Report/Paper

Leaders across the country agree that America must have more citizens with a postsecondary credential to be successful in the 21st century. Policymakers in all 50 states are realizing that, in order to maintain economic vitality their state’s policies must support higher education access and success.

To have a collective impact on child and youth outcomes, leaders must develop and implement a broad, long-term child and youth strategy, and be accountable for results. This can be a challenge. Policies often require the creation of strategic plans that are organized around a single, narrow topic.

Fragmented data systems result in wasted resources; we are letting young people fall through
the cracks. if we don’t provide our policy makers the information they need to see how fragmented programs and policies could fit together, and if we don’t provide our direct service providers the in-

The U.S. Department of Education just made it easier for agencies to share important data about young people - data that will help them improve services and supports. The Department's new guidance on FERPA makes significant strides in recognizing that a young person's development takes place both inside the classroom and out.

Balancing work and school can hinder a young person’s success in higher education. However, the opposite can also be true: Good jobs facilitate student persistence and completion. So what does it look like when working works for students? That’s what we need to understand in order to transform employment opportunities into drivers of student success.

Should young people be considered actors in school change, or simply the recipients of changed schools? Growing evidence and our own experience in the field suggest the former. Youth-led efforts to create change in schools, districts and education policy are on the rise.

Everyone who runs a youth program believes in their hearts that their program helps kids – but in their heads, they know they need convincing data to prove it.

This new guide from the Forum for Youth Investment – From Soft Skills to Hard Data: Measuring Youth Program Outcomes – is here to help them get it.

In February 2011, President Obama released a Presidential Memorandum on Administrative Flexibility, charging all agencies with aligning administrative and regulatory requirements to allow States, localities, or tribes to target funds toward coordinated efforts t