Youth in Transition Survey Results -- Spring 2003

CALIFORNIA

Community Foundation for Monterey County
Judy Sulsona
Executive Vice President/COO
30 E. San Joaquin Street, Suite 101
Salinas, CA 93901
831-375-9712
info@cfmco.org
Disturbed that so few proposals requested funding to serve older youth, the community foundation's board set aside $200,000 in 2002 and issued an RFP to address youth ages 14 -19 "at risk of failure to make a successful transition to adulthood." An even larger allocation of funds was eventually made. Funded efforts include staff for an organization that works with teens on probation and their families to enable teens to (a) complete at least a high school education, (b) access employment and job training, and (c) resolve health problems and other issues that might impede progress. Another example is a coalition of youth-serving organizations that provides counseling to and mentors for vulnerable youth, and operates a summer program that offers intensive morning classes to make up for failed courses, and paid afternoon work experiences and internships. In the area of foster care, assistance has been provided to a placement agency, and a planning grant was made to the county Department of Social Services that resulted in a new emergency placement program and expanded neighborhood-focused foster care services to improve the likelihood that those in foster care can remain in their neighborhood schools. Youth are involved in grantee programs through leadership training, participation in planning activities, and advisory councils. The community foundation also funds a wide range of youth development programs in an effort to reduce the number of youth who disconnect along the path to adulthood.

Shasta Regional Community Foundation
Beth Freeman
Director of Community Programs
2280 Benton Drive, Building C - Suite A
Redding, CA 96003
530-244-1219
beth@shastacf.org
The community foundation's youth philanthropy program recently received a request for funding – that it declined – from foster youth. Although the request did not meet the youth philanthropy board's criteria, the young philanthropists are concerned about foster youth and have asked the community foundation to provide support to them. The community foundation is a new organization with very limited resources, but plans to meet with foster youth as a first step in understanding their issues and concerns.

Marin Community Foundation
Lourdes Martinez
Program Officer
5 Hamilton Landing, Suite 200
Novato, CA 94949
415-464-2523
lmartinez@marincf.org
Through a partnership with the Youth Leadership Institute (YLI), the Marin Community Foundation is providing grants and other assistance to grassroots youth-led groups seeking to improve their communities. The issues these youth grantmakers and grantees address cover a broad range of social and community issues including health, education, prevention, civic engagement, advocacy, and community service. The community foundation and YLI partner with youth to provide training and technical assistance to multi-system programs on how to operationalize youth development principles and practices and how to conduct evaluation. Several youth philanthropy programs involve pregnant or parenting teens, youth in the juvenile justice system, and residents in public housing as grantmakers. Examples of this effort include grants directly to incarcerated youth. In addition, young people, including pregnant and parenting teens, are being convened across the state to engage in advocacy on teen pregnancy prevention and to craft school reform policies for districts and statewide decision makers.

CONNECTICUT

Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
Amos Smith
Director of Health
70 Audubon Street
New Haven, CT 06510
203-777-2386x234
asmith@cfgnh.org
The community foundation was instrumental in the creation of the Male Involvement Network, a coalition that focuses on all aspects of young men's lives, including education, employment (STRIVE is a partner), health (writ large), housing, and legal issues such as court-ordered mediation and interaction with the child support enforcement system. In addition, the community foundation succeeded in securing a multi-million dollar federal Healthy Start grant to support New Haven's Family Alliance. The grant provides supports and services to truant girls who are at risk of early pregnancy and/or dropping out of school; the grant is also used to fund male outreach workers who provide services to the partners of teen girls in the Family Alliance program.

GEORGIA

North Georgia Community Foundation
James Mathis, Jr.
President
PO Box 1583
Gainesville, GA 30503
770-535-7880
jmathis@ngcf.org
The community foundation makes grants to legal services organizations to serve youth and a family relations program that works with youth referred by the courts. Grants are also made to organizations that work with teen parents. Most of these organizations are co-located at the community foundation's Nonprofit Center.

The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Inc.
Akilah Watkins
Program Officer
449 Hurt Plaza
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-688-5525
awatkins@atlcf.org
The community foundation is the local partner for the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities initiative, a community-wide effort designed by and for foster care youth to ensure successful transition to adulthood. (There are five additional cities in the initiative.) Two boards have been established: a Youth Leadership Board composed of youth in or recently transitioned out of foster care; and a Community Partnership Board. The youth board was convened to provide input to the Community Partnership Board. The community board is composed of key public sector institutions and systems that impact the lives of foster youth, including juvenile justice, the Department of Children and Family Services, and major nonprofits, as well as business and corporate leaders. Youth leadership is a centerpiece of the initiative, and the youth board, which meets monthly, is engaged in a number of professional and leadership development activities. Working with a local nonprofit, the youth board is developing its own newsletter, including content, layout, and graphics, that it will publish and disseminate for purposes of outreach, education, and recruitment. A core component of the initiative is the Opportunity Passport, which consists of an IDA (individual development account) with a 1:1 match; a debit account; and "door openers" in which local and national businesses and other institutions will provide discounts on, for example, health or automobile insurance, clothing, and food, as well as preferential or expedited access to higher education and job training. In addition, there are four task forces dealing with health, education, housing, and employment, and eventually there will be a policy agenda. The community foundation hosted a summit in June 2003 to unveil the Passport, and views its long-term role as leveraging its connections, stature, relationships, and resources to support the initiative.

IDAHO

Idaho Community Foundation
Craig Parry
Program Officer
PO Box 8143
Boise, ID 83702
208-342-3535
cparry@idcomfdn.org
The community foundation has supported a wide range of grantees dealing with youth in transition, including a state-wide youth involvement grant program. No single project is currently sustained on an ongoing basis; rather, the approach is to look at needs on an ongoing basis, shoring up programs and supporting existing organizations that are integral components of the youth service structure in their communities.

INDIANA

Central Indiana Community Foundation
Harry T. McFarland
Vice President of Programs
615 N. Alabama Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204
317- 634-2423
harrym@cicf.org
The community foundation funds alternative education opportunities at the high school level and after school programs at the middle school level which have the common objective of encouraging high school graduation. In addition, the foundation supports a comprehensive program for single teen mothers also geared toward high school graduation; the program provides tutoring, counseling, values setting, transportation, and day care. The community foundation also supports a partnership between two agencies to assist young people transitioning out of foster care. A youth philanthropy program is operated by the foundation as well.

Huntingburg Foundation, Inc.
Christine Prior
Executive Director
309 North Geiger Street
Huntingburg, IN 47542
812-683-5799
huntingburg@psci.net
A particularly vulnerable population in this community is middle and high school age youth who are new immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries. Unlike their younger siblings, a disproportionate number of these youth fall behind in school, fail to connect to the mainstream culture and institutions, engage in gang activity, and abuse alcohol and other substances. The community foundation is working closely with a grassroots organization, Hispanic Outreach Services, to provide extensive supports and services to these young people; the executive director of the community foundation also serves on the board of this organization.

The Wabash Valley Community Foundation
Kelli Miller
Program Director
2901 Ohio Blvd., Suite 153
Terre Haute, IN 47803
812-232-2234
kelli@wvcf.com
The community foundation is supporting a school-based mentoring program through Big Brothers/Big Sisters, a pregnancy prevention program for 10 –18 year olds through the Minority Health Coalition, and a YouthBuild program.

IOWA

Community Foundation of Waterloo,
Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa
Mary Ann Burk
President & CEO
500 E. 4th Street, Suite 316
Waterloo, IA 50704-1176
319-287-9106
mburk@communityfoundationneiowa.com
The community foundation launched and remains an active partner in Cedar Valley's Promise (CVP), the local iteration of America's Promise. (The president of the community foundation is the immediate past president of the CVP board.) The two operating partners are a local nonprofit and the state social service agency. CVP Task Teams have tackled a number of issues related to youth in transition. One Task Team created a Second Chance program to redirect youth edging into criminal behavior toward more positive forms of engagement with the community. Another is in its third year of working with 7th - 9th grade African American males with a goal of successful completion of high school. Yet another Task Team is working with a new program to provide a contiuum of support for single parents ages 19 to 23 who have aged out of the program that serves younger parents. In addition, young people themselves are involved in leadership positions with CVP. The CVP Coordinator is also actively engaged in foster care referrals. This very effective partnership has leveraged considerable state and federal funds, and has been named the number one America's Promise effort in the country.

KANSAS

Hutchinson Community Foundation
Lynette Lacy
Executive Director
PO Box 298
Hutchinson, KS 67504-0298
620-663-5293
lynette@hutchcf.org
The community foundation has engaged the state social service agency (Social and Rehabilitative Services), the court system, educators, mental health agencies, and volunteers in a pilot effort to reduce the number of youth between the ages of 12 and 18 who enter the juvenile justice and/or foster care systems. The community foundation recently brought in a superior court judge from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to share Fort Wayne's community-wide approach to building assets in children, youth, and families and the judicial system's role in that process. The community foundation wants to replicate Fort Wayne's asset-based family conferencing system and developmental asset-building approaches. As a result of the community foundation's efforts, Hutchinson has been selected as one of five communities to be "part of a think tank on reforming the juvenile justice system using the Developmental Assets Model." In addition, the community foundation is in the process of creating a youth leadership program and launched a youth philanthropy program in 2003.

MARYLAND

Baltimore Community Foundation
Cheryl Casciani
Program Director
2 East Read Street, 8th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-332-4172
ccasciani@bcf.org
The community foundation has stepped forward to convene Reason to Believe, a long-term civic improvement agenda inspired by the mayor. Over the next two years, Reason to Believe leaders will raise and invest $30 million to achieve specific measurable outcomes in the areas of drug treatment, family supports, school readiness, after school programs, internship opportunities, and jobs. The effort will focus on the healthy and safe development of Baltimore's most vulnerable children and youth, and the stability of their families. Over the next two years, the community foundation will provide both volunteer and staff leadership for Reason to Believe. At the same time, the community foundation will conduct research and identify strategies and organizations aligned with and central to the success of the long-term plan. This plan will enable the foundation and its donors, other local foundations, public policy makers, and city and state governments to direct investments toward proven strategies that are linked to a clear civic agenda.

Massachusetts

Community Foundation of Cape Cod
Lisa McNeill
Program Officer
PO Box 406
Yarmouthport, MA 02675
508-790-3040
mcneill@capecodfoundation.org
The community foundations funds two alternative high school programs aimed at reaching young people before they drop out of school, keeping them engaged and, optimally, preparing them for higher education. The community foundation's work on responsible fatherhood has included a focus on teen parenting, of greater import now that the state has cut funding for education and other services to teen parents. As part of a local Task Force on Youth, the community foundation is assisting in designing and hosting a community-wide summit on young people under the age of 23, with the goals of raising awareness, sharing information and resources, and developing a common agenda for moving forward. In the Fall of 2002, the community foundation hosted a day-long Donors Forum on Youth Issues that included a site visit to a group home for homeless youth and presentations on foster care issues specific to Cape Cod and the islands. The community foundation has also funded foster care family recruitment efforts. In addition, the community foundation recently launched a youth philanthropy program.

MICHIGAN

Albion Community Foundation
Dave Farley
Executive Director
PO Box 156
203 S. Superior Street
Albion, MI 49224
517-629-3349
execdir@albionfoundation.org
With a grant from Kellogg, the community foundation incubated a coalition of more than 24 youth-serving agencies known as Community Partners for Albion's Youth (CPAY). Among CPAY's goals are reductions in dropouts, youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system, teen pregnancies, and the number of youth who are abused or neglected. Many CPAY programs employ youth as counselors, leaders, and teachers for younger children in after school programs such as 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Other CPAY programs place youth in leadership or advisory-board roles. In addition, grants from the community foundation to youth-serving organizations may be used to pay youth stipends. This very small community foundation (1.5 FTE and $3 million in assets) has devoted a considerable amount of its limited time and resources on CPAY. In addition, youth in the community foundation's youth philanthropy program award grants to youth-driven projects.

Baraga County Community Foundation
Gordette Marie Coté
Executive Director
PO Box 338
L'Anse, MI 49946
906-353-7898
baragacf@up.net
The community foundation is in the early stages of a planning process to prepare young people to enter the workforce, as well as build relationships between youth and local employers as part of a strategy to encourage young people to remain in the community.

Barry Community Foundation
Jennifer Richards
Program Director
629 West State Street, Suite 2
Hastings, MI 49058-0644
616-945-0526
jen@barrycf.org
The community foundation's Youth Advisory Council (YACs are youth philanthropy programs) has made several grants in the area of foster care. One is to Forever Family, a program through the Family Independence Agency to overcome obstacles to adoption. Another is to provide youth in foster care with opportunities and experiences (e.g., pay for music lessons or summer camp fees) that will contribute to their development. Teen pregnancy prevention is one of the YAC's funding priorities. The county has a high teen pregnancy rate. For teen parents, the Alpha Women's Center is available where older mothers act as mentors to teen mothers.

Community Foundation of Greater Flint
Alice Hart
Vice President for Programs
502 Church Street
Flint, MI 48502-1206
810-767-8270
ahart@cfgf.org
The community foundation operates a Summer Youth Initiative (SYI) that provides employment experiences for 400 young people ages 14 - 16, with another 4,000 youth participating in tutoring and recreational programs at about 30 nonprofits. In conjunction with the SYI, youth participate in a week-long leadership program. Young people from the community foundation's youth philanthropy program (YAC) review SYI grant requests, Healthy Youth/Healthy Seniors grants (tobacco prevention) and other youth-focused projects from local school districts and other youth servicing non-profits

Community Foundation of St. Clair County
Randy Maiers
Executive Director
516 McMorran Boulevard
Port Huron, MI 48060
810-984-4761
randy@stclairfoundation.org
The youth philanthropy program at this community foundation is leading an effort to build long-term transitional housing for youth.

Keweenaw Community Foundation
Mary Sue Hyslop
Executive Director
P.O. Box 101, City Center
Houghton, MI 49931
906-482-9673
kcf@chartermi.net
This community is home to the Youth Academy, a juvenile justice facility for offenders from throughout the state. The community foundation is working with a group of agencies to provide adult mentors to these youth, and to involve the youth themselves in the design and creation of a trail system. Last winter, adult mentors worked with youth (many of whom are from urban settings) to teach them cross-country skiing and provide other experiences that would give them an appreciation of nature as part of an overall strategy to engage their interest in the trail system project. The community foundation is also involving young people from the local alternative school in leading an anti-smoking campaign.

MISSOURI

St. Louis Community Foundation
Linda Aitch
Director of Community Investment
319 North Fourth Street, Suite 501
St. Louis, MO 63102
314-588-8200
linda@stlcf.org
The community foundation has recently allocated funds ($600,000) for the first initiative in its history: Fathers -- a Missing Piece of the Puzzle. A significant portion of the funds allocated to this initiative will address issues affecting young, low-income fathers. In addition, the community foundation's discretionary grantmaking program has been revamped to include a new area, Community Issues -- Knowledge Development and Dissemination, and among the issues under consideration for potential funding are teen-on-teen violence and tensions between young African American males and law enforcement.

NEW MEXICO

Albuquerque Community Foundation
Nancy Johnson
Program Director
P.O. Box 36960
Albuquerque, NM 87176-6960
505-883-6240
njohnson@albuquerquefoundation.org
The community foundation is funding in a number of "transition" areas: 1) education and job training within the juvenile justice system; 2) a demonstration project to provide support services and resources for youth transitioning out of foster care; 3) the establishment of a homework center to complement art and drama studies for vulnerable youth; and 4) improving the quality of father/child relationships in young families and preventing repeat pregnancies by fathers ages 13 - 24.

Taos Community Foundation
Joleen Montoya
Program Officer
P.O. Box 1925
Taos, NM 87571
505-737-9300
jmontoya@taoscf.org
The community foundation operates a youth philanthropy program -- the only one in the state -- and is in the process of preparing these youth and the adult staff and board members of the foundation to work in partnership on all aspects of the foundation's work. In addition, the foundation's Healthy Youth and Families initiative provides grants in all areas affecting vulnerable youth.

NORTH CAROLINA

Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro
Tara Sandercock
Vice President Programs
100 South Elm Street, Suite 307
Greensboro, NC 27401-2638
336-379-9100
tsandercock@cfgg.org
The community foundation funds an organization that, as part of a public-private partnership, offers mediation, alternatives to incarceration, and teen court. Support is also provided to a program that pays for medical and developmental screening for youth in foster care, and the community foundation would like to become more involved with this population. The community foundation is also funding a particular high school's multi-pronged effort to prevent vulnerable youth and their families from "dropping through the cracks." In addition, the community foundation and United Way are co-conveners of a youth philanthropy program.

Foundation for The Carolinas
Libby Cable
Program Officer
PO Box 34769
Charlotte, NC 28234-4769
704-376-9541
lcable@postcarolinas.org
The community foundation was instrumental in the creation of and houses an intermediary called Partners in Out of School Time (POST). POST has recently recognized the need to expand skill building and leadership development opportunities for older youth, and is working to increase the visibility and impact of youth in community planning and problem solving. With significant youth participation, POST is designing a community forum on youth needs.

OHIO

Community Foundation of Licking County
Marjorie Gilbert
P.O. Box 4212
Newark, OH 43055
740-349-3863
mgilbert@msmisp.com
In the area of dropout prevention, the community foundation funds a program that provides mentoring and group projects for middle-school age boys. In addition, the community foundation partners with an organization that provides education and other services to young adults and teen parents. The community foundation also operates a youth philanthropy program in which all due diligence (site visits, etc.) is performed by young people.

Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Helen Mattheis
Program Officer
200 W. 4th Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202-2602
513-241-2880
mattheish@greatercincinnatifdn.org
During the fall/winter 2003, the community foundation initiated and facilitated a process to help Cincinnati, Ohio, create its first community-wide and comprehensive youth development strategy. The overarching goal of the strategy is to create a coordinated approach to youth that meets the developmental needs of all youth ages 7 - 24. Called Youth Vision Cincinnati, the effort involved more than 60 nonprofit, government, civic and youth volunteers. Currently the plan is in its implementation stage and will include youth leadership in all levels of the effort from governance structure to service recipients.

PENNSYLVANIA

The Scranton Area Foundation
Maria Pappa
321 Spruce Street, Suite 606
Scranton, PA 18503-1409
570-347-6203
maria@safdn.org
The community foundation has provided a number of grants to local courts in the areas of juvenile justice and dropout prevention, and continues to work with the Family Court on these issues. The foundation also funds a substance abuse program for youth in foster care. In addition, the foundation, in partnership with other organizations, is exploring the issue of housing and other transitional living options for youth. The foundation's youth philanthropy program has selected teen pregnancy prevention as a priority area for funding this year.

Williamsport-Lycoming Foundation
Debra Mader Miller
Manager, Program & Scholarship Services
220 West Fourth Street, Suite C - 3rd Floor
Williamsport, PA 17701-6102
570-321-1500
debbiem@wlfoundation.org
One of the community foundation's funds awards scholarships to juvenile offenders. In addition, the foundation funds after school programs and other assistance to children and youth in foster care. The foundation has also funded financial literacy for young people. A youth philanthropy program designed to engage youth from diverse ethnic, socioeconomic, and academic backgrounds is being launched. The foundation's board has established a priority on youth in its 5-year strategic plan, and intends to increase activity and funding in areas related to older, vulnerable youth.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation
Marsha Englert
Program Officer
300 N. Phillips Avenue, Suite 102
Sioux Falls, SD 57104-1314
605-336-7055x11
menglert@sfacf.org
The community foundation has initiated a Youth Safety Campaign led by a diverse group of high school students, some of whom would themselves be considered vulnerable. Calling themselves Straight Forward, and charged with defining safety issues affecting youth in the community, the group identified "early and unprotected sex" as the first issue to target, including parents "who have their heads in the sand." Working with a public relations firm, these youth kicked off their "Don't Tell My Parents" campaign in late spring, using TV, radio, billboards, news articles and a website.

Straight Forward team members are involved in every aspect of the campaign, including theme selection, creative brainstorming, pitching concepts, overseeing production and negotiating with the media. Visit their website at http://www.donttellmyparents.org/home.htm. The community foundation has also operated a youth philanthropy program for several years, and grants are frequently made by youth grantmakers to support older vulnerable youth.

WEST VIRGINIA

Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation
Amy Owen
Executive Director
PO Box 645
Martinsburg, WV 25401
304-264-0353
aowen@ewvcf.org
The community foundation is funding programs that teach interviewing skills and provide job placement for underserved youth ages 15 and older.

Parkersburg Area Community Foundation
Judy Sjostedt
Executive Director
PO Box 1762
Parkersburg, WV 26102-1762
304-428-4438
pacf@wirefire.com
The community foundation is supporting a study on father involvement among youth in the juvenile justice system. The researcher will work with the Children's Home Society residential care center, document the extent of participation by fathers during a six-month period, and explore the dynamics of father involvement as they relate to delinquency, anti-social behavior, and lack of school success. The research will be concluded by late spring or early summer 2003.