As a grantmaker, are you interested in helping your communities learn more about alternatives to traditional high schools for disconnected youth? Share how municipal leaders in cities across the nation are helping expand alternatives for students who struggle in traditional high school settings with the publication Setting the Stage for New High Schools: Municipal Leadership in Supporting High School Alternatives, published by the Institute for Youth, Education, and Families at the National League of Cities. Alternatives to the traditional high school suggested by this report include new initiatives that prepare young people to graduate, attend college, and identify career opportunities while also reducing the dropout rates in their communities. Access the report.

There is an emerging trend in the funder community to better understand and leverage OST (out-of-school time) to support the development of children and youth. If you want to learn more about the challenges of engaging teens in after-school programs, check out this new report, Meeting the High School Challenge: Making After-School Work for Older Students, by The After-School Corporation (TASC).

As improving graduation rates and reducing dropouts rates become a national priority, the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago takes a closer look at course grades, failures, and attendance in the Freshman Year in their new report called What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduation in Chicago Public High Schools. Click here to access the report.

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At least one-third of children in foster care have physical or mental disabilities. They are at a strong disadvantage with regard to education, employment, and overall well-being. Youth with Disabilities in the Foster Care System: Barriers to Success and Proposed Policy Solutions is a report from the National Council on Disability that will help federal and state policymakers work more efficiently with these youth in hopes of improving their transition to adulthood and educational outcomes. Click here to read the report's recommendations.

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A new report, Beyond Detention: System Transformation through Juvenile Detention Reform, documents the reforms inspired by the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), a nationally-renowned, data driven, and outcome-based collaborative effort aimed at ensuring that detention is used only when appropriate. The initiative safely diverts young people to alternative forms of supervision. This report finds that juvenile detention reform, including keeping youth safely at home, increasing focus on youth and families, and reducing racial disparities, have a positive effect on these young people's lives. Research has shown that inappropriately detaining youth can contribute to future offenses, jeopardizing public safety, and a reduction in positive outcomes.

Funders interested in learning more about the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative should also check out two issue briefs that outline how detention reform can provide cost savings for communities while serving as an effective strategy for making communities safer. The first is Detention Reform: A Cost-Saving Approach, which looks at the costs of detaining a youth. The second paper, Detention Reform: An Effective Public Safety Strategy, uses juvenile arrest rates in four model JDAI sites as proof that the effects of detention reform extend to the general public and their safety. To download these JDAI detention reform briefs, please visit http://www.jdaihelpdesk.org/Pages/PolicyBriefs.aspx.

Juvenile Drug Courts and Teen Substance Abuse
In this recent publication from the Urban Institute, juvenile justice officials across the United States detail how they are embracing a new method of dealing with adolescent substance abuse. Importing a popular innovation from adult courts, state and local governments have started hundreds of specialized drug courts to provide judicial supervision and coordinate substance abuse treatment for drug-involved juveniles. To order your copy, go to http://www.urban.org/publications/211098.html.

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The Annie E. Casey Foundation and The California Endowment: Foundations ask Presidential Candidates What They'll Do for America
Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is an initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and other national foundations. They are working together to move the issues of poverty and opportunity in America to center stage during the 2008 presidential campaign and beyond. Visit SpotlightOnPoverty.com to learn more about the presidential candidates' views on poverty and find daily updates, opinions, research, and data, as well as links to blogs on poverty and hunger.

Eckerd Family Foundation: New Report Describes Categories of Vulnerable Youth
An important new report from Child Trends, commissioned by the Eckerd Family Foundation, provides data on eight different categories of vulnerable Florida youth and the challenges they face. Policymakers, foundations, government agencies, and practitioners may find this data helpful when determining where to target their resources and when planning outreach strategies. Read the report >>

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Campaign for Youth Launches Mobilization around Reconnecting America's Youth
In anticipation of a new President, a new federal administration, and a new Congress, the Campaign for Youth steering committee released Our Youth, Our Economy, Our Future: A National Investment Strategy for Reconnecting America's Youth, which calls for increased federal investment and outlines a series of recommendation for action for the next President and Congress. To review the recommendations, visit: http://campaignforyouth.org/default/documents/cfy_full.pdf.

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Young Adults in the United States: A Mid-Decade Profile
This report, by The Network on Transitions to Adulthood, updates trends on living arrangements, work, education, marriage, parenthood, and more for young adults. Read more.

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Grantmakers for Children, Youth & Families: Insight,
Winter 2007/2008
As a follow-up to last year's discussions on race, gender, and policy at the YTFG Action Group meetings, we encourage you to check out a recent issue of the Insights publication from our colleagues at Grantmakers for Children, Youth & Families. The winter issue of Insights explores challenges faced by boys and young men of color, drawing on experiences of African-American boys in systems of public care such as education, foster care, and juvenile justice. Click here for more information.

• Education
• Foster Care
• Juvenile Justice
• Spotlight on Funders
• PolicyMatters
• ResearchMatters
• RaceMatters

YTFG ACTION GROUP MEETING – JUNE 3-4TH

New Orleans: A Case Study for Understanding the Implications of State and Federal Policy The YTFG Action Group Meeting: June 3rd and 4th – Mark Your Calendars! Our 2008 spring meeting will be in New Orleans, Louisiana. Please contact Lisa McGill at lmcgill@ytfg.org if you are an action group member and need more information regarding the agenda and location. If you are not an action group member but are a funder and would like to join us in New Orleans, please contact Lisa McGill.

Are you interested in learning more about New Orleans communities, especially post Hurricane Katrina? We encourage you to check out this multimedia resource from one of the YTFG member institutions, the Open Society Institute, prior to joining us in June:

Katrina: An Unnatural Disaster
In January, 2008, The Open Society Institute launched a multimedia website documenting the social and economic toll of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. With numerous never-before-seen photos, articles, radio clips, and videos, the website calls for increased attention to the larger issues of race, poverty, and government neglect that were laid bare by the storms. “Our goal is to spark a national debate around poverty and racism in America beyond the Katrina anniversaries,” said Erlin Ibreck, director of grantmaking strategies at OSI. “The site is devoted exclusively to the aftermath of the hurricanes as documented by investigative reporters.” The new website examines life after the floods from a range of perspectives, focusing on historically neglected groups like the elderly, the incarcerated, low-income, and immigrant communities. To view the website site, visit: www.katrinamedia.org.

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JOB OPENINGS

Senior Program Director at the Lumina Foundation for Education

Senior Associate for Child Welfare at the Annie E. Casey Foundation

Program Manager and Program Assistant at the Child and Family Policy Institute of California

Project Director and Project Manager at the California Investment Partnership

Project Director for Connected by 25 Project at the United Way of Indiana

YTFG regularly posts job announcements on the YTFG Intranet as a courtesy to action group members. To review more job openings, log on to the Intranet at http://ytfg.camp7.org.

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GRANTMAKERS FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES: CHILDREN OF INCARCERATED PARENTS LEARNING SUMMIT

On May 14th, GCYF is convening a national learning summit on children of incarcerated parents. In this one-day session, leading national experts will give grantmakers a thorough orientation to the current research knowledge on the issues, program strategies, and policy agendas in regard to these children and families.

Click here for meeting agenda, logistic details, and registration.

A NATIONAL BLACK MEN AND BOYS SURVEY FROM 21CF

The Twenty-First Century Foundation (21CF) is incubating an exciting new national advocacy and information collaboration called the 2025 Campaign for Black Men and Boys. You can help in drafting the Campaign's policy agenda by completing one or more of the following surveys that are related to the Campaign's priority areas.

Health Survey
Employment/Wealth Survey
Fatherhood Survey
Education Survey
Justice Survey

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt (rtsoiafatt@clasp.org) or Landon Adams (landon@cdatrust.com).

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