Coalition Leadership

Co-Chairs

Ellen Gannett, National Institute on Out of School Time, Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA

Michael Heathfield, Coordinator of Social Work and Youth Work, Department of Applied Sciences, Harold Washington Community College
Chicago, IL

Coalition Leadership Council

Rebkha Antnafou, The After School Institute
Baltimore, MD

Carol Behrer, Iowa Youth Development Institute
Des Moines, IA

Deborah Craig, Forum for Youth Investment
Washington, DC

Kirsten Eamon-Shine, Peace Learning Circles
Indianapolis, IN

Frank Eckles, Child and Youth Care Certification Board
College Station, TX

Sharon Edwards, The Cornerstone Consulting Group Inc.
Houston, TX

Sue Eldredge, Community Networks for Youth Development
San Francisco, CA

Pam Garza, National 4-H Council
Washington, DC

Cece Gran, Youth Development Institute, University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN

Rebecca Goldberg, South Bay Center
San Diego, CA

Dave Hansen, Program Director of Development and Learning, Department of Psychology and Research in Education University of Kansas
Lawrence, KA

Kathy Johnson, Alternatives, Inc.
Hampton, VA

Irv Katz, National Collaboration for Youth
Washington, DC

Jerry Kitzi, The Francis Institute, Metropolitan Community Colleges
Kansas City, MO

Mark Levine, Center for Afterschool Excellence
New York, NY

Andy Munoz, Center for Youth Development and Policy Research, Academy for Educational Development
Washington, DC

Judy Nee, National Afterschool Association
Washington, D.C.

Joel Nitzberg, National Community Education Association
Washington, DC

Curtis Richards, Center for Workforce Development
Washington, DC

Tamara Sniad, Foundations, Inc.
Morristown, NJ

Janet Wakefield, Leadership Renewal Outfitters
Indianapolis, IN

Denice Williams, New York City Department of Youth and Community Development
New York, NY

Nicole Yohalem, Forum for Youth Investment
Washington, DC

A Concise Case for Investing in Youth Workers

In order to strengthen supports for youth workers, it is critical that new champions join the effort. We must not preach only to the choir! This two-page case statement is designed to make a clear, concise, convincing argument for investing in youth workers, not just youth programs. We hope it is useful as you reach out to new groups of stakeholders to engage in this work, including business, education, higher education and more.

Youth-Worker-Case-Statement-March2010.pdf
Strengthening the Youth Development/After-School Workforce

Despite major advancements in the field, staffing – everything from recruitment, retention, supervision, to performance – remains a major challenge. There is a need to reexamine currently held assumptions about what it will take to build a strong, stable, committed workforce. What incentives? What opportunities? What requirements? For whom? In what combination? This brief report by Nicole Yohalem, Karen Pittman and Sharon Lovick Edwards highlights lessons learned over the past six years by the Forum for Youth Investment, Cornerstones for Kids and the Next Generation Youth Work Coalition, with an eye toward implications for funders. We summarize what is known about youth workers, why investments in this workforce matter, and what funders (private and public) can do to spark and support these investments. The goal is to support discussions about how focused attention on workforce development can be a part of funders’ individual and collective efforts to strengthen and expand after-school and youth development programs and systems.

Find the document here: http://forumfyi.org/content/strengthening-youth-developmentafter-school-...