Involving Youth in Policy

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Involving Youth in Policy

• Serena Clayton, Ph.D.
• California Adolescent Health Collaborative
• June 30, 2002

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California Adolescent Health Collaborative

• Public-private partnership with representatives
  from a diverse group of organizations focused on
  improving adolescent health and well-being in
  California
• Our goals
• Making Youth a Policy Priority
• Creating Supports and Opportunities for all Youth
• Improving Services and Service Systems

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Investing in Adolescent Health A Social
Imperative for Californias Future

• Build strong public support for investment in
  youth
• Involve youth in the policy process
• Ensure access to comprehensive, youth-friendly
  health services
• Coordinate service delivery systems for teens
• Build stable families that can support families
• Create communities that offer youth positive life
  options
• Design schools to promote health and development
• Use data to support responsive programs and
  policy

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Youth Have a Role to Play in Public Policy

• Its good for youth
• Its good for programs and policies
• Its good for society

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About This Report

• Review of previous reports
• Interviews with coordinators and directors of 37
  different programs and organizations
• Interviews with youth

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Three Main Approaches

• Youth can be
• Participants and Advisors
• Advocates
• In Training

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Note

• Youth involvement ? Focus groups

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Youth As Participant and Advisors

• Premise Youth should be incorporated into policy
  development through participation in
  decision-making bodies.
• Youth commissions, councils, advisory boards
• Whats good acceptance of youth as
  decision-makers, institutionalization, real life
  experience with the policy process

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Youth as Advocates

• Premise Youth can change public systems and
  policies through external pressure
• Community-based organizations, youth movements,
  issue-specific efforts
• Whats good no official sanction needed,
  activism can have immediate rewards.

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Youth in Training

• Premise Youth can be educated about policy
  issues and prepared for future involvement
• Model legislature, policy training, conferences,
  institutes
• Whats Good very enriched educational experiences

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Considerations for Getting Started
Attitudes and Interaction

• Adults must truly value the input of youth.

• Youth need to understand the system and realize
  that change does not come quickly.

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Considerations for Getting Started
Recruitment and Representation

• Conduct active outreach.

• Address barriers to participation.

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Considerations for Getting Started
Roles and Structure

• How will youth have input? (e.g. voting rights,
  advisory capacity)
• Make it clear for youth and adults!

• Plan for change. Youth grow up quickly!

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Considerations for Getting Started
Training and Support

• Prepare youth in advance.
• Designate an adult ally/mentor.
• Let youth support each other.

• Dont forget that the adults need training too!

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Considerations for Getting Started
Logistics

• Convenient for youth is not always convenient for
  adults.

• Be prepared to commit to making logistics work
  for youth.

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Considerations for Getting Started
Time and Resources

• You need them!

• Staff
• Food
• Facilities
• Class time

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Youth involvement in CSH

• Youth members of district/county coordinating
  team.
• Youth advisory committee.
• Support for school-based youth teams.
• Support for youth members on school site
  councils.
• District/countywide school health youth forum.
• Collaboration with after-school programs,
  community youth programs, or existing youth
  commissions.
• Consultation with existing youth groups working
  on specific issues.

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Youth involvement in CSH

• What is meaningful youth involvement?
• What can you successfully accomplish?
• Quality is more important that quantity.