Welcome to Ready by 21® Quality Counts

The Ready by 21 Quality Counts initiative is focused on improving the quality and reach of youth programs and strengthening local and state policies that guide resource allocation, accountability and workforce development. The Ready by 21 Quality Counts initiative provides community, agency and elected leaders from select cities and states across the country with a bold challenge, an infusion of national and local momentum and an accompanying suite of policy-building strategies and tools. Funding for this two-year initiative was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Atlantic Philanthropies.

In 2007, 13 places – 7 communities and 5 states – made formal commitments to use Ready by 21 tools and technical assistance to improve the quality and reach of community programs for youth. The Quality Counts sites took on this challenge with the understanding that long-term success would require not only work with programs directors, but with policy makers and the public.

The Forum for Youth Investment is leading the initiative and, using its Ready by 21 framework, helping communities engage stakeholders, assess leadership and program capacity, identify policy priorities and build momentum for quality improvement. The High/Scope Educational Research Foundation’s research-based quality improvement methodology is at the heart of the initiative, and participating sites also have access to the expertise of the AED National Training Institute for Community Youth Work in the areas of youth worker professional development and intermediary capacity building. These supports are designed to help improve the quality and reach of community programs and strengthen and align policies that guide resource allocation, accountability and workforce development. Learn more about how we are improving quality in the "QC Core Strategies" tab.

The Ready by 21 Quality Counts sites are: Austin, TX, Columbus, IN; Georgetown Divide, CA; Grand Rapids, MI; Indianapolis, IN: Nashville, TN; St, Louis, MO and the states of Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma, New York, Rhode Island and Washington. Find out more about each site in the "QC Site Profiles" tab.

Latest Tools & Materials
Bring Precision to Your Passion: A Quick Overview of the Ready by 21 Approach to Data-Driven Decision-Making
February 24, 2010

Every community and state has dedicated leaders who have taken on the critical task of bringing diverse people and disparate efforts together in order to transform their community or state into a wonderful place to grow up.
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #16: Shining a Light on Supervision: Lessons from the Beacons
February 17, 2010

This commentary takes readers inside the world of the Beacons, to understand their approach to supervision. In it, we ask and answer the questions: What does good supervision of youth work professionals look like? How can we strengthen supervision in ways that improve practice and reduce turnover?

Ready by 21 Webinar- Introduction to the Ready by 21 Challenge- February 23, 1:00 pm-2:00 pm EST
January 25, 2010

Ready by 21 isn’t a program or a campaign or even an initiative. It is a challenge to all who care about children and youth to think differently – to learn a different way to approach all of the tasks associated with trying to manage, make or measure change at any level from the classroom to the capitol – so that they can act differently.

Ready by 21 Webinar- Bringing Precision to Your Passion: Ready by 21 Data Integration- Tuesday, January 19, 2010 1:00-2:00 PM EST
December 21, 2009

This session examined tools that can assist leaders answer questions that need to be asked. Larry Pasti, Director of Field Services for the Forum for Youth Investment, presented on data tools and methodologies to ask and respond to more complex questions about who and where children are; how well they are doing; what they are participating in; and how these critical supports are, in turn, being

Youth Today: Mandatory Free Choice Learning
December 11, 2009

The Institute for Learning Innovation defines free choice learning as “learning that fulfills the lifelong human quest for knowledge, understanding and personal fulfillment.” Heady words.

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