Ready News: March 5, 2020

Positive Youth Development across the Federal Government: A Thought Leader Conversation with Cheri Hoffman

Free Webinar
April 1, 2020
2:00 – 3:00 pm EST

At least 21 federal agencies support programs and services focused on youth. What does it take to make sure that all of these policies and programs add up to positive, healthy outcomes for young people?

For over a decade, the Federal Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs has brought together representatives from these federal agencies to promote achievement of positive results for at-risk youth through coordination and collaboration, evidence-based and innovative strategies, and youth engagement and partnerships.

In this thought leader session, Karen Pittman will sit down with Cheri Hoffman, who chairs the working group and also directs the Division of Children and Youth Policy for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services. This session will explore how the working group helps federal agencies approach positive youth development and emerging ways that the working group is tackling its mission.

Register now!

Ready by 21 National Meeting Room Block Ending Soon

The ninth annual Ready by 21 National Meeting will begin just six weeks from now! We hope to see all of you in Louisville, Kentucky for the premier convening of the many sectors and leadership bodies who care about young people. The agenda has taken shape (new sessions added regularly), and over 45 information-filled workshops will be offered over the course of April 15-17 to help you accelerate your work and bring precision to your passion for changing the odds for children and youth.

Please note that the hotel room block ends soon, on Friday, March 20. We encourage you to register and make your travel plans today.

Register now.

What’s the Role of Equity in Evaluation Policy?

Evidence is a potent ingredient in shaping all kinds of policy, from legislation and regulations across levels of government to program-level guidance. Particularly at the federal level, evidence has a growing role in determining what programs and services get funded and how work gets done. As a result, the frameworks that agencies use to ground their work in evidence-such as evaluation policies, principles, and standards-can play a significant role in promoting or hindering equity through the values, parameters, and priorities that they assert.

This new paper from the Forum for Youth Investment, What’s the Role of Equity in Evaluation Policy, examines how current evaluation policies reference the five principles: evaluation rigor, relevance, transparency, independence, and ethics. The brief explores how equity relates to each principle, providing examples from agency policies, and recommending how federal agencies can incorporate equity into principles and standards moving forward.

Review the brief.

Inequitable Opportunity to Learn: Student Access to Certified and Experienced Teachers

Research shows that fully certified and experienced teachers matter for student achievement, but providing equitable access to such teachers has long been a struggle in U.S. schools. Inequitable access to quality teachers is a major contributing factor to opportunity and achievement gaps between students of color and white students. A new Learning Policy Institute report analyzes national- and state-level data from recent U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collections on student access to certified and experienced teachers, examines the extent of these inequities, and includes key policy strategies for addressing them.

Review the report.

Programs for Youth and Young Adults: Science-informed Definitions

A new webpage developed by Child Trends offers a one-stop source of clear and common definitions for terms that may be encountered by practitioners who serve youth and young adults. Some of these terms will be familiar; others may be new. A better understanding of these terms related to youth and young adult development will be useful for practitioners who work day-to-day with young people, for grant writers describing contexts and interventions as they seek funds, or for program managers seeking to update programs or train staff.

The site is designed so that the terms are defined according to a conceptual model that links contexts, interventions, and outcomes. Contexts describe the circumstances that can lead to the need for an intervention, which can, in turn, result in better outcomes. There are also examples of how contexts might be linked with interventions and outcomes in a program setting.

Check out the website.