Youth Councils are state and local policy advising bodies that provide young people an opportunity for their voices to be counted in states and cities across the nation. This learning group is made up of those youth leaders and the adults that assist them in bringing youth perspective to statehouses and city councils mayor’s offices and governor’s offices. As a part of this learning group these youth leaders receive Forum tools and resources, documentation and dissemination of their work to a broader audience and an opportunity to connect with their peers in youth councils across the country.
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RELATED NEWS AND PUBLICATIONS
Webinar on Creating State and Local Youth Policy Councils
This Webinar, held on December 3rd, 2007, offered an opportunity to hear firsthand about how youth from across the country are successfully engaging with policymakers in formal bodies called youth councils. The Forum also discussed the key principles of creating an effective youth council, which are outlined in the paper Building Effective Youth Councils.
December 3, 2007
New Mexico - Youth Alliance
Led by the New Mexico Forum for Youth.
June 15, 2004
Louisiana - Louisiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council
The Louisiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council will examine and advise the legislature on issues such as education, school violence, substance abuse, youth employment, and ways to motivate young people to actively participate in their community and government. Click here to read the authorizing legislation.
June 15, 2004
New Mexico - New Mexico Blueprint for Civic Engagement
The Civic Engagement blueprint is a comprehensive agenda for increasing civic engagement, service, volunteerism and workforce development, while meeting urgent environmental and community needs in the state. The blueprint contains three sections: policy recommendations to strengthen and expand civic engagement, positive and effective outcomes of civic engagement programs, and a catalog of servic
June 15, 2004
Hampton, VA - Hampton Youth Commission
The Hampton Youth Commission is a city funded Commission composed of 24 high school aged youth from all four of the public high schools in Hampton as well as Peninsula Catholic and Hampton Roads Academy. The Hampton Youth Commission represents the ideas and opinions of young people in the city, in order for the youth to have a more formal role in the city's planning and decision making.
June 15, 2004
Building Effective Youth Councils: A Practical Guide to Engaging Youth in Policy Making
The guide is designed to help states and localities create or strengthen their own youth councils. It is a synthesis of theory and practice that provides a general framework for thinking about youth councils, explaining the principles for youth action and the importance of youth engagement.
July 15, 2007
Vermont - Youth Advisory Council
The VTSP Youth Advisory Council (YAC) is made up of one peer elected member from each VTLSP School. The council meets three times per year and each member must commit to two major safety projects in the school year. Sponsored by the Vermont Teen Leadership Safety Program.
June 15, 2004
Nebraska - Attorney General's Youth Advisory Council
AGYAC is a group comprised of over 60 high school seniors from across the state, and is designed to involve Nebraska students in the processes of government and law. Students selected serve during their senior year in high school.
June 15, 2004
Washington - Legislative Youth Advisory Council
This youth council was formed to examine issues of importance to youth, such as: education, employment, strategies to increase youth participation in government, safe environments for youth, substance abuse, emotional and physical health, foster care, poverty, homelessness, and youth access to services.
June 15, 2004
Maine - Legislative Youth Advisory Council
The Legislative Youth Advisory Council is a permanent advisory Council created in statute by Public Law of 2001. This is the first Legislative Council in the nation, and the only one that they know of that has the power to submit legislation. The purpose of the Council is to advise the Legislature and its Committees on issues related to youth.
June 15, 2004