August 2001 Updates: Forum Mission and Membership

The mission of the Forum is to increase the quality and quantity of youth investment and youth involvement by promoting a "big picture" approach to planning, research, advocacy and policy development among a broad range of organizations that help constituents and communities invest in children, youth and families.

Comments on Our Mission

The mission of the Forum can be broken down into a four agendas:

1. increasing the quantity of investments in youth;
2. increasing the quality of investments in youth;
3. increasing the quality of youth involvement; and
4. increasing the quantity of youth involvement.

Over the past few months, we have talked to many people about the Forum’s mission. Read what field leaders are saying about our mission; which agenda they would prioritize
highest, and why.

“For me, all four are intertwined. Indeed, investment and involvement are two sides of the same coin. If pushed, though, I would advocate quality over quantity — the quality of both youth involvement and investment. That’s where I would make the initial cut.

Then, if I had to pick just one, I’d suggest a focus on the quality of youth investment, even though one of the biggest stumbling blocks has been the quantity of those investments — all the huffing and puffing about school
reform amounts to little unless we commit additional resources. Until we, as a society, get behind the idea that
investing in youth is essential, neither the quality nor the quantity of our investment will be adequate.”
—Barbara Cervone, Executive Director,
What Kids Can Do

“I would say the third one — increasing the quality of youth involvement. The reason why is because the youth institution in which most of our young people are
involved is the school. If we could enhance the quality of youth involvement — the extent to which the school saw young people as resources for problem solving in their communities, for service in their communities — we
would significantly improve outcomes for young people and the perceptions that people have of our youth.”
—Marty Blank, Staff Director,
Coalition for Community Schools

“It’s hard to pick one. We have a lot of work around the youth involvement piece; but that directly relates to investments. One of the key qualities is involving youth in what the investments are. When you talk about quantity, on a community level, do we need a new after-school program? Do we need something in this neighborhood that has no resources? Even when you talk about quantity, it intersects with the idea of involvement. I think the issues of involvement directly impact the issues of quality and quantity of investments.”
—Hartley Hobson, Vice President,
Innovation Center

“I agree with you that they should be four sides of the same coin. For us, the quantity and quality of investments is the overarching issue — obviously, they’re connects. We work on quality through practice — direct
youth worker certification and working with organizations. Youth involvement always gets the least energy although I’ve been encouraged recently with the extent of work
in this area."
—Peter Kleinbard, Executive Director,
Youth Development Institute, Fund for City of New York

Forum Membership

We continue to expand our network of members and affiliates working to represent the full range of organizations involved in supporting youth. Over the last six months, 38 organizations have signed on as members
and three organizations that are not “joiners” have become affiliates of the Forum. In addition, there are nearly 30 more organizations that are interested in Forum membership
and are in the process of learning more about what it means to be a member. Whatever the designation, we are committed to working closely with and learning more about all of the organizations on the list and ensuring that their involvement with the Forum yields real and lasting benefits for their organizations, the allied youth fields and for young people in general. In addition to the list printed here, there are literally hundreds of other organizations
that are on our radar screen. But we are not just in this for the numbers. We are being slow and deliberate about our expansion and plan to engage additional organizations
when it makes sense in terms of issues, projects or opportunities.

Please visit the Forum for Youth Investment's Web site at www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/netmember.htm to learn about becoming a member of the Forum.

Members and Advisors
As of August 2001

American Association of School Administrators
American Youth Policy Forum
Annenberg Institute for School Reform*
Center for Child Well-being
Center for Youth Development and Policy Research, AED*
Children’s Aid Society*
Child Welfare League of America*
Coalition for Community Schools, IEL
Community Impact!*
Connect for Kids, Benton Foundation
Council of Chief State School Officers
CYD Publishing Group (publisher of CYD Journal)
Do Something, Inc.
Fight Crime: Invest In Kids
High/Scope Educational Research Foundation
I Am Your Child Foundation*
Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development
Institute of Cultural Affairs
John Gardner Center for Children and Communities, Stanford University
Jobs for the Future*
Listen, Inc.*
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy*
National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University*
National Crime Prevention Council
National Funding Collaborative on Violence Prevention
National League of Cities*
National School-Age Care Alliance (NSACA)
National Youth Employment Coalition
Public Education Network*
Urban Libraries Council
Quest International
Search Institute
What Kids Can Do
Youth Development Institute, Fund for the City of New York
Youth Law Center*
Youth Leadership Institute*
Youth Service America
YouthBuild USA*

Affiliates
As of August 2001

Child Trends
Harvard Family Research Project, Harvard University
National Governors Association

Interested Organizations
As of August 2001

Advocates For Youth
Alliance for Children and Families
Board on Children, Youth, and Families, National Academy of Sciences
California Tomorrow
Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago*
Children’s Defense Fund
Coalition of Community Foundations for Youth
Communities in Schools
Education Trust
The Finance Project
FrameWorks Institute*
Indiana Youth Institute
Institute for Learning Innovation
Juvenile Law Center
Learning First Alliance
Libraries for the Future
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
National Collaboration for Youth
National Institute on Out-of-School Time
National Network for Youth
National Training Institute, AED
National Urban League
Policy Exchange, IEL
Public/Private Ventures*
Sar Levitan Center for Social Policy Studies
Stand for Children
United Way of America

*Leaders in these organizations also serve as advisors

Read More...

Read the full text of "What Kids Can Do: A Forum Interview with Barbara Cervone, Executive Director."

Read the full text of "Innovation Center: A Forum Interview with Hartley Hobson, Vice President."

Read the "May 2001 Forum Update" to learn more about recent Forum activities.

August 2001 FYI Newsletter (This 15-page PDF document will open in a new browser window. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to download this file.)

The Forum for Youth Investment. (2001, August). "Updates: Forum Mission and Membership." FYI Newsletter, 1(1). Retrieved from www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/fyiaug2001.pdf