New Year, New Look at Positive Youth Development

Inside Part I: PYD: NCFY Asks the Experts PYD Today Let Young People Take Charge and They Grow Up To Be Leaders NCFY Podcast: The Power of Service Experts' Favorite PYD Resources Part II: Creating a Youth Master Plan When Cities Make a Plan for Young People, Youth Workers are Part of the Process Master Planning for Youth in Rural Communities Support Systems for Rural Homeless Youth: A Collaborative State and Local Demonstration Keeping Kids Incorporated

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Support Systems for Rural Homeless Youth: A Collaborative State and Local Demonstration

The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) recently awarded grants to three States – Colorado, Iowa, and Minnesota – to carry out demonstration projects helping young people in rural areas (including Tribal lands and other rural Native communities) who are approaching young adulthood and independence but have few or no connections to a supportive family or community resources.

Specifically, grant awards provide funding to States to collaborate with local community-based organizations to influence policies, programs, and practices that affect the design and delivery of services to runaway and homeless youth, ages 16-21, in Transitional Living Programs (TLP), as well as youth aging out of State child welfare systems and into Independent Living Programs (ILP).

Focusing on Three Areas

The demonstration focuses on improving coordination of services and creating additional supports for rural youth, especially in three vital areas:

• Survival support services, such as housing, health care, substance abuse, and/or mental health
• Community, such as community service, youth and adult partnerships, mentoring, peer support groups, and/or Positive Youth Development activities
• Education and employment, such as high school/General Equivalency Diploma (GED) completion, postsecondary education, employment, training, and/or jobs

Involving Youth in All Phases

The demonstration is being conducted in two phases: planning and implementation. Currently, grantees are in the planning phase: identifying, convening and consulting with local FYSB-funded agencies providing services to youth in TLP and ILP programs in rural communities.

FYSB sees youth participation as fundamental to the success of the projects. Each project will emphasize youth participation and leadership development in the planning and implementation of project strategies and activities.

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