April 7, 2011


TheConnector
TheCONNECTOR is Youth Community Connections’ (YCC) communication tool for sharing updates and for seeking action from its partners. TheCONNECTOR contains the following highlights:

RECENT NEWS AND EVENTS
Community Capacity Building Pilots
St. Paul's Sprockets Initiative Aims to Encourage Afterschool Learning
Nominate Middle School Programs for a Chance to Win $10,000
100 Best Communities for Young People Contest Opens
Survey on the Types of Afterschool Tools Available for Cities and Providers
Youth Funders Database
Wilder Youth Leadership Institute
Pass It On!


NEW RESEARCH AND RESOURCES
Artswork Summer Job Opportunities


POLICY AND ADVOCACY
Legislative Update
Federal Update
Minnesota Senate and House Pass Budget Bills that Jeopardize Youth Employment Programs
Educate Your Elected Officials About the Benefits of Afterschool and Summer Learning Opportunities
YCC Policy and Advocacy Committee to Meet April 8, 2011



FUTURE EVENTS
 Global Youth Service Day, April 15-17, 2011
Afterschool for All Challenge
Emerging Issues and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice
STEP-UP Summer Jobs Program Seeking Volunteers to Conduct Mock Interviews with Minneapolis Youth
Youth Work Institute Learning Opportunities
Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota Training Quality Mentors Workshop
Clearing the Hurdles for African Immigrant Youth
2011 Summer Institute in Adolescent Health



RECENT NEWS AND EVENTS

Community Capacity Building Pilots
Youth Community Connections is excited to announce its pilot work, which focuses on building community capacity, to build and or provide a community-wide out-of-school time system. 

YCC is working with the following communities during this pilot:

  • Brooklyn Park
  • Mankato
  • Minneapolis
  • Minnesota’s 11 Tribal Communities
  • St. Paul

YCC aims to add additional communities in the following year and share the lessons learned from these pilot communities.



St. Paul's Sprockets Initiative Aims to Encourage Afterschool Learning
St. Paul officially launched a youth initiative named, "Sprockets,"which consists of a network of 70 nonprofits, city departments and partner organizations offering out-of-school opportunities for youth in St. Paul. Programming through the city focuses on summer learning, college preparation, career training, spirituality, creative ventures, cutlure, healthy lifestyles, community action and leadership, science and the environment, sports, and recreation. The Sprockets effort grew out of the mayor's Second Shift Comission, a community collaboration assembed after Coleman's first election to look at offerings for students outside of school. For more information or to find out-of-school opportunities near you, click here.

 


Nominate Middle School Programs for a Chance to Win $10,000
Youth Community Connections invites you to identify exemplary afterschool programs in Minnesota serving middle school youth to win a $10,000 MetLife Foundation Afterschool Innovator Award and to be featured in the Afterschool Alliance Issue Briefs.  

Nominate a program by May 31, 2011 to be considered for this prestigious initiative, now in its fourth year. Nominees are sought in four categories:

  • Providing Opportunities for Service Learning for Middle School Students — For programs that offer service learning opportunities to middle school youth by integrating community service with instruction to enrich learning experiences, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.
  • Aligning Afterschool with the School Day for Middle School — For programs that reinforce and complement the regular academic programs of the students’ schools and innovatively assist students in meeting state and local academic achievement standards in core academic subjects while also broadening their learning experiences.
  • Addressing Middle School Bullying — For programs that address the issue of bullying in novel and creative ways to teach children the dangers of ostracizing their peers and ways to deal with bullies.
  • Supporting Literacy for Middle School Students — For programs that excel in promoting literacy, competent writing practices and a passion for reading among participating youth.

The MetLife Foundation Afterschool Innovator Awards aim to identify potentially lesser—known, yet highly effective, programs and the individuals running them. Nominees will be judged by the innovative nature of their approach and demonstrated effectiveness. Each of the five award winners will receive $10,000 for their program, to be presented in October in conjunction with Lights On Afterschool. Awardees and other notable nominees will be recognized in a nationally-released Issue Brief and compendium. 

The online nomination form can be found here and additional details, including information about past years’ winners, are available online at http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/metLife.cfm. 

Nominate a program yourself, by emailing cdagostino@afterschoolalliance.org. 

If you have any questions please contact Chris D’Agostino at cdagostino@afterschoolalliance.org or call (202) 347-2030.

 



100 Best Communities for Young People Contest Opens 
 Is your community one of the nation's best places for young people to live, learn and thrive? If so, America's Promise Alliance and ING want to know about it. Apply for the 2011 "100 Best Communities for Young People presented by ING." Any community dedicated to working collaboratively, raising graduation rates and improving the lives of its young people should apply.

Past winners range from some of our nation's largest cities to small rural communities, from counties to school districts. Winners receive a host of benefits, including technical assistance and training sessions to help strengthen successful local programs. Full program information, including eligibility guidelines and a schedule of technical assistance sessions, is available here. Submit by May 4, 2011 to be eligible for grants and scholarships.

 

Survey on the Types of Afterschool Tools Available for Cities and Providers
The National League of Cities’ Institute for Youth, Education, and Families is partnering with The Wallace Foundation to support a survey to identify the types of tools and resources that cities and afterschool providers would find most useful to expand their afterschool, summer, and expanded learning efforts. The survey will be most helpful to communities as they continue to expand their afterschool, summer, and out-of-school time (OST) efforts.   

Your responses will remain strictly confidential, and the survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.  Please click here to access the survey.   

 

Youth Funder Database
Youth Community Connections proudly hosts a FREE youth funders database on its website: http://www.youthcommunityconnections.org/fundingN.html. This free resource allows you to search for funding among private, community and public funders of youth development and OST programming.

Right now we are evaluating this resource and need your input. Please click here to take a quick survey. Completing the survey enters you in a drawing for a $100 gift card. Don’t' miss your chance!

 

Wilder Youth Leadership Initiative 
This month, Youth Community Connections would like to recognize the Wilder Youth Leadership Initiative for its outstanding out-of-school time program.  The Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI) is a multicultural program designed to help youth develop strong, effective leadership skill to work in diverse community settings. The program assists youth in learning about themselves, working with others, and engaging in meaningful action. The six building blocks of YLI are learning, community, action, culture, character, and leadership.

Sixty youth between the ages of 14-18 participate in a year long commitment, which consists of four quarterly encampments, cultural exploration sessions, and action teams. The encampment includes cultural and historical experiences, team-building activities, and workshops on various leadership and social skills. Cultural exploration sessions allow youth to explore their cultural heritage and its impact on their leadership style and personal development. Action teams learn about topics such as understanding community, meeting facilitation, and project planning. Each team develops service projects in the community around their passions.

We wish to congratulate the staff and youth of the Wilder Youth Leadership Initiative! We look forward to the continued success of your program and high quality service to the youth of Minnesota!

 

Pass it On!
The Recipes for Healthy Kids Competition challenged teams to develop creative, nutritious, and kid approved recipes that schools can easily incorporate into National School Lunch Program menus.  On March 9th, 2011, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced the 15 semi-finalist recipes for the Recipes for Healthy Kids Competition. One of the finalists is Minnesota’s South Education Center Alternative (SECA) in Richfield, with their Grains Category entry for Porcupine Sliders.  The semifinalist recipes are posted on the Recipes for Healthy Kids website until May 15, 2011. 

Join us in supporting Minnesota’s youth and VOTE for the Porcupine Sliders at www.recipesforkidschallenge.com!  Vote today for the Porcupine Sliders and help SECA students make it to Dallas for the national cook-off event!



NEW RESEARCH AND RESOURCES

Check out some of the latest research on after school, youth engagement and quality improvement on YCC’s website under latest research.


Youth Summer Job Opportunities
ArtsWork is an arts employment program for youth ages 14-21. The season takes place this year from June 20 through August 12.
 
For the summer of 2011, ArtsWork will be offering Theater Production at Dreamland Arts in St. Paul and Mosaic Art with Sharra Frank in Northeast Minneapolis. Each of these sites will be hiring ten (10) youth. Pay is $7.25 per hour and is scheduled for 20 hours per week. Details about the exact work hours will be shared on our website as information comes available.  In St. Paul, we have two programs for low-income youth: Art Bikes with artist Jan Elftmann has ten openings and is a partnership with the Sibley Bike Depot on University Avenue. This site is only open to City of Saint Paul Youth Job Corps workers. (This site is only open for Saint Paul residents).  In addition, ArtsWork has positions with Public Art Design and Creation with Roger Cummings.  Jobs are now open to low income youth from any part of the metro who qualify for either St. Paul Youth Job Corps, Minneapolis Step-Up or are able to demonstrate low income status through legal paperwork.
 
There is an application and interview process to be hired, and it’s a great experience for youth to practice writing cover letters and resumes. Dates and times for interviews will take place in May and the details will be made available in early April.
 

If you have questions, contact Betsy Mowry at betsy@compas.org or 651-292-3259.



POLICY AND ADVOCACY UPDATES

Session Updates
Minnesota's State Legislature is passing budget bills that aim to address the state's five billion dollar budget deficit. Check out YCC's website for Session Updates.

 

Federal Update on 21 Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC)
President Obama’s Administration is seeking changes to the 21st CCLC programs.  If successful, these changes could drastically affect Minnesota’s ability to fund these programs.  Below is summary of proposed changes by the administration and their potential impact to Minnesota’s programs:

  1. Eliminate formula funding to each state to deliver 21 CCLC programs – and run a national competition among states. 
    • This change could jeopardize all funding to Minnesota.  Even if Minnesota received a federal grant to run 21 CCLC programs, it would limit their ability to address long term strategies related to quality and sustainability because funding would only be available on a competitive basis.
  2. Allow funds to be used to extend the school day by offering enrichment programs.
    • Extending the school day is much more costly than funding afterschool and summer learning opportunities.  This could reduce the number of young people served in 21 CCLC programs.  In a recent Minnesota survey of parents, they indicated there was a demand for more high quality afterschool and summer programs – not less.  Finally, extending the school day doesn’t eliminate the need for afterschool and summer programming.
  3. Allow funds to be used to pay for teacher preparation/planning time.
    • This is the greatest shift away from serving young people.  While teacher preparation and planning time are proven strategies for increasing high quality instruction, this shift would take away limited resources to DIRECTLY serve young people in Minnesota.

If you are concerned about the potential impact of these proposed changes, Youth Community Connections encourages you to contact your congressional representatives.  It is unclear how or whether these policy changes will move forward as congress debates a budget bill.  If concerned, contact them today.

 

Minnesota Senate and House Pass Budget Bills that Jeopardize Youth Employment Programs    
The current economic recession has dramatically impacted employment opportunities for youth.  The unemployment rate for youth in Minnesota is 21%- the highest rate recorded in a generation.  Consequently, many youth have turned to youth employment programs to gain the skills they need to enter and best prepare for the workforce.

This week the Minnesota House of Representatives and Senate passed appropriation bills that either eliminate or greatly reduce funding for youth employment programs. 

The Senate Jobs and Economic Development Bill (SF 887) zeroes out funding for all youth employment programs.  Instead of funding the youth programs directly, the Senate bill requires youth employment programs to enter competitively with other adult employment programs as well as programs aimed at supporting individuals with disabilities.   There are no designated categories or populations within this competitive fund.

The House of Representatives bill (HF 1049) reduces funding for youth employment programs by 30% ($ 7.3 Million) resulting in a total of 2,564 total fewer youth being served in Fiscal Year 2012 (which begins July 1, 2011).  In state fiscal year 2013, all the youth programs are combined into one competitive grant program for youth with the same reduction of 30%.
The competitive grant proposal in the Senate would negatively affect the youth job programs by placing them in competition with other adult employment programming and jeopardize the ability of local areas and boards that typically administer to maximize resources by removing their oversight. The House proposal to create a competitive youth employment program jeopardizes the likelihood that youth employment programs will be made available throughout the State of Minnesota. 

Below is a list of youth employment programs impacted by this legislation:

  1. Minnesota Youth Program (MYP):   Current funding for this STATEWIDE program is $3.5 million per year out of Workforce Development Fund (WDF). 
    • House proposes to reduce funding by $1.05 million in SFY12 which will mean approx. 1,000 fewer youth served in first year of biennium.  Second year of the biennium (SFY13), MYP funding is included in Youth Workforce Development Competitive Grant Pilot Program.
    • Senate proposes to eliminate all funding and include in the Competitive Grants Fund beginning SFY12.
  2. Youthbuild (YB):  Current funding for this program is $1 million per year out of the WDF - supporting ten sites. 
    • House proposes to reduce funding by $300,000 in SFY12, which means approx. 120 fewer youth will be served in first year of biennium.  Second year of the biennium (SFY13), YB funding is included in Youth Workforce Development Competitive Grant Pilot Program.
    • Senate proposes to eliminate all funding and include in the Competitive Grants Fund beginning SFY12.
  3. Minneapolis Summer Youth Program:   Current funding for this program is $900,000 per year out of WDF for city of Minneapolis.  
    • House proposes to reduce funding by $427,500 in SFY12, which means approx. 1,030 fewer youth will be served in first year of biennium.  Second year of the biennium (SFY13), Minneapolis Summer Youth funding is included in Youth Workforce Development Competitive Grant Pilot Program.
    • Senate proposes to eliminate all funding and include in the Competitive Grants Fund beginning SFY12.
  4. St. Paul Summer Youth Program/St. Paul Parks and Recreation:  Current funding for this program is $558,000 per year out of WDF serving the city of St. Paul only
    • House proposes to reduce funding by $167,000 in SFY12, which means approx. 280 fewer youth served in first year of biennium.  Second year of the biennium (SFY13), St. Paul Summer Youth funding is included in Youth Workforce Development Competitive Grant Pilot Program.
    • Senate proposes to eliminate all funding and include in the Competitive Grants Fund beginning SFY12.
  5. Learn to Earn/Minneapolis Parks and Recreation:  Current funding for this program is $300,000 per year out of WDF serving the city of Minneapolis. 
    • House proposes to reduce funding by $142,500 in SFY12, which means approx. 134 fewer youth served in first year of biennium. 
    • Senate proposes to eliminate all funding and include in the Competitive Grants Fund beginning SFY12.
  6. Minnesota Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs:  Current funding for this program is $750,000 per year.
    • There is NO CHANGE in the funding level for SFY12 in the House Bill.   Second year of biennium (SFY13), Boys and Girls Club funding is included in Youth Workforce Development Competitive Grant Pilot Program.
    • Senate proposes to eliminate all funding and include in the Competitive Grants Fund beginning SFY12.

If you are concerned about these changes and their impact on young people across the State of Minnesota contact your elected officials and let them know how important these opportunities are for Minnesota’s youth.

You can also find additional information about the benefits of youth employment programs in the out-of-school time on the YCC website.  Click here to Youth Employment Research Brief.

Don’t know who represents you?  Click here to find out.

Information about youth employment programs was provided by the Minnesota Workforce Council Association and the Department of Employment and Economic Development.

 



Educate Your Elected Officials About the Benefits of Afterschool and Summer Learning Opportunities 
YCC encourages you to get involved in your community to help raise awareness about the value and benefits of high-quality afterschool, summer and community learning opportunities.  It is important to contact your elected officials to introduce yourself as someone who either lives or works within the district that has knowledge about issues related to youth and afterschool, summer and community learning opportunities. YCC has prepared a policy brief outlining the benefits of afterschool and summer learning opportunities and we encourage you to use this when talking to elected officials.  You can find your congressional representatives here.  


YCC Policy and Advocacy Committee to Meet April 8, 2011
Youth Community Connections’ Policy and Advocacy Committee will meet on Friday, April 8, 2011 from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. at the Oxford Community Center in St. Paul.  Join us as we share the latest legislative news impacting youth programming and hear from partners about their own policy initiatives during the 2011 legislative session.    

To RSVP please contact Matt Steele at matt@youthcommunityconnections.org or 612-627-0157. 

 

FUTURE EVENTS

Global Youth Service Day, April 15-17, 2011
Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is coming up fast! This day of service recognizes and celebrates youth service and publicizes the efforts of youth to make a difference in our state.  We invite you to come out and join the celebration!

The Global Youth Service Day Celebration in Minnesota will take place on April 17th at the Mall of America from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. in the Macy's and Nordstrom Rotundas. Join Minnesota Alliance With Youth, Delta Dental of Minnesota, Youth Service America, and State Farm as they celebrate the work of children and youth to improve their communities.

Be sure to register your projects on the GYSD website, which also serves a great resource when planning your project.  Check out tips for projects, timeline templates, and great resources. 
  
   

Afterschool for All Challenge - May 16-17, 2011
Youth Community Connections invites you to join us for the 10th annual Afterschool for All Challenge! The theme of this year's conference is Expanding Stem (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) after school. Click here to register!

The annual two-day gathering kicks off with training workshops, briefings and networking opportunities, covering a range of topics from budget cuts to STEM opportuniteis, with expert speakers such as Robin Schepper of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Initiative, recipients of the MetLife Afterschool Innovator Award and Dr. Georgia Hall of the National Institute on Out-of-School Time. the second day activities move to Capitol Hill.

YCC is excited to see a great representation from Minnesota showcasing our great out-of-school time programs! If you are interested in attending with YCC, or have more questions about the event, contact info@afterschoolalliance.org for more information.

 

Emerging Issues and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice 
The Juvenile Justice Coalition of Minnesota (JJC) is sponsoring regional trainings in April and May in Mankato, Mahnomen and Duluth. Keynote topics include collateral sanctions and consequences, and working with girls and trends in drug use, depending on the location. You will also receive training and complimentary copies of guidebooks on diversion and aftercare developed by your colleagues through JJC statewide work groups. These guides follow best practices, expertise from the field and are intended to serve as a resource to help Minnesota communities improve their juvenile justice systems. Additionally, you will receive an introduction to national juvenile delinquency court guidelines and learn about and provide feedback on a JJC initiative to create a Minnesota specific juvenile delinquency courts manual. Mahnomen participants will hear about a model partnership between Leech Lake Trial Court and Cass County and Mankato and Duluth participants will hear about new research regarding the use of evidence-based practices in juvenile justice. Individualized agendas for each location, with session descriptions and presenters are listed below.

JJC is pleased to be partering with YIPA (Youth Intervention Programs Association) in Mankato and Duluth.

Register at: http://community.jjcmn.com/training and choose the training location below that works best for you!

Mankato 
Date:  Tuesday, April 19, 2011 
Registration:  8:30am 
Training:  9:00am - 3:00pm 
Location:  Country Inn and Suites Conference Center 
1900 Premier Dr., Mankato, MN  56001 
Website:  http://www.countryinns.com/mankato-hotel-mn-56001/mnmankat
Agenda for the day:  Mankato agenda

Mahnomen: 
Date:  Tuesday, April 26, 2011 
Registration:  8:30am 
Training:  9:00am - 3:00pm 
Location:  Shooting Star Casino Event Center 
777 Casino Dr., Mahnomen, MN  56557 
Website: http://www.starcasino.com
Agenda for the day:  Mahnomen agenda

Duluth: 
Date:  Thursday, May 5, 2011 
Registration:  8:30am 
Training:  9:00am - 3:00pm 
Location:  The Inn on Lake Superior 
350 Canal Park Dr., Duluth, MN  55802 
Website:  http://www.theinnonlakesuperior.com
Agenda for the day:  Duluth agenda
Cost: $20 per attendee.  Scholarships are available http://community.jjcmn.com/jjc-scholarships.  

Fee includes a continental breakfast, lunch, breaks, materials, access to training support from the presenters following the workshop and applied for continuing education credits. 

 

STEP-UP Summer Jobs Program Seeking Volunteers to Conduct Mock Interviews with Minneapolis Youth
These mock interviews serve as a fun and rewarding part of the extensive work-readiness training that helps prepare STEP-UP students for their summer jobs.  Volunteers are needed to model professionalism and provide candid feedback to these talented youth.  
 
Please join STEP-UP for this exciting opportunity to help prepare Minneapolis youth for successful futures.

When: Monday, April 25; Tuesday, April 26; Wednesday, April 27 and Thursday, April 28

Time: 4:45-6:15 PM
Where: Minneapolis Convention Center, Room 103
1301 Second Avenue South, Minneapolis

To participate, please contact Anna Peterson at apeterson@achievempls.org by Friday, April 15.

 

Youth Work Institute Learning Opportunities
The University of Minnesota Extension’s Center for Youth Development’s Youth Work Institute is hosting a number of seminars.  Training opportunities include Leadership Matters, targeting program leaders and directors, Youth Engagement Matters and Culturally Responsive Youth Work Matters.

Click here for more information!

 

Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota Training Quality Mentors Workshop
Based on Standard Three of the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™, this workshop equips participants with strategies for training adult volunteers.  

Date: Thursday, May 5
Time: 9:30am-3:30pm
Location: UROC, Minneapolis
Cost: $75 per participant covers training, lunch, snacks & beverages, free parking, and materials.

Learn More & Register.

 

Clearing the Hurdles for African Immigrant Youth
YIPA is offering this four hour professional training session that will explore current hurdles facing African refugee youth and ways that schools, neighborhoods, and service providers can support successful transitions.  Families from war-torn Somalia are now Minnesota residents and students. Individuals will learn how to work effectively with Somali youth and families and also engage in conversations about how schools, neighborhoods, and service agencies can build supportive communities for these youth and their families and help them clear the hurdles.

April 29, 2011
8:30 am - 1:00pm
Webster Open School
425 5th ST NE, Minneapolis
$40 for Non-YIPA members, $30 for YIPA members

For more information and to register online, click here.


2011 Summer Institute in Adolescent Health - July 25-27 
The theme: “Rising Above Risk: Promoting Resilience in Challenging Times”.

Click here to see a flyer with more details.

 

 

Youth Community Connections
200 Oak Street SE, Suite 270B ~ Minneapolis, MN 55455
PH: 612.627.0160
WEB: www.youthcommunityconnections.org