Strategy Guides

Taking the First Step: Six Ways to Start Building Financial Security and Opportunity at the Local Level (2013)

Drawing on the experiences of cities of all sizes across the nation, a new report published by CFED and NLC highlights six no-cost or low-cost ideas for how city officials can get started in helping more families in their community achieve financial stability.

Municipal Leadership for Postsecondary Success: Getting Started (2012)

This municipal action guide highlights steps that city leaders can take to increase the proportion of residents in their communities who obtain postsecondary degrees and credentials.

Using and Sharing Data to Improve Postsecondary Success (2012)

This new NLC municipal action guide highlights action steps that municipal leaders can take to understand college access and success rates in their cities, including where students exit the educational pipeline and what factors appear to affect student outcomes.

Conducting a Scan of Local Efforts to Promote Postsecondary Success (2012)

This guide provides an in-depth look at the important information gathering work that must precede a comprehensive postsecondary success initiative. City leaders can conduct a scan of local postsecondary success efforts to understand what supports are available to students across the educational pipeline.

City Leadership to Promote Black Male Achievement (2012)

This municipal action guide highlights potential strategies and promising city approaches for reducing the persistent disparities between black males and their peers in the areas of education, work and family.

City Strategies to Engage Older Youth in Afterschool Programs (2012)

To assist city leaders who are working to expand the number of high-quality programs for youth ages 11-18, the YEF Institute has published this new guide on City Strategies to Engage Older Youth in Afterschool Programs, with support from The Wallace Foundation. The guide identifies four strategies that city leaders can use to increase afterschool program participation among older youth.

Collecting and Using Information to Strengthen Citywide Out-of-School Time Systems (2011)

Published with support from The Wallace Foundation, this strategy guide developed by the YEF Institute and the Harvard Family Research Project highlights six strategies for collecting and using data to assess and improve local afterschool programs.

Demonstrating Return on Investment Through Evaluation: Recommendations From the Field (2011)

This report synthesizes the key findings on the utility of evaluation for California Cities Gang Prevention Network sites and provides an overview of the fundamental principles to consider when developing an evaluation of a comprehensive gang and youth violence prevention initiative.

Fully Incorporating Prevention in Comprehensive Youth Violence Reduction Strategies (2011)

Within a comprehensive violence prevention strategy, pursuing and sustaining preventive efforts to minimize future violence well in advance typically poses the greatest challenge for municipal leaders. This action guide, published as part of the California Cities Gang Prevention Network initiative, highlights strategies, action steps and existing city approaches to prevention.

Evaluating Comprehensive Strategies to Reduce Gang-Related Violence (2011)

This action guide, published as part of the California Cities Gang Prevention Network initiative, highlights strategies and action steps for evaluating comprehensive gang violence prevention efforts.

Reducing Gang Violence through Reentry Services (2011)

The risk of recidivism is extremely high for the growing numbers of formerly incarcerated people are released from prison, jail, or other correctional facilities. This action guide, published as part of the California Cities Gang Prevention Network initiative, highlights strategies and action steps for delivering effective reentry services, particularly to gang-affiliated individuals

Authentic Youth Civic Engagement: A Guide for Municipal Leaders (2010)

Published with support from the Surdna Foundation, this guide offers practical tools for promoting meaningful youth participation in local government.

Promoting School Readiness by Improving Family, Friend and Neighbor Care Municipal Action Guide (2010)

This guide highlights steps that city leaders can take to connect family, friend and neighbor (FFN) caregivers with the information, resources and support needed to promote early learning and healthy child development.

Strengthening Partnerships and Building Public Will for Out-of-School Time Programs (2010)

Published with support from the Wallace Foundation, this guide describes strategies that city leaders can use to generate support for expanding access to high-quality out-of-school time activities.

Cities Pave the Way: Promising Reentry Policies that Promote Local Hiring of People with Criminal Records (2010)

This report published by the National Employment Law Project (NELP) and the YEF Institute highlights innovative local hiring policies that enable people with criminal records to find work, live within the law and give back to their communities. The guide highlights an emerging trend in which cities "ban the box" that asks about an individual's criminal record on city job applications.

The State of City Leadership for Children and Families (2009)

The YEF Institute's first-ever report on the State of City Leadership for Children and Families highlights the broad range of innovations and trends in municipal leadership to promote child and family well-being, including the nation's most cutting-edge city strategies in nine areas: early childhood, education, afterschool, youth in transition, violence prevention, family economic success, community wellness, youth civic engagement, and local "infrastructure" for children, youth and families.

Supporting Foster Youth Transitions to Adulthood Municipal Action Guide (2009)

Published with support from the Walter S. Johnson Foundation and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, this guide highlights strategies for helping young people successfully transition from the foster care system and improving access to housing, education, employment, health, and other services.

Financial Strategies to Support Citywide Systems of Out-of-School Time Programs (2009)

This strategy guide, made possible by support from The Wallace Foundation, describes several options that city officials may consider for supporting and sustaining local programs.

Cities and Statewide Afterschool Networks Partnering to Support Afterschool (2009)

This guide, published with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, features examples of how municipal leaders are working with the 38 statewide afterschool networks to influence state afterschool funding and policies and to strengthen local programs.

Implementing a Citywide Gang Violence Reduction Strategy (2008)

This strategy paper highlights comprehensive, citywide gang prevention initiatives in San Jose, San Bernardino, and Santa Rosa, Calif., and lessons that emerged from the first year of the California Cities Gang Prevention Network.

Building Effective Youth Councils (2007)

Produced by the Forum for Youth Investment in collaboration with the YEF Institute and the National Conference of State Legislatures, this report highlights key tasks for creating an effective youth council.

Early Childhood Needs and Resources Community Assessment Tool (2006)

This tool is designed to help local officials better understand the status of young children in their cities, as well as the existing local activities or initiatives that support successful early childhood development.

State and Local Support for Earned Income Tax Credit Outreach Campaigns (2006)

This report describes how state and local governments have strategically funded EITC outreach campaigns to help low-income families become more financially secure and bring additional federal dollars into local communities.

A City Platform for Strengthening Families and Improving Outcomes for Children and Youth (2005)

The platform identifies the "essential infrastructure" needed for sustained progress on behalf of children, youth, and families, and offers a menu of ideas and action steps that cities of any size can take in each of seven issue areas.

Strengthening America's Families: An Agenda for Municipal Leaders (2004)

This agenda booklet offers policy and program options, as well as a broad range of action steps for local officials seeking new ways of doing business that will lead to better outcomes for children, families, and their neighborhoods.

Screening Tools to Help Families Access Public Benefits (2005)

This report provides municipal officials with approaches and specific technology options for using screening tools to connect eligible residents to key state and federal benefits.

Financing Transitional Jobs: A Strategic Guide to Federal Financing Sources (2003)

This report, produced in partnership with the Finance Project, explores federal funding sources and financing options for transitional jobs programs that serve ex-offenders, homeless individuals, and youth.

Assessing Local Afterschool Resources and Needs (2003)

This strategy guide outlines steps that municipal leaders should consider when conducting a needs assessment of local afterschool programs.

Connecting Vulnerable Youth: A Municipal Leaders Guide (2003)

The YEF Institute, in cooperation with AED's Center for Youth Development and Policy Research, produced this publication to give an overview of effective approaches and promising strategies for reengaging disconnected youth.

Strategy Guide on Financing Early Care and Education (2003)

This strategy brief contains an overview of the major federal and state funding sources for early care and education, and a discussion of financing options that city leaders can use when funding early childhood initiatives.

Organizing Guide for Hosting a Community Forum (2003)

This guide was prepared for cities participating in Little Kids, Big Plans Week, which took place in Oct. 2003. However, the guide provides information that can be used in designing a community forum any time of year, and includes suggested steps, format options, and sample agendas and press releases.

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