Videos: PYD in Juvenile Justice

The Annie E. Casey Foundation has two new five-minute videos that show how communities are helping young people who have been in trouble with the law by using positive youth development (PYD) practices. The videos highlight youth involved in the juvenile justice system in Washington State and describe ways that practitioners are keeping youth out of the system by using adult mentors, art and music programming, and hands-on learning to support youth

Watch the videos at  https://www.aecf.org/blog/supporting-youth-in-trouble-with-the-law-in-their-communities/

Protecting School Rights for RHY

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty has developed a five-page guide geared toward families who lack stable housing that describes the educational services that all children have a legal right to, and how to appeal if those rights are violated. The guide describes services available to homeless students, and provides resources and advice on how to file an appeal if needed, including examples of evidence used in an appeal, and how to find a lawyer.

Download the toolkit at https://nlchp.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/mvtoolkitfederal2019.pdf

Going National—How to Grow a Small Non-Profit

A recent article from Stanford Social Innovation Review details how one small non-profit quadrupled in size and operating budget in just seven years. Portland, Oregon-based Friends of the Children, which provides mentors to at-risk youth, had just five locations in 2012, but grew to 20 by 2019. The article describes their service model—pairing a salaried mentor with a school-age child through high school graduation, no matter what—and lessons learned including how they were able to fundraise $25 million for their national expansion. Other takeaways include the importance of investing in quality performance management and evaluation, strong community support, and diversified funding.

Read the article at

https://ssir.org/articles/entry/how_a_portland_based_nonprofit_scaled_from_5_to_20_locations_in_7_years

Education and Homelessness

The latest research brief from Chapin Hall’s Voices of Youth Count series addresses educational disruption among youth experiencing homelessness. Missed Opportunities: Education Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness in America includes a summary of policies related to education for RHY; comprehensive recommendations for education and homeless services systems to address overlapping issues; and significant findings from Voices of Youth Count surveys. The report argues that housing and education are inextricably linked and that promoting youth’s success in either domain requires systemic solutions—in other words, stable housing is linked to staying in school and school success protects against future homelessness.

Read the brief and find links to the entire series at https://www.chapinhall.org/wp-content/uploads/ChapinHall_VoYC_Education-Brief.pdf