Update from the YTFG Spring Meeting on Well-Being of Youth

Gregory Lewis, True Colors Fund

 

Hi -- YTFG had a great meeting with a focus on improving the well-being of youth transitioning to adulthood.  The backdrop of being in New Orleans, with the challenge of connecting an estimated 30,000 young people to school or work, added a sense of urgency to the meeting.  I've heard a critique that the phrase well-being is very general and too "fluffy" (is that a new policy term?) but listening these panelists and thinking about the faces of the young people we met at Covenant House it's clear that well-being is about survival, safety, health care, jobs, education, spiritually and social supports and finding a place that you belong. 

Thanks to all of our incredible panelists.  Links to their organizations and presentations are below.


The Case for Investing in the Well-Being of Vulnerable Young People
 
This panel explored the key developmental competencies and skills young people need to develop to grow and thrive, the characteristics of nurturing environments that promote well-being for older youth, and promising investment strategies that support healthy development for vulnerable youth.

Anthony Biglan, Senior Scientist, Oregon Research Institute shared a developmental framework for youth overview, new research on the importance of nurturing environments, and what interventions can support healthy development.

Presentation:  Creating a Coalition for Nurturing Environments 

Bryan Samuels, Executive Director, Chapin Hall, shared research on the effects of trauma and toxic stress on the development of young people and how funders can support efforts to ensure vulnerable youth can get back on track.

Presentation:  Connecting the Dots: Trauma, Toxic Stress and Well-Being Outcomes for Transition Aged Youth

Applying a Well-Being Lens to Youth-Serving Systems: Improving the Social and Emotional Well-Being of Transitioning Youth

Panelists considered how federal youth-serving agencies are utilizing a well-being approach to federal policies and programs and how state and local juvenile justice, child welfare and education agencies can create policies and practices that support the social and emotional well-being of transitioning youth.

Judge Ernestine Gray, Chief Judge, Orleans Parish Juvenile Court shared efforts underway in New Orleans to create a new focus on well-being within the juvenile court system.  Judge Gray offered the following recommendations to YTFG members:
Move the system away from silo funding; look for opportunities to fund programs that look at well-being across domains and that bring service providers together.
Make sure that new information gets out and that practitioners understand the research.
For kids coming into systems, think of ways to empower and nurture their mothers and to give them the skills to nurture their own children, even as they are struggling to meet their basic needs.
Move away from one-size-fits-all services, and instead design programs that are flexible enough to fit a family's unique needs.

Renee Hallock, Associate Commissioner, New York Office of Children and Family Services shared efforts underway in New York State to create new policies and programs focused on well-being within the child welfare agency.

White Paper:  NY OFCS - Promoting Well-Being
 
Dr. Pauline Dow, Chief Academic Officer, Austin Independent School District shared how Austin ISD is implementing social and emotional learning throughout elementary, middle and high schools. 

Overview:  Social and Emotion Learning - AISD
Presentation: Social and Emotional Learning in Austin ISD

The Face of Youth Homelessness:  What Youth Funders Need to Know

This panel explored the causes of youth homelessness, promising new directions and policy opportunities for the field, and the role of funders who invest in vulnerable youth.
 
Nan Roman, National Alliance to End Homelessness, provided an overview of current data on the characteristics and causes of youth homelessness.
 
Presentation: The Face of Youth Homelessness
Resource:  Framework for Ending Youth Homelessness
 
Anne Miskey, Funders Together to End Homelessness, noted that public and private investments to help homeless youth are currently small relative to investments in children's services.   Anne highlighted new opportunities for funders to improve outcomes in this area, including joining a new community of practice on youth homelessness. 

Katie Hong, Raikes Foundation shared efforts to solve youth homelessness in King County, Washington and highlighted that the role of philanthropy can play: fund essential systems-building and coordination work; raise awareness and support for this issue; and fund innovative programs - especially in prevention and intervention.

Resource: King County Logic Model
Presentation:  The Face of Youth Homelessness in King County
 
Implementing a Cross-Systems Approach - The Intersection of Homelessness and Systems Serving Vulnerable Youth

This panel explored how foundations, partners from youth-serving organizations and public systems can work together to serve vulnerable youth people.

Aimee Hendrigan, Melville Charitable Trust, shared current efforts underway related to the Invisible No More: Homeless Youth Planning Project in Connecticut.
 
Presentation:  Invisible No More

Jim Kelly,  Covenant House, shared his experiences caring for runaway and homeless youth in New Orleans, including the challenge of increasing demand and reduced funding for services.  

Barbara Duffield, Policy Director, National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, presented on strategies for partnering with education agencies to improve the lives of homeless youth.

Overview:  Higher Education Networks 
Presentation:  Partnering with Education Agencies

Gregory Lewis, Executive Director, True Colors Fund, discussed the overrepresentation of LGBT youth in the homeless population, provided an overview of the Forty to None project's three-tiered approach to improve outcomes and services for LGBT homeless youth, and identified opportunities for philanthropy.

Presentation: Forty to None Project