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City Platform Section II, Step 15:
"Build stronger linkages among key institutions (e.g., police departments, city human service agencies, juvenile courts, and foster care agencies) to help vulnerable youth, including those leaving systems of public care, children of immigrants, homeless youth, and pregnant or parenting teens."
Cities have a vested interest in helping vulnerable youth access the opportunities and support they need to get their lives onto a positive path, including education and employment services. However, cities cannot make progress in this area without strong cross-system relationships with the school districts, non-profit organizations, and state and county agencies that interact with these youth on a daily basis.
City Examples
Baltimore, Md.
Baltimore has a strong record of collaboration between the school system and the youth employment and training system. One of these collaborative efforts that is yielding promising results is the Operation Safe Kids pilot, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, which brings numerous agencies together for integrated and holistic case management of some of the city's youth who are most involved with the justice system.
Staff in the city's Health Department work closely with colleagues in the state Department of Juvenile Services and other city and state agencies to ensure that participating young people get the support they need to become productive adults. Based on an individual's needs, he or she may be connected to mental health services, substance abuse treatment, employment counselors, and educational and supportive services (including alternative education programs).
In addition, young people in the program participate in weekly recreational activities, such as go-cart racing, attending sports games, or going to the movies. Operation Safe Kids has already begun to show significant progress, reducing by 43% the rate of re-arrest among participants in the program longer than 6 months.
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Brawley, Calif.
In Brawley, the city Parks and Recreation Department has been at the forefront of tackling out-of-school youth issues. With all schools labeled low-performing, the city worked with the Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program (IVROP) and the Imperial County Office of Employment Training (ICOET) - the lead agencies for a Department of Labor Youth Opportunity grant - to offer the youth in the Enterprise Zone of Brawley (and nearby Calipatria) the necessary skills and work experience opportunities to successfully transition into adulthood, careers, further education, and training.
Project Steps of Success provides a complete menu of services to participants, which is tailored to focus on youths' strengths and aspirations, such as counseling, support groups, life skill building and character education classes, mentoring, recreational and academic programs, job placement, tutoring, job shadowing, field trips to colleges, vocational training, and employability skills.
In addition to the Parks and Recreation Department, the police department, city water plant, public library, and numerous school and community partners participate in this effort. The Cities of Brawley and Calipatria are now using a foster care system grant, migrant farm worker grant and Department of Rehabilitation and Mental Health employees a few times a week as a way to sustain programs as Youth Opportunity funds come to an end.
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Resources
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