Access to food, housing, and medical care is critical for young people's development. Yet, many public benefits programs are not designed with their unique needs in mind. In a blog co-authored by Meghan McCann, Vice President of State Policy at the Forum, and Heather Hahn and Laura Wagner from the Urban Institute, we explore how a positive youth development approach can make safety net programs more accessible and effective for youth.

How do we create youth programs that truly meet the needs of every young person? Our Commit to Quality campaign will spotlight the inspiring ways program quality is being elevated across the youth development field.

To kick off the campaign, we spoke with Sheely Mauck, Director of Equitable Quality Improvement Systems, to discuss why program quality matters and what it looks like in practice.

As the demand for education and skills grows, states are redesigning policies to meet the realities of a shifting workforce landscape. In response, the BEST Youth Initiative is fostering cross-system collaboration to create pathways for young people to thrive.

In Part 1 of our new blog series, discover how the BEST Youth Initiative is aligning with governors’ workforce agendas and why workforce readiness is a priority across 34 states.

Part 2 will highlight the innovative approaches each participating state is taking.

The Opportunity Index is an interactive data tool that provides a composite of four distinct dimensions of opportunity- economy, education, health, and community. The 2023 Opportunity Index looks at data across those dimensions over several years to offer trends in opportunity across the country. Explore the full report and watch the recorded webinar for a deeper dive into the findings.

The fall season is a great time to review and replenish your toolkit for creating welcoming and supportive environments. Prioritizing getting to know young people, new staff, or new colleagues and creating a plan to stay connected throughout the year will help set a strong foundation for learning and collaboration.