Not a Subscriber?
|
|
Introduction
"Who needs to be at the table to define a course of action and advance a workforce agenda for youth work at a national level?" A governance task force asked itself this question in late 2008 as it considered expanding the reach and influence of the Next Generation Youth Work Coalition. As a result, the newly established Leadership Council is a who's who of national, regional and local organizations and individuals with influence, experience and perspectives to take on the task of building a stable, prepared and supported youth work workforce dedicated to the wellbeing and empowerment of children and youth across the United States. Review the list here. The work to meld this knowledge and expertise into an actionable two-year workforce agenda begins in September. We will keep you posted! |
Career Pathways II. During its first phase, the Career Pathways project supported efforts underway to establish comprehensive workforce development systems for youth workers, with a focus on connecting education with compensation and retention in Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New York City, Baltimore, Long Beach and San Diego. Click here to learn more. In the project's second phase, NIOST, under the Next Gen umbrella, is leading work with Pennsylvania, Missouri and Palm Beach County, Florida to pilot one strategy that emerged as promising during phase one-expanding the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Scholarship model to reach staff working with school age and older youth in self-regulated or state regulated programs. A full report should be available by mid 2010.
External Communications. One of the most consistent requests made of Next Gen since the 2006 youth worker study has been that we help legitimize the youth work field. In response, we have drafted A Case for Investing in America's Youth Workers, with input from many of you. Our goal is to develop messages and tools that will help business leaders and other stakeholders communicate about these issues with their peers, policy makers and community leaders. The draft is not quite ready for broad circulation but if you would like to review it, email Deborah@forumfyi.org.
Higher Education Scan. College accredited certificates, credentials and degree programs are proliferating in communities across the United States. A searchable database of higher education opportunities is under development, beginning with a focus on six states-California, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New York and Pennsylvania. The database will be online at the Next Gen website and marketed to youth workers and to institutions seeking students for their programs. Watch for an announcement about the database this fall.
Core Competencies. Next Gen is working with School's Out Washington to engage stakeholders around that state in a process to develop consensus around a shared set of core competencies for professionals working with school-age children and youth, ages 5-18. Next Gen is also participating in conversations at the national level being led by NAA to explore the commonalities across core competency frameworks that have been developed across the nation.
2009 National Afterschool Association Convention. NAA, Next Gen and NIOST co-sponsored the Stronger Staff, Stronger Youth Workforce Track at this year's NAA Convention in April in New Orleans. The track was so successful that many sessions had to close their doors due to overcrowding. Topics included an Overview, Core Competencies for Afterschool Professionals, Strengthening the Workforce by Strengthening Supervisors, The Tipping Point: Credentialing with the Whole Field in Mind, Expansion and Innovation: A Look at Higher Education Opportunities, Expanding T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood for Youth Workers, and Strengthening Our Workforce through Policy and Advocacy. The track was so successful that another is being planned for the 2010 Convention to be held in Washington, DC, April 19-21! To review materials from the 2009 track, click here. To register for next year, click here.
|
This recent literature review provides valuable lessons learned from efforts to strengthen the early childhood profession as well as supporting evidence for certain kinds of investments that the youth work field might learn from.
Currently, 137,000 positions are available in the afterschool workforce in California, the equivalent of nearly 75 percent of the elementary teacher workforce or all police and firefighters in California combined. The annual rate of workforce turnover in afterschool, unlike these other fields, reaches or exceeds 40 percent. The pilot projects described in this policy brief have developed unique partnerships that can be replicated to address these workforce needs.
This annual summary of research is a treasure trove for the youth work professional looking for the latest research on the full range of out-of-school time topics or the grant writer seeking research for a funding proposal.
The issues of the Forum for Youth Investment's OST Policy Commentary series discusses the implications of recent research led by Bar Hirsch, Reed Larson and Charles Smith. Each study helps deepen our understanding of youth work practice and can inform policy strategies aimed at developing a stable, prepared and committed OST workforce.
The Cornerstones for Kids Workforce Planning Portal provides hands-on tools and resources for human services agencies that are looking for solutions to specific workforce challenges or that want to engage in overall workforce-related planning.
The Coalition undertook a scan of a broad range of federal programs to determine how federal funds are being used to strengthen, support and retain youth workers and to begin a dialogue about increasing policy supports for this workforce that we trust to foster the positive development of our nation's young people. |
reply
wow that's pretty nice and interesting topic it inspired me very much, i love that
braindumps