Ready by 21® Affinity Groups

Youth Councils are state and local policy advising bodies that provide young people an opportunity for their voices to be counted in states and cities across the nation. This learning group is made up of those youth leaders and the adults that assist them in bringing youth perspective to statehouses and city councils mayor’s offices and governor’s offices. As a part of this learning group these youth leaders receive Forum tools and resources, documentation and dissemination of their work to a broader audience and an opportunity to connect with their peers in youth councils across the country.

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>Related News and Publications

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2nd Annual Youth Councils Convening

America's Youth Councils Network, made up of youth councils from across the country, met in Washington, DC on October 25 & 26 to share best practices and gain national attention for youth councils.

 11/13/2009
Ready by 21® 2009-10 Webinar Series Updated

This webinar series will introduce participants to the core and advanced components of Ready by 21®. This challenge calls on states and communities to change the odds for youth by changing the way they do business. This requires broadening definitions of what it means for youth to be ready, for schools and communities to be supportive and for all leaders to be engaged.

10/19/2009
Documents for March 30 Youth Councils Network Call

The following documents provide an updates and summaries of key federal policy that impacts children and youth:

 03/30/2009
Webinar: Creating State and Local Youth Policy Councils

This Webinar, held on December 3rd, 2007, offered an opportunity to hear firsthand about how youth from across the country are successfully engaging with policymakers in formal bodies called youth councils. The Forum also discussed the key principles of creating an effective youth council, which are outlined in the paper Building Effective Youth Councils.

12/03/2007
Arizona: Governor's Youth Commission

The Governor’s Youth Commission (GYC) is intended to be a diverse and representative body of the high school population within the state of Arizona. The GYC consists of forty members composed of sophomores, juniors and seniors from across the state.

06/15/2004
Boston, MA: Boston Mayor's Youth Council

The Mayor's Youth Council provides Boston's young people with an active role in addressing youth issues. High school juniors and seniors are selected to serve as volunteer representatives of every neighborhood in the city.

06/15/2004
Hampton, VA: Hampton Youth Commission

The Hampton Youth Commission is a city funded Commission composed of 24 high school aged youth from all four of the public high schools in Hampton as well as Peninsula Catholic and Hampton Roads Academy. The Hampton Youth Commission represents the ideas and opinions of young people in the city, in order for the youth to have a more formal role in the city's planning and decision making.

06/15/2004
Iowa: State of Iowa Youth Action Committee

The State of Iowa Youth Action Committee (SIYAC), is a nonpartisan policy-advisory organization consisting of 15-17 high school students from across the state.

06/15/2004
Kentucky: Kentucky Child Now! Youth Advisory Council

The Youth Advisory Council works with the Kentucky Child Now! Board of Directors and participates in the planning and coordination of youth events and leadership training. Council members also promote community service statewide, are advocates for youth concerns and work to get youth more involved in their communities.

06/15/2004
Louisiana: Louisiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council

The Louisiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council will examine and advise the legislature on issues such as education, school violence, substance abuse, youth employment, and ways to motivate young people to actively participate in their community and government.  Click here to read the authorizing legislation.

 06/15/2004