Fact Sheet: Positive Youth Development State and Local Collaboration Demonstration Projects

History

The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) funds Research and Demonstration (R&D) projects to enhance knowledge about key issues in serving young people and to build capacity in the youth service field. Going beyond providing services and support to young people, FYSB R&D projects test strategies for redesigning youth-related systems and services.

Between 1998 and 2003, FYSB awarded more than $7.8 million in State Youth Development Collaboration Demonstration Projects to 13 States to develop and support innovative youth development strategies.

The original grants enabled the States to identify and develop new, or strengthen existing, youth development strategies. Each State designed a unique plan for implementing the demonstration project on the basis of its identified needs and prior youth development activities. These efforts focused on all youth, including youth in at-risk situations such as runaway and homeless youth, youth leaving the foster care system, abused and neglected children, and other youth served by the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

States’ activities included: assessing existing statewide policies and procedures to determine how best to integrate youth development principles into current approaches; providing training on the Positive Youth Development approach; involving young people in program and policy development; organizing regional, State, or community-wide conferences and forums; creating new outlets for sharing information on youth development; developing and supporting statewide coalitions of agencies serving runaway and homeless youth; and identifying data to measure positive outcomes.

In 2004 and 2005, the bureau awarded an additional $3.0 million to continue its investment in collaborative approaches through the Positive Youth Development State and Local Youth Development Collaboration Projects. Wanting local communities to benefit from the successes of the State-level projects, FYSB launched the State and Local Collaboration Demonstration Projects to encourage cooperation between State governments and local community jurisdictions or Tribes. The grants were awarded to 9 of the original 13 states: Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, and Oregon. The State and Local Collaboration Demonstration Projects specifically aim to move the earlier State-level successes in promoting Positive Youth Development to the level of local communities.

Between 2004 and 2007, the Bureau has awarded an additional $6.8 million to continue its investment in collaborative approaches through the Positive Youth Development State and Local Youth Development Collaboration Projects. Wanting local communities to benefit from the successes of the State-level projects, FYSB launched the State and Local Youth Development Collaboration Projects to encourage cooperation between State governments and local community jurisdictions or Tribes. The grants were awarded to 9 of the original 13 states: Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, and Oregon. The State and Local Collaboration Demonstration Projects specifically aim to move the earlier successes in promoting Positive Youth Development from the State to the local level.

Purpose

The mission of the Family and Youth Services Bureau is to provide national leadership on youth and family issues. The Bureau promotes positive outcomes for children, youth, and families by supporting a wide range of comprehensive services and collaborations at the local, Tribal, State, and national levels. FYSB programs offer positive alternatives for youth, ensure their safety, and maximize their potential to take advantage of available opportunities.

FYSB’s Positive Youth Development State and Local Collaboration Demonstration Projects pilot innovative ways to increase opportunities for Positive Youth Development at the local level, going beyond policy and broadly-focused initiatives to develop intensive, community-based efforts that involve local stakeholders and provide developmental opportunities for young people.

Grantees are State-level agencies that collaborate with local nonprofits and the FYSB Runaway and Homeless Youth provider in the community to build relationships with community organizations, local government agencies, nonprofits, schools—and, of course, young people. The shared objective: give youth more opportunities to use their time in positive ways and to put their considerable energy and ingenuity to work—through education, employment, community service, sports, the arts, and so on. Specifically, the projects’ goals are to:

(1) encourage collaboration, among the State and local (or Tribal) agencies and communities, that will increase opportunities for Positive Youth Development;
(2) promote and facilitate communication and cooperation between the State and local youth-serving agencies in addressing the needs and issues of adolescents and young adults;
(3) encourage ongoing community participation in the planning and execution of strategies aimed at the positive development of their young people; and
(4) energize local constituencies around a Positive Youth Development agenda.

In addition, the projects aim to increase opportunities for young people by providing them with:

(1) more ways to use their time positively, for instance by playing sports, volunteering, learning new skills, or working;
(2) more ways to express themselves positively, find their strengths and talents, and get a healthy start in life; and
(3) more opportunities to get involved in their communities and to give back through community service.

FYSB'S Grant Award Process

When new funds become available, FYSB will solicit applications through the Grants.gov Web site at http://www.grants.gov. Applications are reviewed by peer panels, and successful applicants may receive up to 5-year grants. While FYSB funds demonstration activities through the grants process, research activities are carried out under the auspices of contracts. Both methods are competitively reviewed.

For More Information

The experiences of the State Collaboration Projects provide lessons on various aspects of collaborative work – such as goal setting, resource development, marketing, and evaluation – that may inform the efforts of organizations and communities launching similar efforts. For information about lessons learned from these projects, click here.

For further information about FYSB’s State and Local Collaboration Demonstration Projects, contact the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth, P.O. Box 13505, Silver Spring, MD 20911-3505; (301) 608-8098; fax: (301) 608-8721; e-mail: ncfy@acf.hhs.gov; Web site: http://ncfy.acf.hhs.gov.