Pathways for Youth:

Draft Strategic Plan for Federal Collaboration

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs

February 2013

Table of Contents

Executive Summary................................................................................................................................................................ 1

Introduction............................................................................................................................................................................... 3

A Vision for Youth..................................................................................................................................................................11

Logic Model..............................................................................................................................................................................11

Strategic Goals and Objectives .........................................................................................................................................13

Goal 1: Collaboration and Coordination:..............................................................................................................15

Promote coordinated strategies to improve youth outcomes. 

Objective 1: Align and simplify federal guidance for youth programs. .......................16

Objective 2: Coordinate youth programming and funding support at the federal, 

state, local, and tribal levels.................................................................................17

Objective 3: Coordinate technical assistance efforts to leverage resources. ............18

Goal 2: Evidence-based and Innovative Strategies:.........................................................................................20

Promote the use of evidence-based and innovative strategies at the federal, state, local, and 

tribal levels. 

Objective 1: Encourage the adoption of evidence-based strategies, and support 

their implementation..............................................................................................21

Objective 2: Support innovation and deepen the evidence base to fill gaps in 

knowledge. ..................................................................................................................23

Goal 3: Youth Engagement and Partnerships:...................................................................................................25

Promote youth engagement and partnerships to strengthen programs and benefit youth. 

Objective 1: Promote youth-adult partnerships to support sustained youth 

engagement efforts and strengthen programs. ...........................................26

Objective 2: Provide and encourage federal, state, local, and tribal provision of 

multiple opportunities for youth to develop, master, and apply critical 

skills, including life and leadership skills.......................................................27

Working Group Cross-Cutting Initiatives ....................................................................................................................29

1. Develop shared language on cross-cutting youth topics for federal grant applications and 

other federal documents and publications. 

2. Assess and disseminate models of collaboration that provide a pathway to opportunity for 

youth and yield positive results. 

3. Centralize and disseminate information on promising and evidence-based strategies for 

youth, including promising youth engagement and partnership strategies. 

4. Promote data collection and long-term evaluation of policies and programs that impact 

youth. 

Supporting Documents........................................................................................................................................................31

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs i 
A: Executive Order 13459: Improving the Coordination and Effectiveness of Youth Programs..32

B: Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 Committee Print of the House Committee on 

Appropriations on H.R. 1105/Public Law 111-8, Division F Language ............................................35

C: Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs Federal Participant List......................................36

D: Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs Draft Public Input Summary Report 

Executive Summary................................................................................................................................................41

E: Selected Accomplishments of the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs, 2011 and 

2012 ...............................................................................................................................................................43

F: Pathways for Youth At-A-Glance Overview...................................................................................................46

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs ii
Executive Summary 

The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs (Working Group) is comprised of twelve

federal departments and five federal agencies that support activities that focus on youth. This 

report, Pathways for Youth, is a first step to help the partners address their common goals for youth, 

elevate strong models of youth programs, policies, and other supports, and articulate areas for 

future collaborative work with and for youth. 

The Working Group solicited input from a wide range of stakeholders, including young people, 

families, schools, nonprofit organizations, State Children’s Cabinet directors, government 

organizations at the federal, state, and local levels, and others. Several themes emerged from the 

input, which are crafted into a vision for youth. This vision acknowledges the importance of 

pathways to opportunity for youth that include meaningful connections and safe, healthy, and 

stable places to live, learn, and work. 

Pathways for Youth considers all youth, with an emphasis on the most vulnerable youth, 

particularly those who are disconnected from school, work, or family. The consequences are serious 

for both individuals and society as a whole, as young people who are disconnected cost the nation 

billions of dollars every year in lost earnings, welfare and medical costs, and unmet personal 

potential.

1 Youth who are at risk for disconnection or are already disconnected experience an 

interrelated set of issues best addressed through a coordinated approach. For example, youth at 

risk for disconnection are more likely to graduate from high school or receive a Certificate of 

General Educational Development (GED) if they have transportation to classes; keep a job if they 

address mental health or substance abuse concerns; and transition out of a homeless shelter if they 

have connections to supportive adults and resources to secure a permanent home and employment.

Federal coordination is critical to the support of vulnerable youth across these issue areas. The 

best use of federal resources will maximize existing flexibilities and explore strategies for bringing 

work together across agencies.

Pathways for Youth builds on the progress and accomplishments of the Working Group that are 

highlighted in the supporting documents. The draft plan is distinct from agency plans in that it has a 

specific focus on federal collaboration related to youth programs. The Working Group collaborated 

with its partner agencies and related key federal coordination groups to develop Pathways for 

Youth and ensure its alignment with federal strategic plans. 

Pathways for Youth is founded on three overarching and interrelated strategic goals; each is 

supported by a number of objectives and strategies. The strategic goals address the Working 

Group’s primary purposes, as well as the input generated by the stakeholders at federal, state, and 

local levels. This draft plan represents an initial step in identifying strategies for federal 

collaboration and provides a basis for future actions related to positive outcomes for youth. 

Through the work of individual agencies and in collaboration across departments, the Working 

Group will pursue the three strategic goals outlined in this draft plan to improve outcomes for 

youth. As the Working Group pursues the goals and objectives outlined in this draft plan, it will be

able to set targets for collaborative results and identify areas for strategic recommendations and 

initiatives to address common goals for youth. These activities will be undertaken together within 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 1 
existing authorities and areas of administrative flexibility for departments and agencies to do their 

work. The Working Group will explore federal barriers and solutions for improving coordination 

and leveraging better outcomes for youth.

Goal 1: Collaboration and Coordination

Promote coordinated strategies to improve youth outcomes.

Objective 1: Align and simplify federal guidance for youth programs.

Objective 2: Coordinate youth programming and funding support at the federal, 

state, local, and tribal levels.

Objective 3: Coordinate technical assistance efforts to leverage resources.

Goal 2: Evidence-based and Innovative Strategies

Promote the use of evidence-based and innovative strategies at federal, state, local, and 

tribal levels. 

Objective 1: Encourage the adoption of evidence-based strategies, and support their 

implementation.

Objective 2: Support innovation and deepen the evidence base to fill gaps in 

knowledge.

Goal 3: Youth Engagement and Partnerships

Promote youth engagement and partnership to strengthen programs and benefit youth. 

Objective 1: Promote youth-adult partnerships to support sustained youth 

engagement efforts and strengthen programs.

Objective 2: Provide and encourage federal, state, local, and tribal provision of 

multiple opportunities for youth to develop, master, and apply critical 

skills, including life and leadership skills.

The draft plan also outlines four cross-cutting initiatives developed by the Working Group:

1. Develop shared language on cross-cutting youth topics for federal grant applications 

and other federal documents and publications. 

2. Develop new or assess and disseminate existing models of collaboration that provide a 

pathway to opportunity for youth and yield positive results. 

3. Centralize and disseminate information on promising and evidence-based strategies for 

youth, including promising youth engagement and partnership strategies. 

4. Promote data collection and long-term evaluation of youth programs. 

Pathways for Youth concludes with supporting documents, including Executive Order 13459, Omnibus 

Appropriations Act language, the Working Group federal participant list, the executive summary of the 

Draft Public Input Summary Report, selected accomplishments of the Working Group in 2011 and 2012, 

and the Pathways for Youth at-a-glance overview. 

1 Belfield, C.R., Levin, H. M., Rosen, R. (2012). The economic value of opportunity youth. Available on the Corporation for 

National and Community Service’s website at http://www.serve.gov/newimages/council/pdf/econ_value_opportunity_youth.pdf. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 2 
Introduction

Background

The primary function of the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs (Working Group) is to 

support coordinated federal activities focused on improving outcomes for youth. The Working 

Group is comprised of staff from twelve federal departments and five federal agencies that support 

activities that focus on youth (see Figure 1).

The Working Group’s responsibilities relative to youth programs were defined in Executive Order 

13459, issued in 2008, as well as the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 Committee Print of the 

House Committee on Appropriations on H.R. 1105/Public Law 111-8, Division F . 

As a result of these directives, the Working Group engages in the following activities:

• Promotes innovative collaborations at federal, state, local, and tribal levels; 

• Identifies and disseminates evidence-based 

strategies; 

• Produces a federal interagency website on youth. 

Youth programs and research activities are spread across 

the seventeen partner federal departments and agencies, 

which makes the Working Group’s efforts to exchange 

knowledge, coordinate activities, reduce duplication, 

maximize resources, and share effective strategies to best 

support youth critical. The Working Group benefits greatly 

from our federal representatives’ broad, diverse, and 

substantial expertise in youth research, programming, and 

policy. 

In 2009, the Omnibus Appropriations Act (2009 Committee 

Print of the House Committee on Appropriations on H.R. 1105/Public Law 111-8, Division F) 

directed the Working Group to perform additional activities, to 

• Solicit input from young people, State Children’s Cabinet directors, and nonprofit 

organizations on youth programs and policies; develop an overarching strategic plan for 

federal youth policy, and prepare recommendations to improve the coordination, 

effectiveness, and efficiency of programs affecting youth.

The Working Group welcomes this opportunity to undertake these activities and identify strategies 

for federal collaboration. Federal partner departments and agencies provide support to youth, their

families, schools, and communities through a variety of mechanisms, despite addressing the 

strengths and needs of different populations of youth and using different frameworks to describe 

what places youth “at risk.” However, the Working Group agrees that the draft plan helps the 

partners address their common goals for youth, elevate strong models of youth programs, policies, 

and other supports, and articulate areas for future collaborative work with and for youth. 

Who are youth?

The Working Group primarily 

focuses on youth ages 10-24. 

However, it is never too early or too 

late to provide supports for young 

people, and many of the partner 

agencies target different ages of 

youth in alignment with their 

program goals. Through this plan, 

the Working Group encourages 

close collaboration with systems 

along a continuum, from early 

childhood through adulthood.

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 3 
The program of work described in this draft plan is designed to maximize what agencies are able to 

accomplish by working collaboratively. Examples of successful collaborations are highlighted 

throughout the draft plan. An attached supporting document provides additional examples of 

recent Working Group accomplishments, which are clustered in three areas: coordination and 

collaboration, evidence-based strategies, and youth engagement and partnership. 

The Working Group’s cross-agency website, FindYouthInfo.gov, will be used on an ongoing basis to 

engage stakeholders in implementation activities and to disseminate results. In 2013, the Working

Group will explore relaunching the website as Youth.gov to more easily and clearly communicate its 

focus on youth and the cross-cutting nature of its content. Given that the Working Group has no 

dedicated funding, the scope of work that the Working Group will be able to undertake will depend 

on the funds and other resources agencies are able to provide as leaders or partners in these 

efforts. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 4 
Figure 1. Federal departments and agencies represented on the Interagency Working Group on 

Youth Programs (2013).

• U.S. Department of Agriculture 

o National Institute of Food and Agriculture

• U.S. Department of Commerce 

o Census Bureau

• U.S. Department of Defense 

o Military Community and Family Policy, Office of Children and Youth

o Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs

• U.S. Department of Education 

o Office of Communications

o Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Safe and Healthy Students and 

Office of School Turnaround)

o Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Office of Special Education Programs

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Chair) 

o Administration for Children and Families

o Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

o Health Resources and Services Administration

o Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health

o Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

o Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

• U.S. Department of Homeland Security

o Federal Emergency Management Agency

• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 

o Public and Indian Housing

• U.S. Department of the Interior 

o Office of Youth in the Great Outdoors 

o Bureau of Indian Affairs

• U.S. Department of Justice (Vice-Chair)

o National Institute of Justice

o Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

o Office of Violence Against Women

• U.S. Department of Labor 

o Employment and Training Administration

o Office of Disability Employment Policy

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 5 
• U.S. Department of State

o Office of Global Youth Issues

o Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

• U.S. Department of Transportation 

o National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

• Corporation for National and Community Service 

o AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps

• National Science Foundation

o Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings

• Office of National Drug Control Policy 

o Office of Demand Reduction

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

o Office of Environmental Education

• U.S. Small Business Administration

o Office of Entrepreneurship Education

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 6 
Pathways for Youth Development

The Working Group pursued a multistep strategy in developing the draft plan. 

Develop a framework for input. Together, the Working Group developed a framework for input 

(see Figure 2) that encompassed key priorities for the process. This framework guided the input 

process by providing the rationale for the topics discussed at all listening sessions and webinars. 

Underlying the framework, and also integrated in the input process, was a consideration of the 

cultural factors influencing youth. The values and beliefs of their ethnic backgrounds, social 

environments, or class positions influence their development and growth as individuals, and shape 

their contributions to society. The framework depicts the range of programs and practices federal 

partners support (summarized on the left side of the framework) and the different populations of 

youth (system-involved youth, special youth populations, all youth) that the federal partners serve 

through their programs. The Working Group focused on three overarching outcomes for youth 

through this framework: (1) health, safety, wellness, and safe and stable housing; (2) school, family, 

and community engagement and connections; and (3) education, training, employment, transitions, 

and readiness for careers and adulthood. The framework illustrates the need to consider youth 

across several developmental stages, including early adolescence (ages under 14); middle 

adolescence (ages 15-17); and late adolescence/early adulthood (ages 18-24). Finally, the 

framework incorporates a youth development approach, which includes youth as active agents in 

this process. 

Figure 2. Framework for Input on Strategic Plan for Federal Collaboration

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 7 
Solicit public input. The Working Group solicited input from young people, State Children’s 

Cabinet directors, and nonprofit organizations on youth programs and policies. In addition, the 

Working Group solicited input from family members; government organizations at the federal, state 

and local levels; policymakers; researchers; service 

providers; faith-based organizations; communitybased organizations; state, and local affiliates of 

youth-serving organizations; and schools. A summary 

of public input was prepared by the American 

Institutes for Research.1 The executive summary for 

that report is presented as a supporting document to 

this draft plan. The full input summary report will be 

available on FindYouthInfo.gov and can be reviewed 

upon request. 

The Working Group solicited public input through a 

number of mechanisms, including four-hour public 

listening sessions held in ten locations across the 

country, shorter listening sessions held in conjunction 

with conferences focused on youth topics, listening 

sessions with youth, a roundtable with State 

Children’s Cabinet representatives, webinars with researchers and youth-serving programs, 

feedback through the FindYouthInfo.gov website, and a Federal Register notice.2

Public listening sessions often started with a focus on a specific youth topic (see Figure 3) but in the 

course of these sessions many other youth topics were introduced and addressed by participants; 

this observed pattern reinforces the need for an integrated, coordinated and comprehensive 

approach to youth issues, one that is not “siloed.” Risk and protective factors may be a more useful 

basis for assessing and distinguishing young people’s service needs than their involvement with 

particular service areas (e.g., juvenile justice, positive youth development). Examples of questions 

posed in these sessions are presented in Figure 4. 

1 Through interagency agreements with partner agencies, the Working Group supported a contract with American 

Institutes for Research (AIR), a firm based in Washington, DC. AIR worked with the Working Group to solicit, gather, and 

summarize input for the strategic plan from stakeholders, including youth. AIR also supports the Working Group’s 

website, FindYouthInfo.gov, and contributes significant expertise in youth content. 

2 370 total participants attended the public listening sessions; 45 youth attended the 6 youth listening sessions; 8 sessions 

were held in youth-focused conferences; 227 comments were submitted through the website; and 25 submissions were 

received in response to the Federal Register notice.

Figure 3. Public listening sessions on 

specific youth topics:

• Education

• Employment and Transitions

• Housing

• Juvenile Justice

• Mentoring

• Physical and Mental Health and 

Wellness

• Positive Youth Development

• Safety 

• Service Learning

• Youth Engagement 

• Youth Enrichment Opportunities 

• Improving Outcomes for All Youth

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 8 

 
Listening sessions were held with youth at the National 4-H Youth Leader Conference, the Systems 

of Care Conference, the Special Olympics National Games, the Bullying Prevention Summit, the 

Transportation Safety Conference, and the California Foster Care Education Summit. Youth at these 

sessions were racially and ethnically diverse, and ranged between the ages of 12 and 24. Youth 

attending the sessions provided a variety of perspectives. Some had disabilities, or had recently 

emancipated from foster care, or were in leadership positions. Many youth advocated for continued 

youth engagement and involvement in programs and activities at the federal, state, local and tribal 

levels. In addition, many advocated for issues related to such important areas as mental health; 

foster care; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning issues; grief and loss; suicide 

prevention; and substance use.

Figure 4. Examples of questions posed at public listening sessions (2010)

• What is the single most important thing we could do to make a difference in the lives of youth?

• What are the needs of youth (up to the age of 24)?

• What are effective programs and strategies?

• What are the program or policy gaps? 

• Do specific populations of youth have disproportionately poorer outcomes?

• What are some ways to best serve these populations?

• What programs really make a difference in the lives of youth? How do you know this?

• What are the barriers to collaborating on youth outcomes?

• How can these barriers be removed to improve collaboration?

• What types of initiatives could promote collaboration and improve outcomes for youth?

• What can be done for all youth (not just those directly benefiting from programs) in order to 

use resources effectively?

• What are your ideas for federal policy to improve the coordination, effectiveness, and 

efficiency of programs affecting youth?

Questions posed at youth listening sessions (2010)

• What programs really make a difference in the lives of youth? How do you know?

• How do you recommend we go about ensuring that we get input in a way that works really well 

for youth (i.e., doesn’t waste their time)? 

• Think about other young people you know. What makes them happy? What are they worried 

about? 

• What program has benefited you most personally, and how?

• What is the best way for us to get input and feedback from youth across the country who are 

involved in programs such as the ones you’ve mentioned?

• How should we go about getting input and feedback from youth across the country who are not 

involved in these programs? 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 9 
What was most striking about the listening sessions is that even though the questions began with a 

single topic on which to focus – e.g., housing, employment, or mentoring – the discussions that 

followed revealed that every topic is connected to a number of other topics, and that it was 

impossible to focus on a single topic without also touching upon those other topics as well. The 

interconnectedness of youth issues is clear. 

Review key strategic documents on youth topics, including federal strategic plans. Twentythree federal strategic plans were reviewed, in addition to 123 key strategic documents covering 

topics such as physical and mental health and wellness, education, juvenile justice, enrichment 

opportunities, safety, service learning, employment, and housing. 

Summarize and post input and request public feedback. The Working Group summarized and 

posted on FindYouthInfo.gov the public input generated from the 10 public listening sessions, the 

smaller listening sessions held at conferences, the youth listening sessions, and the State Children’s 

Cabinet network listening session. Listening session participants and other interested individuals 

received monthly electronic newsletters that included a prompt to visit FindYouthInfo.gov, read the 

summaries, and provide feedback on the input. 

Engage federal partners. The Working Group identified key initiatives that their departments and 

agencies were pursuing, either as individual agencies or in partnership with other agencies, which 

the draft plan should reflect or complement. These included broad public awareness initiatives, 

such as Let’s Move, place-based3 efforts, such as Choice Neighborhoods and the National Forum on 

Youth Violence Prevention, issue-focused efforts, such as the U.S. Interagency Council on 

Homelessness, and agency-identified priorities like efforts to serve military families. 

The Working Group held a series of brainstorming sessions with our members and participants to 

gather ideas for the draft plan, consider versions of an outline for the plan itself, and develop goals, 

objectives, and strategies. 

Develop draft document and request public feedback. The Working Group prepared this draft 

document based on input received through the listening sessions and other mechanisms described 

above. This draft plan will be posted on FindYouthInfo.gov for public comment, as is commonly 

done for federal strategic plans. The Working Group will also solicit feedback on the draft through a 

Federal Register notice. 

3 "Place-based" policymaking refers to making decisions that account for the variations of specific places – recognizing 

that different places face vastly different challenges that require very different tools.

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 10

 
A Vision for Youth

When the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs solicited input on the draft plan from 

federal agencies and the broader public, including youth themselves, several themes emerged that 

responded to these questions. Together, these themes comprise our vision for youth (Figure 5). 

To be realized, this vision will take the efforts of many partners. This draft plan focuses on the role 

of the federal government and the Working Group, but achieving this vision will also require strong 

partnerships from state and local government, the private sector, families, and youth. 

The Strategic Goals and Objectives in the next section articulate strategies the Working Group can 

undertake, in the work of individual agencies and in collaboration across departments, to support 

youth and youth programs and help realize this vision.

Logic Model to Relate Federal Collaboration to Youth Outcomes

The Working Group developed a logic model to relate federal collaboration to youth outcomes. This 

model represents how the activities undertaken by the Working Group may lead to outputs, 

outcomes, and impacts that fulfill the vision for youth described above.

Figure 5. A Vision for Youth

• Youth and their families have safe, healthy, and stable places to live, learn, and work. 

• Youth have opportunities to access high quality, affordable healthcare.

• Youth have multiple opportunities to acquire education, training, life skills development, and to 

succeed in jobs, careers, self-sufficiency, and adulthood. 

• Youth have strong, positive, stable connections to family, peers, school, supportive adults, and 

community.

• Youth-serving organizations and partnerships are staffed by individuals who are well-trained, 

knowledgeable in the field, competent, compassionate, and culturally responsive. 

• Youth are recognized by their community for their strengths and provided multiple 

opportunities for civic engagement, service, and leadership.

• Youth thrive throughout all phases of their development, including early and middle childhood, 

adolescence, and young adulthood.

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 11
Resources

• Interagency 

Working Group on 

Youth Programs

• Other federal 

departments, 

agencies, and 

collaborations

• Youth-serving 

organizations and 

partnerships at all 

levels

• Youth and families 

• Other resources

o Funding and 

in-kind 

resources to 

support 

activities

o Executive 

Orders and 

Memoranda

Activities

• Promote 

innovative 

collaboration at 

the federal, state, 

and local levels

• Identify and 

disseminate 

information about 

designing, 

selecting, 

implementing, and 

evaluating 

evidence-based 

strategies

• Engage youth and 

other stakeholders

• Implement 

initiatives

• Produce and 

expand the federal 

interagency 

website on youth

Outputs

• Number of federal 

youth programs that 

promote the use of 

evidence-based or 

innovative strategies 

(increase)

• Number of federal 

youth programs that 

promote coordinated 

effort across domains 

(increase)

• Number of federal 

youth engagement 

and partnership 

efforts (increase)

• Number of visits to 

the FindYouthInfo.gov 

(which may be 

renamed Youth.gov) 

website (increase)

Short- and Medium 

Term Outcomes

(anticipated changes in 1-6 years)

• Short

o Coordinated strategies 

that improve youth 

outcomes

o Youth engagement and 

youth-adult 

partnerships that 

strengthen programs 

and benefit youth

o The use of evidencebased and innovative 

strategies at the 

federal, state, and local 

levels

• Medium

o Align and leverage 

resources (technical 

assistance, programs, 

and research) 

o Stronger, more 

effective programs for 

youth

Outcomes and 

Impacts

(anticipated changes in 7-

10 years)

• Improved youth 

outcomes across 

domains:

o Health, safety, 

housing, and 

wellness

o School, family, 

and community 

engagement and 

connections

o Education, 

training, 

employment, 

transitions, and 

readiness for jobs, 

careers, and 

adulthood

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 12
Strategic Goals and Objectives

Pathways for Youth outlines strategic goals that the Working Group will pursue, in the work of 

individual agencies and in collaboration across departments, to improve outcomes for youth. These 

three overarching and interrelated strategic goals are each supported by a number of objectives 

and strategies. The strategic goals echo the Working Group’s primary functions, as well as the input 

generated by the stakeholders at the federal, state, and local levels to support this effort. 

Goal 1: Collaboration and Coordination

Promote coordinated strategies to improve youth outcomes. Youth-serving programs and 

initiatives at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels work to support youth in a number of ways. 

The range of support involves prevention and intervention strategies around health, mental health, 

substance abuse, and wellness; safe and stable housing; educational and training opportunities; 

preparation for employment; and meaningful connections to family, peers, and their communities. 

Goal 2: Evidence-based and Innovative Strategies

Disseminate and encourage the use of evidence-based and innovative strategies at federal, state, 

local, and tribal levels. Evidence-based programs are those that have been studied with rigorous 

evaluation designs and shown positive effects on intended outcomes, though the level of evaluation 

and duration of effects required may vary across definitions of evidence-based practice. In areas 

without a strong evidence base, innovation can be informed by empirical evidence and theory.

Goal 3: Youth Engagement and Partnerships

Promote youth engagement and partnerships to strengthen programs and benefit youth and their 

families along a continuum – from simple information sharing, to targeted engagement 

opportunities, to decision-making – for the benefit of youth, adults, and programs. Understanding 

the different types of youth engagement strategies, and determining which strategies are successful 

for specific youth in specific contexts is the first step towards successful youth-adult partnerships. 

Each of these goals, along with related objectives and strategies, will be described in turn in the 

following section. 

Interrelated Efforts 

Successful achievement of these goals will involve understanding the goals and objectives as 

interrelated concepts. Federal agencies can promote evidence-based strategies (Goal 2) in 

collaboration (Goal 1). Similarly, ideas for engaging and partnering with youth (Goal 3) can be 

shared across agencies and departments (Goal 1) and efforts in this area do not have to be pursued 

by agencies individually. In addition, the evidence base (Goal 2) on youth engagement and 

partnership is developing, and should be drawn upon when developing strategies to engage youth 

(Goal 3). 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 13
Working Group Cross-Cutting Initiatives

In developing this draft plan, the Working Group stressed that our strategic goals are the 

foundational piece for further action, which will be accompanied by concrete, realistic, actionable, 

and measurable activities. Within this document the Working Group has highlighted four crosscutting initiatives that will advance the strategic goals and objectives. These initiatives are elements 

of a larger program of work pursued by the Working Group to promote collaboration, evidence and 

innovation, and youth engagement and partnership. These activities will be undertaken together 

within existing authorities and areas of administrative flexibility for departments and agencies to 

do their work. The Working Group will explore federal barriers and solutions for improving 

coordination and leveraging better outcomes for youth.

Examples of Promising Work

Also within this section, the Working Group will highlight examples of work related to these goals 

and objectives that we have undertaken together as a Working Group, or within our agencies. These 

examples can inform future efforts, providing direction for implementation. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 14
Goal 1: Collaboration and Coordination: 

Promote coordinated strategies to improve youth outcomes.

Youth-serving programs and initiatives at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels work to support 

youth in a number of ways. The range of support involves prevention and intervention strategies 

around health, mental health, substance abuse, and wellness; safe and stable housing; educational 

and training opportunities; preparation for employment; and meaningful connections to family, 

peers, and their communities. These issues are interrelated, and evidence-based programs are 

needed that address and integrate multiple areas at once. For example, youth at risk for 

disconnection are more likely to complete high school or receive a Certificate of General 

Educational Development (GED) if they have transportation to classes, keep a job if they address 

mental health and substance abuse concerns, and transition out of a homeless shelter if they have 

connections to family or supportive adults and skills and resources to secure a permanent home

and employment. In addition to addressing multiple areas, these programs need to be address 

contextual issues, such as culture and stages of development that would affect program delivery 

and possible impacts.

The most vulnerable youth face multiple challenges that do not fit into traditional categorical 

("siloed”) programs. A youth with disabilities may also need assistance in securing health services 

and employment. A youth at risk of school dropout may need additional educational support, as 

well as help with a substance abuse problem or parenting responsibilities. Rural youth may need 

assistance in building work skills through service learning opportunities, as well as transportation 

support. An incarcerated youth may need foster family support and employment training as they 

re-enter their community upon release. Because of their age and complexities of the challenges 

they present, vulnerable youth require multiple systems to interact and collaborate to effectively 

address their needs. Risk and protective factors are important in informing appropriate service 

decisions and as short-term outcomes for targeting by youth-serving programs. 

An optimal network of support is complex and crosses a wide array of issue areas that may be 

contributing to youth outcomes through interconnected and cross-system means. The necessary 

array of programs may be disconnected, with each program having unique definitions, eligibility 

requirements, data collection efforts, reporting requirements, funding streams and funding 

restrictions, required partnerships (including with youth), technical assistance supports, service 

approaches, and performance measures. Inconsistencies across programs can be the consequence

of federal or state legislative requirements, regulations, or administrative decisions and 

interpretations. The inconsistencies may also be due to interpretations of policy, prioritization 

based on identified needs or available funding, or lack of research knowledge on how to 

appropriately blend evidence-based approaches. 

In Goal 1, the Working Group seeks to encourage improved coordination and collaboration among 

these supports for youth – within and among the federal, state, local, and tribal levels, between and 

within public and private entities, and across youth topic areas and domains. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 15
Objective 1: Align and simplify federal guidance for youth programs. 

Youth organizations and partnerships seeking to improve youth outcomes often seek to address 

more than one issue at a time. However, no one federal agency provides comprehensive funding to 

address every youth issue, and federal agencies have encouraged federal funding applicants to 

integrate activities to best serve youth. 

Frequently, though, federal application and administrative requirements differ across and even 

within departments. Federal grantees navigate differing definitions of key terms, eligibility 

requirements, implementation requirements, reporting requirements, and goals for youth. This 

maze places a burden on grantees, requiring an extra 

investment of time and resources.

The Working Group will identify which requirements can 

be aligned across federal agencies, acknowledging that 

legislative requirements will sometimes prevent

meaningful alignment. This effort will be done in 

collaboration with state and local groups; the Working 

Group will offer guidance to non-federal stakeholders to 

help identify and prioritize areas of needed alignment

across program areas.

Below are some of the activities that the Working Group will pursue to align and simplify federal 

requirements for youth programs. 

o Align activities with other federal plans and strategies that have key intersections on 

related youth issues. (Examples include: Interagency Forum on Disconnected Youth, 

Healthy People 2020, Opening Doors, National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, and 

the National Prevention Strategy)

o Identify opportunities to develop shared definitions across programs.

o Identify opportunities for alignment of program eligibility.

o Identify areas for common grant language, requirements, and evidence-based approaches

(see Example: Positive Youth Development Definition). 

o Identify opportunities to develop shared metrics, assessment strategies, and shared 

accountability for outcomes. 

o Streamline administrative and other reporting requirements for grantees.

Goal 1 Objectives

Objective 1: Align and simplify federal guidance for youth programs. 

Objective 2: Coordinate youth programming and funding support at the federal, state, local, and 

tribal levels. 

Objective 3: Coordinate technical assistance efforts to leverage resources. 

“Some level of fragmentation is 

inevitable. Even so, there are 

sensible steps policymakers can take 

to make it easier for people on the 

ground to align the myriad funding 

streams, programs, and regulations 

into a comprehensive solution for 

children and youth.” 

--Federal Register Comment

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 16
o Use FindYouthInfo.gov to engage stakeholders to help identify opportunities for alignment.

Objective 2: Coordinate youth programming and funding support at the federal, state, 

local, and tribal levels. 

Not all youth programming is fragmented. We have significant examples of successful and 

innovative efforts that align evidence-based programming for youth and their families – placebased efforts, programs co-funded by multiple departments, wraparound services, comprehensive 

community initiatives, and other collaborations supported 

by funders have advanced our knowledge of how we can 

work together to improve outcomes. Knowledge about 

how best to structure and support these collaborations is 

growing. 

The Working Group is committed to promoting

meaningful collaboration at and among the federal, state, 

local, and tribal levels. The strategies the Working Group 

will employ to pursue this objective are listed below. 

o Identify opportunities for federal funding programs to better complement each other 

without augmenting each other (see Example: Elements of Successful Collaborations), as 

well as opportunities for public-private partnerships to support evidence-based youth

programs. 

o Identify opportunities to structure funding announcements to enable sufficient time for 

collaborations to develop and mature, including a planning, pre-implementation period, and 

a multi-year funding period.

o Leverage and coordinate agency investments (e.g., in technical assistance, research, or 

programming). (See Example: Collaboration to Address Youth Substance Abuse) 

“Share funding to support programs 

in agencies in which significant youth 

service programs already exist, or in 

which they can be easily expanded 

to engage more youth.”

--Federal Register Comment

Example: Positive Youth Development Definition

The Working Group reviewed definitions of positive youth development included in federal grant 

announcements. Supported by a review of the literature, the Working Group drafted a common 

definition of positive youth development and encouraged its inclusion in a number of grant 

announcements. Positive youth development was defined by the Working Group as a process that 

engages young people in positive pursuits that help them acquire and practice the skills, attitudes 

and behaviors that they will need to become effective and successful adults in their work, family and 

civic lives. Further information about the definition and how to integrate positive youth 

development into programs can be found at http://www.FindYouthInfo.gov/youth-topics/positiveyouth-development. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 17
o Incentivize state- and local-level collaboration and the implementation of comprehensive, 

cross-system, and place-based approaches through funding announcements and other 

strategies. 

o Encourage the development of comprehensive community strategic plans and other 

documents supporting collaboration to improve youth outcomes across various domains.

o Facilitate cross-system data sharing, while protecting privacy, to help partners answer 

critical questions and to develop responsive solutions.

o Use FindYouthInfo.gov to disseminate evidence-based and promising practices and lessons 

learned from collaborative efforts to encourage broader implementation of these strategies.

Objective 3: Coordinate technical assistance efforts to leverage resources.

Federal departments and agencies seek to strengthen their grantees’ efforts by providing targeted 

technical assistance. Technical assistance providers have developed a number of mechanisms to 

inform, assist, and train grantees – through webinars and electronic correspondence, through 

communication with experts or peers, and other strategies.

Technical assistance can help a grantee develop an action 

plan in partnership with other groups, engage youth and 

families, and understand and implement federal 

requirements. Technical assistance providers often support 

grantees in implementing evidence-based strategies, as well 

as determining how best to evaluate their efforts and impact 

on youth outcomes.

The federal department that funds an effort determines 

whether technical assistance providers offer support on cross-cutting youth topics, or provide 

Example: Collaboration to Address Youth Substance Abuse

Identifying and addressing alcohol and drug use among students is one of the biggest challenges of 

the U.S. Department of Labor's YouthBuild employment and training program. The U.S. Department 

of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 

(SAMHSA) is collaborating with the YouthBuild program on a pilot project to train staff on how to 

identify youth who are at risk for substance abuse problems and provide referrals to those youth 

who need further assessment or treatment. The "SBIRT" (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral 

to Treatment) tool, originally designed for health-related settings, has been adapted for use with the 

young adults ages 16-24 being served within the YouthBuild program. These collaborative strategies 

are low cost, given SAMHSA's training and intervention tools and YouthBuild’s system for delivery, 

and can extend the reach of each agency's investments. This partnership grew out of the Working 

Group and information is disseminated through FindYouthInfo.gov. Learn more at 

http://www.findyouthinfo.gov/collaboration-profiles/youth-substance-use. 

“Federal agencies can provide 

technical support, by hosting 

webinars, trainings, and other 

forums to allow easy access to 

information sharing and 

networking.”

--Federal Register Comment

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 18
support to youth-serving organizations and partnerships beyond the agency’s grantees. The 

Working Group is committed to supporting federal grantees with the technical assistance and 

support they need to be successful. By creating more training and technical assistance 

opportunities, a community’s ability to improve outcomes for youth may be enhanced and federal 

resources used more efficiently. 

Through this support, the Working Group will:

o Identify opportunities to provide technical assistance to grantees across programs to 

support quality and sustainability and improve youth outcomes (see Example: Coordinating 

Technical Assistance to Prevent Youth Violence).

o Translate cross-system research and evaluation information for programs to encourage 

adoption of comprehensive solutions that address interconnected issues impacting youth. 

o Encourage the inclusion of youth engagement strategies to be incorporated into any 

technical assistance effort to support programs for youth.

o Use grantee conferences, agency-sponsored webinars, guidance, grantee correspondence, 

and other strategies, including FindYouthInfo.gov, to provide technical assistance on crosscutting youth topics.

o Identify opportunities to coordinate the delivery of technical assistance to a common 

grantee or community, and enable technical assistance providers to support non-grantees 

as appropriate.

o Examine the effectiveness of technical assistance, particularly with regard to implementing 

evidence-based programs.

Example: Coordinating Technical Assistance to Prevent Youth Violence 

The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention (Forum) is a White House initiative that was 

established to build a national conversation concerning youth and gang violence that would increase 

awareness, drive action, and build local capacity to more effectively address youth violence through 

comprehensive planning. To do this, the Forum models a new kind of federal and local collaboration, 

encouraging its members to change the way they do business by sharing common challenges and 

promising strategies, and through coordinated action.

Participating federal agencies include the Departments of Justice, Education, Health and Human 

Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. 

Participating cities include Boston, Camden, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, 

Philadelphia, Salinas, and San Jose.

Other participants include faith- and community-based organizations, youth and family groups, as 

well as business and philanthropic leaders. The Forum leveraged resources and fostered 

coordination by developing their website as a microsite of FindYouthInfo.gov. Learn more at 

http://www.FindYouthInfo.gov/YouthViolence. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 19
Goal 2: Evidence-based and Innovative Strategies: 

Promote the use of evidence-based and innovative strategies at 

the federal, state, local, and tribal levels.

Across the country, youth-serving programs and initiatives are working to improve youth outcomes 

by promoting positive strategies such as helping youth finish their education, build skills and 

competencies, secure stable housing, find employment, and develop mentoring relationships with 

competent adults. Community partners are implementing evidence-based and innovative 

strategies that are overcoming the effects of traumatic experiences and preventing or reducing 

youth engagement in risky behaviors such as substance use, early sexual activity, and acts of 

violence and delinquency. 

In a context of shrinking resources and complex challenges in the youth being served, it is 

important to support staff in choosing approaches that are grounded in evidence. Fortunately, we 

know more now about evidence-based programs for youth than we did even 25 years ago. 

Evidence-based programs are those that have been studied with rigorous evaluation designs and 

shown positive effects on intended outcomes, though the level of evaluation and duration of effects 

may vary across definitions of evidence-based practice. Both the public and private sectors have 

produced an array of directories, technical assistance centers, guidebooks, and websites in recent 

years to help youth-serving groups select and implement evidence-based programs for youth. 

Increasingly, funders are requesting or requiring that applicants demonstrate that they are using 

evidence-based strategies to serve youth and show that their efforts have contributed to positive 

outcomes. 

Many challenges persist, however. The evidence is uneven across systems. The depth and breadth 

of knowledge about what works for youth in different settings (for example, in high schools or in 

juvenile justice facilities) or with different issues (for example, youth who need to secure stable 

employment, or youth who abuse substances) differs widely. We often have limited information on 

what works with subpopulations of youth, particularly across age groups, gender, culture, race, 

disability status, and sexual orientation. The criteria identified for calling a program “evidencebased” can vary across departments and directories. The standards for research are slowly growing 

in the public sector in order to establish credibility and parameters for newly developed programs 

and to provide a path for them to become “evidence-based.” 

Selection of an evidence-based program model that is poorly matched to a community, poor 

implementation of the evidence-based model, unexpected costs, and inadequate staff training and 

organization support can all undermine the effort to implement evidence-based programs, and lead 

to increased skepticism of and resistance to evidence-based practices.

In Goal 2, the Working Group seeks to encourage the continued development of evidence-based 

strategies for youth programs, dissemination of knowledge about selection, implementation, and 

evaluation of evidence-based strategies, and support for innovation to address current gaps in the 

knowledge base, as well as new and emerging challenges. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 20
Objective 1: Encourage the adoption of evidence-based strategies, and support their 

implementation. 

While there is limited information available on strategies that 

work on subpopulations of youth, our knowledge base has 

expanded so we now know more about the circumstances and 

populations for which certain strategies may be effective. 

Significant advancements have been made in recent years in 

understanding evidence-based strategies to improve 

education and prevent violence, juvenile delinquency, and 

teen pregnancy, for example. Policies and programs are being 

evaluated in multiple contexts to better understand the 

conditions for their success. Program developers increasingly 

understand that in addition to developing the elements of a 

successful program, they need to develop the tools for 

implementation of that program. The knowledge base about 

“nuggets” and “essential elements” of evidence-based 

programs is growing. And decision makers are working to 

implement a variety of evidence-based strategies, including 

policies such as graduated driver licensing, as well as formal 

program models that have been shown to have positive 

impacts on youth outcomes. 

Federal departments support the development of the evidence base across the continuum – from 

funding basic research; to supporting research to evaluate a program model’s effectiveness; to 

requiring that federal grantees choose an evidence-based program to implement as a condition of 

funding; to developing evidence-based program directories to support the selection of appropriate 

interventions; to funding technical assistance providers to help grantees select and implement 

programs, and evaluate them using randomized controlled experiments and other strong study 

designs. 

The Working Group is committed to supporting the adoption and implementation of evidencebased strategies to help improve youth outcomes at the state and local levels, and disseminating 

information to stakeholders that helps them make sense of various federal efforts. To minimize 

confusion and facilitate adoption of these strategies, the Working Group also seeks to promote 

Goal 2 Objectives

Objective 1: Encourage the adoption of evidence-based strategies, and support their 

implementation. 

Objective 2: Support innovation and deepen the evidence base to fill gaps in knowledge.

“The federal government has an 

extremely important leadership 

role to play in ensuring that 

youth benefit from programs 

that are effective, efficient, and 

coordinated. The federal 

government can promote good 

policies and practices by its 

funding decisions, the incentives 

it provides, the creativity it offers 

to communities and states, the 

protections it offers youth, the 

promising approaches it 

highlights, and the assistance it 

gives states and communities in 

sharing promising approaches.”

--Federal Register Comment

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 21
coordinated dissemination of these efforts to the public. The Working Group is dedicated to 

supporting coordinated federal effort in this arena by facilitating cross-system discussions about 

standards of evidence and implementation, criteria for successful replication, and emerging issues. 

Outlined below are some of the activities the Working Group will use to encourage the adoption of 

evidence-based strategies and support their implementation.

o Identify models of federal funding that offer sufficient funding and time to facilitate the 

complete and successful implementation of evidence-based strategies.

o Promote the adoption of evidence-based strategies through funding announcements, 

technical assistance efforts, and other communication with the public, including 

FindYouthInfo.gov (see Example: FindYouthInfo.gov Microsite on Evidence and 

Innovation)

o Encourage the development of logic models and theories of change in funding 

announcements, and shift program reporting from simply reporting on outputs to 

reporting on valid and reliable immediate and longer-term outcome measures for youth 

and families.

o Engage youth-serving organizations and partnerships in discussions about barriers to 

adoption and implementation of evidence-based approaches with fidelity, and develop 

strategies to overcome these barriers.

o Improve service provider access to information regarding available evidence-based 

resources to facilitate the selection of program models. 

o Improve competencies of youth-serving professionals in identifying and appraising 

evidence for decision-making that considers selection, implementation, and adaptation of 

evidence-based practices in the service context. 

o Provide service providers with access to information from implementation science to 

guide replication, including working across agencies to develop implementation 

standards. 

o Assemble and disseminate current information about evidence-based strategies through 

FindYouthInfo.gov. 

o Identify opportunities to provide technical assistance to help organizations adapt and 

adopt evidence-based programs and implement them with adequate fidelity.

o Coordinate federal efforts around evidence-based practices, including maximizing and 

leveraging dissemination through conferences, websites, and webinars. 

o Convene federal and nonfederal stakeholders to explore the alignment of standards of 

evidence and criteria for implementation readiness and fidelity.

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 22
Objective 2: Support innovation and deepen the evidence base to fill gaps in knowledge. 

Despite these advancements in our knowledge of successful youth programs, there are still 

significant gaps in the evidence. Finding the right prevention, intervention, or combination thereof, 

for specific populations of youth, in specific contexts, at various points across their developmental 

trajectory, is still a challenge for many youth-serving organizations and partnerships. 

A program that works for a primarily Latino population in an urban setting in the northeast may 

have different impacts for a group of tribal youth in the rural southwest. A program for high school 

youth may be inappropriate if implemented with middle school youth. A program may not have the 

same impact if modules are eliminated to meet a program’s time restrictions. Federal agencies 

understand the challenges of implementing evidence-based programs in various contexts, and need 

to work closely with youth-serving organizations and partnerships to determine whether and how 

best to adapt evidence-based programs for different populations and settings, and how to evaluate 

the impact of these adaptations.

The federal government has invested resources in recent 

years in innovative strategies – asking researchers and 

program developers to identify gaps and explore the 

effectiveness of innovative strategies to address these gaps, 

rather than requiring the selection of a model from a list of 

previously evaluated programs. Basic research in such 

areas as brain development, addiction, learning and 

cognition, group formation and peer ties, family 

disorganization, nutrition and health, along with a host of 

other issues, can be the knowledge base from which 

innovation arises, programs are developed, and strategies 

are tested. These innovative efforts are intentional 

processes, guided by evidence and supported by 

evaluations to examine their impact. 

The Working Group is committed to supporting innovation – including adaptation of existing 

program models, development of new program models, and responsiveness to emerging issues. The 

Working Group seeks to collaborate with program developers, researchers, youth-serving 

Example: FindYouthInfo.gov Microsite on Evidence and Innovation 

The Working Group is developing a microsite on FindYouthInfo.gov focused on Evidence and 

Innovation. The microsite will offer the latest information on federal work related to evidence-based 

strategies and provide guidance on selecting programs and program implementation. The site will 

include real-world examples from the field and opportunities to listen to expert opinions and ask 

questions.

“Initiate the development of a 

national database containing 

evidence-based research on crosssystems collaboration and 

evaluation. This can serve as a 

technical assistance tool for state, 

public school districts, and other 

youth serving entities that require 

direction in creating partnerships in 

order to better meet the needs of 

children and youth.”

--Federal Register Comment

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 23
organizations and partnerships, federal departments and agencies, and other stakeholders, to 

deepen the evidence base and expand what we know about how to improve youth outcomes.

Outlined below are some of the activities the Working Group will use to support innovation and 

deepen the knowledge base to fill gaps in knowledge. 

o Provide guidance to youth-serving organizations and partnerships about which evidencebased programs are appropriate and effective for specific populations.

o Identify opportunities to provide technical assistance to help organizations innovate and 

adapt evidence-based programs appropriately (see Example: Safe and Supportive Schools 

Technical Assistance Center), and evaluate the impact of the program and the adaptation.

o Develop the knowledge base on the implementation of evidence-based strategies.

o Disseminate information about innovative and promising strategies through resources like 

FindYouthInfo.gov. 

o Deepen the evidence base on the impact of collaboration and cross-systems approaches to 

improve youth outcomes, as well as youth engagement strategies and their impact. 

o Explore efforts to reduce the time lag between the development of an effective program 

model, to its implementation and further testing among different populations, to its 

widespread use. 

o Identify opportunities to leverage federal funding to support rigorous evaluation of existing 

and innovative program models to improve the evidence-base where gaps exist.

Example: Safe and Supportive Schools Technical Assistance Center 

The Safe and Supportive Schools Technical Assistance Center is funded by a contract from the U.S. 

Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Safe and Healthy 

Students. The Center is operated by the American Institutes for Research. Its mission is to improve 

the conditions for learning in schools so that all students have the opportunity to realize academic 

success in safe and supportive school environments. The Center also provides support on the 

development and management of school climate surveys and the use of data in the selection and 

implementation of appropriate strategies, interventions, and/or programs identified by data. 

Through dissemination of the latest research findings, products, measurement tools, and resources, 

the Center helps to advance knowledge about evidence-based practice, measurement systems and 

data use to improve conditions for learning. The Center works with a team of specialists and/or 

experts in the field to serve state grantees, as well as other state administrators, district and school 

administrators, teachers, school support staff, families /communities, and students. The Center's 

goal is to assist in creating safe and respectful school environments and to provide information and 

resources to increase academic success for all students. 

For more information on the Safe and Supportive Schools TA Center, visit the 

http://safesupportiveschools.ed.gov. Information about the Center, including notification of 

upcoming webinars, is available on www.FindYouthInfo.gov. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 24
Goal 3: Youth Engagement and Partnerships: 

Promote youth engagement and partnerships to strengthen 

programs and benefit youth.

At the federal, state, local, and tribal levels, youth-serving organizations and partnerships are 

working to engage youth as partners in decision-making. Across the country, youth are partnering 

with adults to strengthen programs, as well as to build their own skills and abilities. Youth are not 

just speaking at conferences, they are helping to plan them; they are not just being served by staff, 

they are helping to hire them; they are not just statistics in a dataset, they are helping agencies 

improve data collection and interpret results. Youth are helping organizations develop messages

that resonate with their peers about health, public health, and human services issues. And with the 

rise of social media, youth are now active agents in disseminating information and messages to the 

broader public. 

Yet our knowledge about what makes a successful youth-adult partnership, and what the benefits 

to youth, adults, and programs are, is still developing. Additionally, our ability to measure the 

quality and extent of youth engagement in various program settings is limited. Understanding the 

different types of youth engagement strategies, and determining which strategies are successful for 

specific youth in specific contexts, is still a work in progress. The Working Group, through its 

ongoing collaborative efforts and FindYouthInfo.gov, shares information about various youth 

engagement strategies to better understand options and opportunities. 

In Goal 3, the Working Group promotes strategies that engage youth and their families along a 

continuum – from simple information sharing, to targeted engagement opportunities, to decisionmaking – for the benefit of youth, adults, and programs. And as described in Goal 2, the Working 

Group is dedicated to building the evidence base on youth engagement strategies by supporting 

rigorous evaluation of youth engagement interventions. 

Goal 3 Objectives

Objective 1: Promote youth-adult partnerships to support sustained youth engagement efforts and 

strengthen programs.

Objective 2: Provide and encourage federal, state, local and tribal provision of multiple 

opportunities for youth to develop, master, and apply critical skills, including life skills 

and leadership skills.

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 25
Objective 1: Promote youth-adult partnerships to support sustained youth engagement 

efforts and strengthen programs.

No matter what you call these efforts – positive youth 

development, youth development, youth participation, 

youth engagement, youth-adult partnerships – emerging 

literature suggests benefits for both programs and youth.4

Youth engagement can increase youth confidence and 

competence, improve the chances of academic success, 

protect against aggressive and violent behaviors, and 

promote feelings of safety, belonging, efficacy, and 

empowerment. Organizations can benefit from greater 

organizational sustainability and effectiveness, including a 

staff with increased commitment to an organization’s 

mission and youth needs. Public policy makers can make 

better public investments and create policies and priorities 

that are more relevant to the lives of young people. 

To be successful, however, youth engagement strategies 

require commitment from both adults and youth. Youth and adults may need additional training on 

how to work together effectively. Designing opportunities to engage youth and adults together may 

require setting different meeting times, venues, formats, and agenda items. Organizations may have 

to include incentives to engage community partners and/or youth and sustain their involvement. 

The Working Group is dedicated to promoting youth-adult partnerships at all levels – federal, state, 

local, and tribal – through the following strategies. 

o Use FindYouthInfo.gov, social media, and other strategies to increase public awareness 

about youth perspectives, issues that resonate for youth, and the value of youth 

contributions.

o Assemble and disseminate information about options for youth engagement strategies. 

o Identify opportunities to provide technical assistance to both youth and adults to support 

sustained youth engagement efforts. 

o Encourage opportunities to involve youth from a variety of backgrounds and with differing 

perspectives, including those youth who are especially vulnerable and least likely to be 

engaged in decision-making processes that affect their lives and communities. 

4 Zeldin, S., Petrokubi, J. & Camino, L. (2008). Youth-adult partnerships in public action: Principles, 

 organizational culture, and outcomes. Takoma Park, MD: Forum for Youth Investment.

 Rose-Krasnor, L. (2009). Future directions in youth engagement and social development. Social

Development, 18, 497-509.

 Zeldin, S. (2004). Youth as agents of adult and community development: Mapping the processes and 

outcomes of youth engaged in organizational governance. Applied Developmental Science, 8, 75-90.

 Zeldin, S., McDaniel, A. K., Topitzes, D., & Calvert, M. (2000). Youth in decision-making: A study of the impacts

of youth on adults and organizations. Chevy Chase, MD: National 4-H Council.

“Youth are uniquely qualified to 

address many challenges if they 

have support and mentoring from 

adults who value youth input and 

perspectives on the root causes of 

the challenge areas for the program 

outcomes, as well as ideas for 

practical solutions. Please adopt 

the viewpoint that youth have skills 

and talents to be developed, rather 

than weaknesses and deficits to be 

remediated.”

--Web Comment

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 26

 
o Assist states and localities in identifying models that will promote multiple meaningful and 

successful paths for youth civic engagement and leadership. 

Objective 2: Provide and encourage federal, state, local, and tribal provision of multiple 

opportunities for youth to develop, master, and apply critical skills, including 

life and leadership skills. 

Youth-serving programs must be intentional about reaching out to youth – all youth – but the youth 

population is not monolithic. Engaging special populations of youth, youth at different ages or 

developmental stages, or youth from different regions or environments may require different 

strategies and incentives. The level of rigorous evaluation 

of youth engagement programs is still weak,5 and youth 

engagement activities may need to vary in terms of their 

content, frequency, format, and intensity to reach young 

people at the level at which they are prepared to engage, 

and may need to adjust and deepen as a youth’s skills are 

developed. 

Youth may need extra supports to sustain their 

involvement – other youth being involved with them, 

transportation, activities held after school hours, skill 

development opportunities, or other incentives and 

motivators. Organizations should also recognize youth 

aging out of their programs as valuable resources for 

encouraging engagement amongst younger peers. 

As articulated in its definition of positive youth development (see Goal 1), the Working Group 

recognizes that all youth have assets and should be given opportunities to participate and develop 

their skills to become active and contributing members of society. Youth can be involved as active 

agents in programs – becoming more than just the recipients of services. The Working Group is 

committed to promoting opportunities for youth to engage and develop their skills. Outlined below 

are some of the activities the Working Group will use to support efforts that provide multiple 

opportunities for youth.

o Explore and identify the use of funding applications and other incentives to encourage 

youth-serving organizations and partnerships to engage youth in grantee program design, 

hiring, implementation, evaluation, and other efforts.

o Support federal agencies that wish to engage youth in meetings, planning, grant reviews, or 

other activities (see Example: National Youth in Transition Database, Technical Assistance 

Conference)

o Engage youth in a dialogue through FindYouthInfo.gov and social media to understand 

youth perspectives.

5 Morton, M. & Montgomery, P. (2011). Youth empowerment programs for improving self-efficacy and self-esteem of 

adolescents. Campbell Systematic Reviews. www.campbellcollaboration.org/lib/download/1402/

“Youth can be engaged in these 

efforts when they have 

opportunities to develop their 

leadership skills through 

comprehensive training, which can 

include communication skills, 

respect for diversity, life skills, goal 

setting, learning about finances, 

team building, and having 

opportunities to write and speak to 

the public and to policymakers.”

--Web Comment

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 27

 
o Support approaches that enable youth engagement to grow and expand, such as enabling 

youth to contribute at the local, state, regional, tribal, national, and international levels. 

o Encourage local and state governments and schools to involve youth in a variety of 

activities, including opportunities to learn and exhibit leadership skills. 

o Engage youth in skill and asset development opportunities, including exploring career and 

workforce options and providing occasions for goal setting.

Example: National Youth in Transition Database, Technical Assistance Conference

The Children’s Bureau, which is in the Administration for Children and Families within HHS, 

required state representatives to bring youth to this conference to discuss the first wave of data 

from the National Youth in Transition Database (which collects information on outcomes for youth 

transitioning out of foster care). In youth-only sessions, youth commented on the preliminary 

results and made suggestions for improvements to the data and the way it was communicated. 

Youth also participated in sessions with adults, such as plenary sessions and other workshops. 

Through this effort, states were made aware of youth who were both consumers of foster care 

services and leaders in their communities. Youth developed leadership and critical thinking skills. A 

collaboration profile on the National Youth in Transition Database Technical Assistance meeting is 

available on FindYouthInfo.gov at: http://FindYouthInfo.gov/collaboration-profiles/nytd. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 28
Working Group Cross-Cutting Initiatives 

This draft plan presents an initial step in identifying strategies for federal collaboration and 

provides a basis for future actions related to positive outcomes for youth. As the Working Group 

pursues the goals and objectives outlined in this draft plan, it will be able to set targets for 

collaborative results and identify areas for strategic recommendations and initiatives to address 

common goals for youth. To begin addressing the goals, objectives, and strategies in this draft plan, 

the Working Group identified four areas of work that will begin in the next year. These four crosscutting initiatives are described below. Given that the Working Group has no dedicated funding, the 

scope of work that the Working Group will be able to undertake will depend on the funds and other 

resources agencies are able to provide as leaders or partners in these efforts. 

1. Develop shared language on cross-cutting youth topics for federal grant applications 

and other federal documents and publications.

The Working Group will identify realistic and reasonable opportunities to develop shared 

language that can be incorporated into federal documents, including grant applications and 

technical assistance resources. Examples include common terminology (e.g., positive youth 

development, youth engagement strategies, evidence-based), options for performance 

indicators and metrics, opportunities for administrative flexibility or cost savings, and 

guidance on collaboration (e.g., suggested partners and planning coordination efforts).

2. Assess and disseminate models of collaboration that provide a pathway to 

opportunity for youth and yield positive results.

The Working Group will conduct a scan of successful coordination efforts within and among 

the federal, state, local, and tribal levels and disseminate information about models. This 

work will focus on assessing the best of what we know about strengthening services and 

improving outcomes for youth who are disconnected or at risk of disconnection from 

school, work, or home. It will seek to identify and disseminate information on effective 

strategies for coordinating multiple systems, adopting evidence-based interventions in 

comprehensive strategies, adding innovations, and using data for evaluation and continuous 

improvement.

3. Centralize and disseminate information on promising and evidence-based strategies 

for youth, including promising youth engagement and partnership strategies.

The Working Group will develop a central comprehensive federal resource for information 

on evidence-based practices and innovation that draws from multiple sources already in 

existence, to provide the public with better information about federal efforts, reduce 

duplication, and promote better collaboration among federal departments and agencies. As 

part of this effort, the Working Group will identify and disseminate promising and evidencebased youth engagement strategies to assist federal, state, local, and tribal groups in 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 29
devising strategies to develop and maximize the strengths of youth, and to strengthen youth 

programs. 

4. Promote data collection and long-term evaluation of policies and programs that 

impact youth. 

The Working Group will facilitate cross-system data collection and sharing, while protecting 

privacy, to help programs answer critical questions to develop responsive solutions and 

determine evidence-based practices for youth programs. The Working Group will assess 

criteria currently in use by federal departments and agencies, including data systems. The 

Working Group will also consider opportunities to examine best practices and disseminate 

those to the public. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 30
Supporting Documents 

A: Executive Order 13459

B: Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 Committee Print of the House Committee on Appropriations 

on H.R. 1105/Public Law 111-8, Division F Language

C: Interagency Working Group on Youth Federal Participant List

D: Draft Input Summary Report Executive Summary

E: Selected Accomplishments of the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs, 2011 and 

2012

F: Pathways for Youth At-A-Glance Overview

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 31
Supporting Document A: 

Executive Order 13459: Improving the Coordination and Effectiveness of 

Youth Programs 

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of 

America, and in recognition of the successful interagency collaboration resulting from the Helping 

America’s Youth initiative, it is hereby ordered as follows: 

Section 1. Policy. 

It is the policy of the Federal Government to promote achievement of positive results for at-risk 

youth through: 

(a) enhanced collaboration among government organizations at the Federal, State, and local 

level, including with faith-based and other community organizations, as well as among 

families, schools, and communities, in order to leverage existing resources and improve 

outcomes; 

(b) identification and dissemination of promising strategies and practices that have been 

proven effective through rigorous evaluation; and 

(c) online publication of essential information to assist interested citizens and decision-makers, 

particularly at the community level, to plan, implement, and participate in effective 

programs for at-risk youth. 

Sec. 2. Establishment of the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs. 

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) shall establish within the Department of 

Health and Human Services for administrative purposes only, an Interagency Working Group on 

Youth Programs (Working Group), consistent with this order and reflecting the ongoing 

interagency collaboration under the Helping America’s Youth initiative. 

Sec. 3. Membership and Operation of the Working Group. 

(a) The Working Group shall consist exclusively of the following members or their designees, 

who shall be full-time Federal officers or employees: 

(i) the Secretary; 

(ii) the Attorney General; 

(iii) the Secretaries of Defense, the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Housing and 

Urban Development, and Education; 

(iv) the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; 

(v) the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service; 

and 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 32
(vi) other officers or full-time or permanent part-time employees of the United States, as 

determined by the Secretary, with the concurrence of the head of the department or 

agency concerned. 

(b) The Secretary (or the Secretary's designee) shall serve as Chair, and the Attorney General 

(or the Attorney General's designee) shall serve as Vice Chair, for a period of 2 years from 

the date of this order. Subsequent Chairs and Vice Chairs shall be designated by the 

Secretary on a biennial basis. 

(c) In implementing this section, the Chair, and in the Chair's absence the Vice Chair, shall 

convene and preside at meetings of the Working Group, determine its agenda, direct its 

work, and establish and direct subgroups of the Working Group, as appropriate, to deal with 

particular subject matters, that shall consist exclusively of members of the Working Group 

or their designees. The Chair, after consultation with the Vice Chair, shall designate an 

officer or employee of one of the member departments or agencies to serve as the Executive 

Secretary of the Working Group. The Executive Secretary shall head any staff assigned to 

the Working Group and any subgroups thereof, and such staff shall consist exclusively of 

full-time or permanent part-time Federal employees. 

Sec. 4. Functions of the Working Group. 

Consistent with the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, the Working Group shall: 

(a) identify and engage key government and private or nonprofit organizations that can play a 

role in improving the coordination and effectiveness of programs serving and engaging 

youth, such as faith-based and other community organizations, businesses, volunteers, and 

other key constituencies; 

(b) develop a new Federal website on youth, built upon the Community Guide to Helping 

America’s Youth, with the first phase of this website to be launched within 10 months of the 

date of this order, by: 

(i) identifying and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of existing Federal websites 

focusing on youth-serving entities in order to improve access to the most useful 

content; 

(ii) providing for training to youth-serving entities to enable effective use of the Federal 

website; 

(iii) developing additional strategies and tools and resources accessible through the 

Federal website that will help promote effective community-based efforts to reduce 

the factors that put youth at-risk and the provision of high-quality services to at-risk 

youth across the country; and 

(iv) developing strategies to ensure that the Federal website is routinely updated, 

improved, and publicized; 

(c) encourage all youth-serving Federal and State agencies, communities, grantees, and 

organizations to adopt high standards for assessing program results, including through the 

use of rigorous impact evaluations, as appropriate, so that the most effective practices can 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 33
be identified and replicated, and ineffective or duplicative programs can be eliminated or 

reformed; 

(d)(i) identify and promote initiatives and activities that merit strong interagency 

collaboration because of their potential to offer cost-effective solutions to achieve 

better results for at-risk youth, including volunteer service in concert with the USA 

Freedom Corps and mentoring in concert with the Federal Mentoring Council; and, 

(ii) encourage rigorous evaluations, as appropriate, of such initiatives and activities to 

ascertain their effectiveness in improving academic, employment, social, and other 

individual outcomes, and make these findings publicly available, and 

(e) annually report to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, 

on its work and on the implementation of any recommendations arising from its work, with 

the first such report to be submitted no later than 6 months after the date of this order. 

Sec. 5. Administration of the Working Group. 

(a) The Secretary shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide administrative support and 

funding for the Working Group. 

With the consent of the Secretary, other member departments or agencies may provide 

administrative support to the Working Group, to the extent permitted by law and consistent 

with their statutory authority. 

(b) The heads of executive departments and agencies shall provide, as appropriate, such 

assistance and information as the Secretary may request to implement this order. 

(c) The website referred to in section 4(b) of this order shall be funded by contributions from 

executive departments and agencies to the extent permitted by law and consistent with 

their statutory authority. 

Sec. 6. General Provisions. 

(a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: 

(i) authority granted by law to a department, agency, or the head thereof; or 

(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budget, 

administrative, or legislative proposals. 

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the 

availability of appropriations. 

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or 

procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against the United States, its 

departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. 

George W. Bush 

The White House 

February 7, 2008. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 34
Supporting Document B: 

Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 Committee Print of the House 

Committee on Appropriations on H.R. 1105/Public Law 111-8, Division F 

Language 

The bill includes $1,000,000 for the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs, chaired by 

HHS. These funds shall be used to solicit input from young people, State children’s cabinet directors, 

and non-profit organizations on youth programs and policies; develop an overarching strategic plan 

for Federal youth policy; and prepare recommendations to improve the coordination, effectiveness, 

and efficiency of programs affecting youth.

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 35
Supporting Document C: 

Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs Federal Participant List 

Agency Title Name

U.S. Department of 

Health and Human 

Services (Chair)

Division of Children and Youth Policy, Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

Martha 

Moorehouse*

U.S. Department of 

Justice (Vice-Chair) 

Coordinating Council for Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention, Office of Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention

Robin DelanyShabazz*

U.S. Department of 

Agriculture 

Institute of Youth, Family, and Community, National 

Institute of Food and Agriculture

Suzanne 

Le Menestrel*

Institute of Youth, Family, and Community, National 

Institute of Food and Agriculture Lisa Lauxman

Institute of Youth, Family, and Community, National 

Institute of Food and Agriculture Doug Swanson

Institute of Youth, Family, and Community, National 

Institute of Food and Agriculture Bonita Williams

U.S. Department of 

Commerce 

Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, 

Census Bureau David Johnson*

U.S. Department of 

Defense 

Youth Outreach Programs, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs Ernie Gonzales*

Office of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Military 

Community and Family Policy, Office of Children and 

Youth

Karen Morgan

U.S. Department of 

Education Office of Communications and Outreach Robert Gomez

Office of Communications and Outreach Sam Ryan

Office of Safe and Healthy Students, Office of 

Elementary and Secondary Education Sharon Burton

Office of Safe and Healthy Students, Office of 

Elementary and Secondary Education Deborah Temkin

Office of School Turnaround, Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education Michael Wells

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 36
Agency Title Name

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 

Office of Special Education Programs Sarah Allen

U.S. Department of 

Health and Human 

Services 

Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and 

Families Catherine Heath 

Division of Adolescent and School Health, National 

Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health 

Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Gala Edwards

Division of Adolescent and School Health, National 

Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health 

Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Pete Hunt

Division of Adolescent and School Health, National 

Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health 

Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Shannon Michael

Division of Adolescent Development and Support, 

Administration for Children and Families Curtis Porter

Division of Children and Youth Policy, Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Lindsey Hutchison

Division of Children and Youth Policy, Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Sarah Oberlander

Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for 

Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Alison Spitz

Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for 

Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention

Corinne Ferdon

Family and Youth Services Bureau, Administration for 

Children and Families Telisa Burt

Family and Youth Services Bureau, Administration for 

Children and Families Marnay Cameron

Family and Youth Services Bureau, Administration for 

Children and Families Jewellynne Tinsley

Family and Youth Services Bureau, Administration for 

Children and Families Ann Webber

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 37
Agency Title Name

Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources 

and Services Administration Trina Anglin

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Rebecca Guerin

U.S. Department of 

Health and Human 

Services (continued)

Office of Adolescent Health, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Health Aisha Hasan

Office of Adolescent Health, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Health Evelyn Kappeler

Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and 

Families Amanda Guarino

Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, 

Administration for Children and Families Seth Chamberlain

Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, 

Administration for Children and Families Jason Despain

Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, 

Administration for Children and Families Erica Zielewski 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration Rebecca Flatow

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration Larke Huang

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration Kelley Smith

U.S. Department of 

Homeland Security

FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness 

Division Julie Blanciak

FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness 

Division Marcus Coleman

FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness 

Division Regina Moran

U.S. Department of 

Housing and Urban 

Development

Office of Public and Indian Housing Maria-Lana 

Queen*

U.S. Department of 

the Interior 

Bureau of Indian Affairs Sue Settles*

Office of Youth, Partnerships, and Service Maria Arnold

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 38
Agency Title Name

Office of Youth, Partnerships, and Service Michael Gale

U.S. Department of 

Justice 

National Institute of Justice Patrick Clark

National Institute of Justice Carrie Mulford

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Brecht Donoghue

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Dennis Mondoro

Office of Violence Against Women Anne Hamilton

U.S. Department of 

Labor 

Division of Youth Services, Employment and Training 

Administration Jennifer Kemp

Division of Youth Policy, Employment and Training 

Administration Maisha Meminger

Division of Youth Services, Employment and Training 

Administration Evan Rosenberg

Office of Disability Employment Policy Maria Town 

U.S. Department of 

State Office of Global Youth Issues Menaka Nayyar

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Paul Kruchoski

U.S. Department of

Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Kathleen Ballard

Corporation for 

National and 

Community Service 

AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps National 

Civilian Community Corps Katrina Mathis*

National Science 

Foundation

Directorate for Education and Human Resources, 

Division of Research on Learning in Formal and 

Informal Settings

Sylvia James

Office of National 

Drug Control Policy 

Office of Demand Reduction, Addiction Recovery 

Branch Nataki MacMurray 

U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency

Office of Environmental Education Julia Ortiz

Office of Environmental Education Karen Scott

Office of Public Engagement Scott Fraser

U.S. Small Business 

Association

Office of Entrepreneurship Education John Bienko

Office of Entrepreneurship Education Nathaniel Bishop

* indicates a formal designee to the Working Group

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 39
This list is current as of 2012. The Working Group received valuable participation from other 

individuals formally serving with federal agencies during the drafting of the plan (Susan Badeau, 

Jason Despain, Jamie Kim, Lyman Legters, and Todd Shenk). Other significant contributions were 

made by federal staff who have moved on.

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 40
Supporting Document D: 

Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs Draft Public Input 

Summary Report Executive Summary 

The first step of developing a plan involved gathering input from stakeholders, including youth, 

state Children’s Cabinet members, representatives from nonprofit organizations, policymakers, 

researchers, service providers, and families and educators on how to improve the coordination, 

effectiveness, and efficiency of youth programs and policies. The American Institutes for Research 

(AIR) supported the Working Group throughout this process, including the organization and 

facilitation of listening sessions. 

The Working Group developed a conceptual framework to guide strategic-planning input. The 

framework focuses on three overarching outcomes for youth, all within the context of cultural and 

linguistic competency: health, safety, and wellness; school, family, and community engagement and 

connections; and education, training, employment, transitions, and readiness for careers and 

adulthood.

The Working Group used several mechanisms for gathering public input, including regional 

listening sessions, mini-listening sessions, youth sessions, a roundtable with state Children’s 

Cabinet representatives, a Web site (FindYouthInfo.gov), a Federal Register notice, targeted 

Webinars (for example, with the Society for Research on Child Development), and a federal 

strategic plan review. The Working Group also conducted extensive outreach to stakeholders 

through IWGYP agency and federally funded technical assistance center electronic newsletters and 

e-mail blasts, the FindYouthInfo newsletter and Web site, and targeted outreach. 

The Working Group conducted the public listening sessions in ten regions of the country in a 

variety of locations, including federal buildings and community settings with connections to the 

IWGYP partners. Each session was a facilitated discussion, with focused questions that drilled down 

to ensure that the discussion was both inclusive and deep. Different sessions focused on specific 

topics, such as education, safety, enrichment, juvenile justice, employment, housing, physical and 

mental health and wellness, service learning, and positive youth development. However, the 

sessions were facilitated in a manner that enabled participants to provide input on any of these 

areas.

Several key themes and topics emerged during the input-gathering process. These themes reflect 

conditions that stakeholders feel are necessary to achieve positive youth outcomes, best 

approaches to intervention across service areas, approaches to collaboration, and the strategies 

that will best help improve outcomes and collaboration. The themes include relationships; high 

expectations; safe, supportive, and engaging environments; multiple chances and multiple 

pathways for successful development; promotion, prevention, and early intervention; flexible, 

strengths-based, and needs-driven strategies and approaches; consumer-driven and consumerfriendly strategies; and support for transition. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 41
Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs Draft Public Input 

Summary Report Executive Summary (continued)

The substantial input gathered in the course of this outreach process provides the Working Group 

with a wealth of ideas and suggestions. Stakeholders identified multiple actionable opportunities 

for the Working Group to consider in areas such as communications; service delivery; funding; 

decision-making; collaboration and coordination among federal, state, local, and tribal agencies and 

departments; accountability systems and data; and engagement of youth in efforts to improve their 

lives. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 42
Supporting Document E: 

Selected Accomplishments of the Interagency Working Group on Youth 

Programs, 2011 and 2012

Coordination and Collaboration

Grants.gov Search

The Working Group facilitated the first-ever custom search tool of Grants.gov. Visitors to 

FindYouthInfo.gov can search for open youth-relevant solicitations by keyword, topic (e.g., 

mentoring, employment), federal department, and agency.

Youth Violence Prevention

The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention developed their website as a microsite on 

FindYouthInfo.gov. This prevented the creation of a new .gov website, leveraged resources, and 

connected youth violence-related content with other relevant topics, such as teen dating violence 

and transition age youth. Coordination with the Working Group is written into the Forum’s 

Strategic Plan. 

Afterschool Content

Afterschool.gov content was integrated into FindYouthInfo.gov. This reduced the number of .gov 

websites, leveraged resources, and connected cross-cutting afterschool content with other relevant 

content on FindYouthInfo.gov, such as positive youth development.

U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness

The Working Group’s subgroup coordinated with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness on 

their goal to end youth homelessness by 2020. The Working Group was written into Opening Doors: 

Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.

Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

The Working Group has ongoing coordination with the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention. A new youth topic on juvenile justice issues was launched on 

FindYouthInfo.gov.

Disability.gov

The Working Group coordinated with Disability.gov to discuss the best way to integrate content on 

youth with disabilities into the youth topics on FindYouthInfo.gov. The development of new content 

is underway.

Data-Sharing and Privacy Protection

The Working Group planned a series of three webinars planned on data-sharing and privacy 

protection. Experts will discuss issues related to data-sharing for youth violence prevention, 

intervention, enforcement, and reentry in collaboration with the National Forum on Youth Violence 

Prevention.

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 43
Selected Accomplishments of the Interagency Working Group on Youth 

Programs, 2011 and 2012 (continued)

Social Media

The Working Group developed a YouTube channel to share videos from across federal agencies. 

The videos demonstrate the broad work that agencies, contractors, and grantees do to promote 

healthy outcomes for youth. The Working Group also developed a LinkedIn group to connect 

federal staff, contractors, grantees, and the public.

Collaboration Profiles

New resources have been developed for the collaboration center on FindYouthInfo.gov, including 

new collaboration profiles. The profiles promote enhanced collaboration at the federal, state, local

levels. Each profile provides a real world example of challenges and solutions, collaborative 

structures, accomplishments, best practices, and lessons learned. 

Evidence-Based Strategies

Learning Exchange

The Working Group held a federal learning exchange to enable federal research and program staff 

to explore examples of how federal departments and agencies promote and prioritize the 

development, selection, and implementation of evidence-based strategies for youth. 

Evidence Guidebook

Through a partnership with USDA, the Working Group developed a guidebook for communities 

selecting and implementing evidence-based programs. The content will be integrated into 

FindYouthInfo.gov. 

Evidence & Innovation Microsite

The Working Group planned a microsite on evidence and innovation. The microsite will include 

content on the Administration’s tiered evidence initiatives, access to evidence-based program 

directories, tools to assist youth-serving organizations selecting and implementing evidence-based 

programs, information on innovation, and more.

Research Subgroup

The Working Group developed a subgroup focused on research. The subgroup developed an action 

plan to prioritize coordination with federal research staff and development of new content for 

FindYouthInfo.gov.

Youth Engagement and Partnership

Positive Youth Development Subgroup

The Working Group’s subgroup on Positive Youth Development completed a scan of youth 

engagement and partnership activities undertaken by federal departments and agencies. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 44
Selected Accomplishments of the Interagency Working Group on Youth 

Programs, 2011 and 2012 (continued)

Federal Youth Engagement

The Working Group developed content for FindYouthInfo.gov related to successful youth 

engagement efforts. For example, a collaboration profile was developed on the National Youth in 

Transition Database Meeting (see example above).

Adolescent Health Working Group

The Working Group is collaborating with the HHS Adolescent Health Working Group and co-leading 

a youth engagement subgroup. The Working Group presented on federal youth engagement 

activities at an Adolescent Health Working Group meeting. Coordination with the Working Group is 

written into the Adolescent Health Working Group Annual Plan for 2012.

Youth Engagement Microsite

The Working Group is developing a microsite on youth engagement that is targeted toward youth. 

Youth were engaged through the process and provided input the design, development, and content 

of the microsite. 

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 45
Supporting Document F:

Pathways for Youth At-A-Glance Overview 

INTRODUCTION

Background and overview of the Working Group and its charges; Description of the process for 

creating the draft plan, including the initial framework, public input process, and federal drafting effort

A VISION FOR YOUTH

The strengths-based vision for youth acknowledges the importance of pathways to opportunity for 

youth that include meaningful connections and safe, healthy, and stable places to live, learn, and work.

GOALS TO IMPROVE YOUTH OUTCOMES

Goal 1:

Promote coordinated 

strategies to improve youth 

outcomes

Objective 1:

Align and simplify federal 

guidance for youth programs.

Objective 2:

Coordinate youth 

programming and funding 

support at the federal, state, 

local, and tribal level.

Objective 3:

Coordinate technical assistance 

efforts to leverage resources.

Goal 2:

Promote the use of evidencebased and innovative 

strategies at the federal, 

state, local, and tribal levels 

Objective 1: 

Encourage the adoption of 

evidence-based strategies, and 

support their implementation.

Objective 2: 

Support innovation and deepen 

the evidence base to fill gaps in 

knowledge.

Goal 3:

Promote youth engagement and 

partnerships to strengthen 

programs and benefit youth

Objective 1: 

Promote youth-adult partnerships 

to support sustained youth 

engagement efforts and 

strengthen programs.

Objective 2:

Provide and encourage federal, 

state, local and tribal provision of 

multiple opportunities for youth 

to develop, master, and apply 

critical skills, including life and 

leadership skills.

CROSS-CUTTING INITIATIVES

1. Develop shared language on cross-cutting youth topics for federal grant applications and other 

federal documents and publications.

2. Assess and disseminate models of collaboration that provide a pathway to opportunity for 

youth, and yield other positive results. 

3. Centralize and disseminate information on promising and evidence-based strategies for youth, 

including promising youth engagement and partnership strategies.

4. Promote data collection and long-term evaluation of youth programs.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

Executive Order 13459, Omnibus Appropriations Act language, Interagency Working Group on Youth 

Programs Participant List, Executive Summary of the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 

Draft Public Input Summary Report, Selected Accomplishments of the Working Group, 2011 and 2012

Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs 46