1. A Brief Introduction to Ready by 21
A program of the Forum for Youth Investment
A community-based approach to improving outcomes for youth.

2. Nonprofit, nonpartisan “action tank” dedicated to helping communities and the nation make sure all young people are Ready by ready for college, work and life.
Working in partnership with the government, business, education and nonprofit sectors, we provide a framework, coaching and tools for leaders who care about youth.
Our Mission: To create powerful opportunities and incentives for youth and adult leaders to think differently, act differently and act together because they are:
• linked by core beliefs about what is needed,
• guided by a shared sense of accountability,
• girded by compelling data, and
• driven by a common desire to ensure that all children, youth, families and communities have the supports and opportunities they need to succeed.

3. Leaders – change-makers – are the pivot point of the Ready by 21 approach
moving the small gear makes a big difference
Source: Ready by 21

4. Children’s Services in Los Angeles County
Business as Usual … See a Problem, Convene a Task Force, Create a Program… Has Created a Tangle of Inefficiencies
Children’s Services in Los Angeles County
TALKING POINTS
Fragmented programs lead to fragmented services. This is a real diagram showing the number of different public programs and services across 5 departments that combine to support a low income family in Los Angeles County. A scary picture.
And again, a similar picture emerges when communities attempt to “map” their coalitions, task forces and special issue groups.
But unless we change the current way that we work -- see a problem, convene a task force, create a program -- we will continue to pile up or add on programs and efforts that do not necessarily add up to the changes we want to see.
SOURCE: Margaret Dunkle

5. Shared Outcomes
Focusing on shared outcomes enables us to move towards critical community goals.
Using shared outcomes allows us to act strategically using a systems-based approach.
Committing to shared outcomes is part of “big picture” thinking.

6. COLLABORATIONS Community Mobilization Advocacy
Perinatal
Community
Consortium
Do Right by
Kids campaign
Task Force on Violence
Counselor’s
Consortium
America’s Promise
SACSI
Comm. Asset Network
Domestic
Violence
Partnership
Rochester Children’s Collab.
Domestic Violence Consortium
NBN
Not Me Not Now
Early Childhood Develop I.
Community Mobilization
CCSI TIER II
N.E.T.
Health
Action
Advocacy
Juvenile Justice Council
City Violence Initiative
Transitions Collab.
Interagency Council
Positive Outcomes for Youth & Families
MCTP
Cross - Systems Change
Roch. Enterprise Community Zone P.
Service Delivery
Rochester‘s Child
SDFSCA Planning Committees
Reclaiming
Youth
Student
Asst. Prof.
Greater Roch.
Area
Youth 2000
Homeless Continuum of care Impl. Team
Evaluation
Best Practice
Monroe
Cty. Sch
& Comm.
Health Ed.
Network
Rochester
Effectiveness
Partnership
Continuous Improvement
OASAS Prevention Initiative
A more systems-based approach to social services.
RAEYC
Mentoring Round Table
PCIC
YRBS Group
CHANGE
Perinatal
Substance
Abuse
Coalition
HW &
Tutoring
Round
Table
Homeless
Services
Network
Youth Services Quality C.
RECAP
Children & Family Serv. Subcomm.
Adult Services Subcomm.
Runaway & Homeless Youth Ser Provider
Student Assistance Prof.
CASAS
Providers
Community Profile
Board of
Health
Community Service Board
School Health Leadership Team
United Neighborhood Centers Of Greater Roch.
Diversion Collaborative
Preventive Services Coalition
Reg. 2 Preventive Provid.N
COLLABORATIONS
© 2008 The Forum for Youth Investment. Ready by 21 and the Ready by 21 Logo are registered trademarks of the Forum for Youth Investment.

7. The Big Picture Approach: Thinking Differently
Child- and Youth-Centered
Research-Based
Action-Oriented
Focus and Prioritize Differently… see both the forest and the trees
TALKING POINTS
READY BY 21™ is the phase the Forum for Youth Investment came up with a few years ago when we realized that policy makers (and many others) just didn’t understand what we meant by youth development. We knew we needed a way to convey the goal of helping young people grow and develop across time and outcomes areas and settings that was simple and direct, and would imply all that needed to be done without being overwhelming. Adding the phrases “ready for college, ready for work, ready for life” conveys the breadth of the goal and leads naturally to the questions – what does it take to be ready? How many are ready?

8. Support educational outcomes
What do youth need to succeed in school? To plan to graduate from college? To be ready to succeed in college and work by age 21?
How can we help youth succeed in school? Plan to graduate from college? Succeed in college and work by age 21?
What critical services do we need to fund in order to achieve these goals?

9. Support critical services
Basic supports including safe housing
Transportation
After-school programs
Civic, social and work opportunities
Social supports
Access to physical and mental health care

10. The Total Child requires the Total Community
The Total Child requires the Total Community. We have to insulate the education pipeline.
Commit Big: Insulate the Education Pipeline.
75 percent of high school graduates go on to post-secondary education within two years. However, only 9 percent of those from low income families earn a four-year degree. The education pipeline is cracked in multiple places and corroded inside.
But fixing these problems alone won’t ensure that young people are ready for college, work and life. We have to insulate the pipe with basic services such as transportation and health care, and with multiple opportunities for learning, engagement and employment. This means changing the way we do business as leaders, whether we’re on the front lines or in the board room.
© The Forum for Youth Investment. Ready by 21 and the Ready by 21 Logo are registered trademarks of the Forum for Youth Investment.

11. Do these Supports Really Make a Difference? Even in Adolescence?
ABSOLUTELY
Gambone and colleagues show that youth with supportive relationships as they enter high school are 5 times more likely to leave high school “ready” than those with weak relationships…
The researchers also did specific analyses to look at the extent to which specific supports or opportunities – like those on the NRC list we looked at earlier – made a difference for young people. Given the data they had to work with they were able to look at supportive relationships, opportunities to contribute, and challenging experiences.
Looking just at supportive relationships, they found that young people who enter high school with supportive relationships are five times more likely to leave high school “ready” than those with weak relationships. Providing supports as late as adolescence can still change the odds for youth. With so much recent attention paid to early childhood, some people think that if we don’t invest in supports for children by the time they’re five, we’ve missed out entirely. It is important that we have both early and sustained efforts with young people.
SOURCE: Finding Out What Matters for Youth: Testing Key Links in a Community Action Framework for Youth Development

12. _ _____ _______ ___ _ _________ __ ________
_ _____ _______ ___ _ _________ __ ________
Do these Supports Make a Difference in Adulthood?
… and those seniors who were “ready” at the end of high school were more than 4 times as likely to be doing well as young adults.
What this slide shows is that the impact is sustained. The young people who left high school “ready” were 4 times more likely to be doing well as young adults in their early twenties.
SOURCE: Finding Out What Matters for Youth: Testing Key Links in a Community Action Framework for Youth Development

13. Providing These Supports CAN Change the Odds
Gambone/Connell’s research suggests that if all young people got the supports they needed in early adolescence, the picture could change…
from 4 in 10
doing well
The researchers didn’t stop there. They asked the question, if every young person coming into high school had the supports that kids in the “doing well” category had, would the picture change? They determined that we could change the 4 in 10 statistic to 7 in 10 “doing well” and 1 in 10 doing poorly.
This research suggests that it is never too late to invest in young people, and that it is possible to change the odds.
If all young people got the supports they needed in early adolescence, the picture could change from 4 in 10 doing well to 7 in 10 doing well. That’s not perfect, but it’s significant – and this research only captures the difference made based on supports provided during early adolescence. It is possible that with increased investments during the first decade of a young person’s life, we could get closer to 10 out of 10.
to 7 in 10
doing well

14. Quality Counts It Matters It is Measureable It is Malleable
Research shows that improved youth outcomes
requires program attendance and program quality.
It Matters
The core elements of program quality are both measurable and consistent across a broad range of program types.
It is Measureable
Most programs can improve quality by undertaking integrated assessment and improvement efforts.
It is Malleable
Decision-makers and providers will invest in improving quality if they believe that it matters, is measurable and is malleable given available resources.
It is Marketable

15. What’s needed? Change the way we do business
Change the landscape of communities
Change the odds for youth
CHILDREN & YOUTH
FAMILY COMMUNITY & SCHOOL
LEADERS
Accountability
Supports
Outcomes
Changing the way leaders think and act is the key to success: Rby21 partners seek to support state and local leaders and especially change-makers who already recognize the need for a new approach to address youth issues and have capacity (funds, expertise, and time), motivation, authority, and the ability to engage other leaders. Helping these leaders improve what they do, how they do it and rethink why they do it, (through information, tools, and collaboration opportunities) will enable them to increase the availability and quality of the required family and community supports to help youth.
Help leaders improve what they do, how they do it and rethink why they do it…
Enabling increases in the availability and quality of family, school and community supports needed to help children and youth…
Leading to positive outcomes and raising the probability that young people are ready for college, work and life by 21 15

16. Washtenaw County Data
These data are from 2005 (HIP data) as well as (school data) and other sources. We need to update these dashboards as well as analyze data by residence, SES, race and age.

17. Learning Dashboard LEARNING 93 79 63 90 83 71 65 75 56 95 88 67
All Washtenaw County children and youth will have an effective education that promotes life-long learning.
LEARNING
Elementary Age
(6-10)
Middle
School
(11-13)
High
(14-18)
Young
Adults
(19-24)
MEAP math scores 93 79 63
MEAP reading scores 90 83 71
MEAP writing scores 65 75 56
Average Daily School Attendance 95
High school completion 88
Earned 2- or 4-year degree
within 5 years 67
Suggests that young children are more often than not receiving a decent start and an effective education in Washtenaw.
Middle school, data suggests that the “divide” between those receiving an effective education and those not becomes clearer and more entrenched in terms of probably outcomes. This is even clearer among young adults.
No Data/NA
Critical Status
Cautious Status
Satisfactory Status

18. Depression/Suicide – Suicide thoughts Alcohol use in last 30 days
Thriving Dashboard
All Washtenaw County children and youth will be healthy through access to resources and practice of good health habits.
THRIVING
Elementary
Age
(6-10)
Middle
School
(11-13)
High
(14-18)
Young
Adults
(19-24)
Child Poverty
8.6 %
Free and reduced lunch
22 %
Chlamydia rates
1 %
37 %
39 %
Depression/Suicide – Suicide thoughts
20 %
Substance abuse
Alcohol use in last 30 days
14 %
Physical activity and weight
Youth at normal weight
66 %
79 %
56 %
Chlamydia Rates: 34% of all cases of Chlamydia are represented by teens
No Data/NA
Critical Status
Cautious Status
Satisfactory Status

19. Connecting Dashboard CONNECTING
All Washtenaw County children and youth will make positive choices and are safe and supported in their families and communities.
CONNECTING
Elementary Age
(6-10)
Middle
School
(11-13)
High
(14-18)
Young
Adults
(19-24)
School safety – harassment
Experience a school environment safe from intimidation and harassment
41%
School safety – physical violence
Experience a school environment safe from physical violence
48%
Delinquency
Confirmed cases of neglect/abuse
218
Extracurricular Participation 56
Single, supportive adult 92
Our only direct evidence is in the high school category. What do we know about other groups of young people?
Neglect/abuse, though low compared to state and national levels, is red because no level of neglect/abuse is acceptable.
Although single, supportive adults is great, Given what we see in other cells, “supportive adult” may not mean connected and/or effective adults in every child’s life across all outcome areas.
No Data/NA
Critical Status
Cautious Status
Satisfactory Status