Cabinet, Linda O'Neal (executive director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth), Cindy Perry (executive director of the Tennessee State Legislature’s Select Committee on Children and Youth), and Lauren Sterling (director of the Maine Governor’s Children’s Cabinet).
Following the briefing, awardees and other state Children's Cabinet representatives from all over the country took part in a Children's Cabinet symposium, during which they discussed goals, techniques, and collaborations for creating and continuing states Children's Cabinets through discussions, presentations, and panels.
Learn more about the survey in SparkAction's coverage of the event, and check out photos and more from the briefing and award ceremony here. The Forum for Youth Investment and RAND came together in July to discuss the results of the survey--listen to what they and the audience had to say in this archived webinar.
