That’s the advice the Forum for Youth Investment gave the U.S. Department of Education as it sought input about effective practices and strategies to improve outcomes for disconnected youth. The department’s Request for Information also asked about legislative and regulatory barriers that inhibit states and localities from serving this population as well as they could.

The Forum’s response, delivered on behalf of the Children’s Cabinet Network, cites examples from around the country, particularly four states – Colorado, Florida, Iowa and Nevada – that the Forum has worked with to identify policy barriers and to develop performance pilots to serve disconnected youth. Those states have blended funds from different sources while streamlining application and intake processes, and have streamlined reporting requirements across funding sources. Read about their work and more in the Forum’s response to the RFI.