The Forum News
4th Annual Children's Cabinets & Councils Roundtable
The 4th Annual Children’s Cabinets and Councils Roundtable was convened in New Orleans on July 14th coinciding with a whole host of youth policy related events.
Youth Today: Wanted: Youth Work Principles in Schools
By Karen Pittman, July 2008
Seven students recently joined me for breakfast in a windowless conference room in Des Moines to talk about “the high school dropout crisis.” They were experts: Five had dropped out. Another had come very close.
Forum Works with State Teams Across the Country to Improve Youth Policy
The Forum, along with the National Conference of State Legislaturs and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, recently completed the Fourth Annual Youth Policy Institute. The Institutes bring together state policymakers and is designed to help state governments obtain better outcomes from their youth policies and programs.
Ready by 21 Presentation at United for Children Event
On Thursday, May 28th, Karen Pittman spoke to an audience of 200 community and business leaders at the United for Children event in Boston. Karen presented the Ready by 21 framework and spoke of the importance of using a big picture approach to align resources for children and youth, a message that echoed Mayor Memnino’s welcome remarks that called for integration.
Youth Councils Team Up for the First Time
On Monday, July 14, the Forum convened the Youth Councils Learning Group in New Orleans, LA, for a pre-conference to the Workforce Innovations conference. This convening marked the first time that the Learning Group met face-to-face where they attended discussions and workshops facilitated by their peers from across the country.
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary: Unpacking Youth Work Practice
The Forum's OST Policy Commentary series is back! In this issue we discuss the implications of recent research led by Bart 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 strong, stable, committed and prepared OST workforce.
Ready by 21 Big Picture Messages & Frameworks Webinar Presentation
There are numerous child and youth development frameworks being used by youth serving organizations and government entities.



