1. Maine Children’s Cabinet’s Shared Youth Vision Connecting the Dots: Policy to Practice Overview 2010

2. 2 How it all relates

3. 3 Maine Children’s Cabinet http://maine.gov/cabinet/ The mission of the Children's Cabinet is to actively collaborate to create and promote coordinated policies and service delivery systems that support children, families and communities.

4. 4 Maine Governor’s Children’s Cabinet Chair, First Lady Karen M. Baldacci Commissioners of... Education, Health/Human Services, Corrections, Labor, Public Safety Chief Justice as partner in planning Executive and Senior Staff Research and troubleshoot federal and state barriers to effective services for Cabinet policy consideration Children’s Cabinet Staff Oversee, facilitate and coordinate cross-systems priority initiatives and various grants Standing Stakeholder Groups: Early Childhood Growth Council; Shared Youth Vision Council - advise the Cabinet in the steps to refine policies and systems that support the educational, social, emotional, and workforce capacity of all Maine children and youth.

5. 5 History of the Children’s Cabinet In 1995, The Children's Cabinet was established to oversee and coordinate the delivery of services to children and youth in Maine. The Children's Cabinet was then composed of the departments of: Corrections, Education, Health & Human Services, and Public Safety. In September of 2003 Governor John E. Baldacci appointed First Lady Karen M. Baldacci Chair of the Maine Children's Cabinet and the statute was amended to also include the Department of Labor as a full standing member.

6. 6 Mission To provide cross-agency coordination, high-level leadership, program and policy development with a common mission --- that will measurably improve the well being of Maine’s children, youth, and families through evidence-based practices and strength-base approaches to positive child and youth development

7. 7 How the Children’s Cabinet adds Public Value Coordinates approaches to the delivery of services; Establishes administrative priorities across departments and agencies/bureaus; Distributes through its Senior Staff and the Regional Children’s Cabinets Pooled Flexible Funds to fill one-time family needs where there is no other eligibility-related service available to keep a child or teen safely in the home; Leverages resources both human (staff) and financial, that maximizes funding by collaborative grants and best use of federal funding streams, as mandates allow. Operationalizes the Governor’s commitment to creating better outcomes for children and youth in Maine.

8. 8 COLLABORATION IS THE KEY! Working together the Partners have accomplished the following:

9. 9 The Federal Shared Youth Vision Partnership http://www.doleta.gov/ryf/ A Federal Partnership between the United States Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, Transportation, the United States Social Security Administration, and the Corporation for National & Community Service.

10. 10 Creating a Collaborative Approach to Prepare Youth for Success in a Global, Demand-Driven Economy In response to the 2003 White House Task Force Report for Disadvantaged Youth, a Federal Interagency Work Group was created to: In response to the 2003 White House Task Force Report for Disadvantaged Youth, a Federal Interagency Work Group was created to: enhance communication, coordination, and collaboration among Federal agencies, and ensure that well-designed and coordinated programs provide the neediest youth opportunities to successfully transition to adult roles and responsibilities.

11. 11 Federal Youth Vision Partners US Department of Education US Department of Health & Human Services US Department of Housing & Urban Development US Department of Justice US Department of Labor US Department of Transportation Social Security Administration Corporation for National & Community Service

12. 12 Prioritized investments for: Youth in foster care or aging out of foster care Children of incarcerated parents Court involved youth or those at-risk of involvement Migrant youth Youth with disabilities Native American youth Homeless and runaway youth Out of school youth High school drop-outs

13. 13 Identified State Challenges and Federal Opportunities: The need for information on resources and services across programs/agencies Engagement of state/tribal leadership Models for collaboration Common message/common language Continued support of teams

14. 14 In response to requests for additional resources: A “Solutions Desk” was created to provide a technical assistance (TA) resource that will: Provide a gateway to each of the federal partners’ resource centers, clearinghouses, and training and technical assistance providers, and Provide a gateway to each of the federal partners’ resource centers, clearinghouses, and training and technical assistance providers, and Assist State Teams with their Shared Youth Vision activities.

15. 15 The Federal Partnership is Moving Forward!

16. 16 Resources: White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth Final Report, October 2003 http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/fysb/content/docs/white_house_ta skfforce.pdf http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/fysb/content/docs/white_house_ta skfforce.pdf “New Strategic Vision for the Delivery of Youth Services Under the Workforce Investment Act.” (Training & Guidance Letter No 3-04, http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL3-04.pdf “TEGL 28-05: Expanding ETA’s Vision for the Delivery of Youth Services Under WIA to Include Indian and Native American Youth and Youth with Disabilities.” http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2224

17. 17 The Task Force to Engage Maine’s Youth http://www.mainesupportnetwork.org/taskforce/ The mission of the task force is to promote success for all youth by engaging school age youth and their families in educational and/or vocational programming.

18. 18 The Governor’s Mandate The specific mandate was to: –create by June 30, 2007 a collaborative plan identifying strategies to engage Maine’s youth into school and work –review state and national research and data on challenges and solutions –develop by December, 2006 statewide policy and legislation that ensures any student experiencing disruption in their educational program and/or receives instruction in non-traditional settings are awarded credits or competency of standards that meet Maine state graduation requirements based on demonstrated skill acquisition. –report findings to the Governor and Commissioners. –report findings to the Governor and Commissioners.

19. 19 Questions that guided the Task Force Why are youth becoming disengaged from school and/or work? Who are these youth? What are current strategies? How do community and state resources connect with schools? How do we prevent youth from disengaging, intervene when they are at risk and re-engage youth when they have left school and work?

20. 20 Reasons for Concern In 2004 Maine experienced a 75% increase in the number of teens, ages 16 to 19, who were not in school or working, pushing the share of idle teens to 4,527 or 7% of youth (Maine Children’s Alliance) As of January, 2006, 2255 children were in the care and custody of DHHS. Of the 1,048 youth that entered care since 10/1/04 and were still in care as of 11/1/06 –38% (399) youth have had 1 placement, –28.5% (300) have had 2 placements, –17% (179) have had 3 placements and –16.1% (170) have had 4 or more placements in that 2 year period. 1,141 youth were reported as homeless by DOE (2006) In 2005 there were 417 committals to juvenile correctional facilities and 1,870 children and youth were detained (Maine DOC) School administrators report that 35% to 45% of their students are “at risk” (JMG, 2006)

21. 21 Target Population The recommendations are designed to address the challenges of Maine’s youth who are not engaged, or who are at risk of disengaging from school or work. Disengagement may result from a variety of conditions that may or may not be within the youth’s control. They include issues related to high mobility as often experienced by –youth in the foster care system, –youth with psychiatric illness, –youth who are homeless, –youth who live in poverty and –youth who are involved in the juvenile justice system.

22. 22 The Task Force’s Recommendations 1. Increase capacity to identify, track and analyze the status of youth to inform decision making, allocate resources, and assure accountability to Maine’s youth and families. 2. Provide equitable access to a spectrum of high quality learning and service opportunities utilizing a youth-driven, family-centered approach to policy development, services and supports. 3. Collaborate to develop a process so agencies can cross- reference outcomes or policies and services for implementation, efficiency, and reduction of cross-purpose programming 4. Implement and evaluate “An act to implement the recommendations of the task force to engage Maine’s youth regarding successful school completion. 5. The final recommendation calls for an annual cross-departmental report to the Governor that cites the status of the action steps contained in the report and the impact on policy and program changes.

23. 23 Maine Shared Youth Vision Council – Ready By 21 Focus

24. 24 What are we asked to do? We are asked to promote collaboration and improved communications among the various state agencies and community based partners. We are asked to lead the effort to advise and address issues confronting youth ages 9-24 in transitions. We are asked to be guides of the development and implementation of strategic plans. We are asked to review all child/youth population needs with priority given to those youth in transition. We are asked, will we answer?

25. 25 The Partnership Priority The Council shall focus on the following Partnership Priorities, determine goals and primary action steps to address each over time that are aligned with the Task Force recommendations, and evaluate progress: 1. Public and Private Partnerships 2. Youth and Family 3. Community 4. Fiscal Resources

26. 26 Maine’s Dropout Prevention Summit 2009 What we learned

27. 27 The Voice of Maine’s Youth Don’t call me a dropout

28. 28 I am not… A Deadbeat A loser Someone who doesn’t care about my future Someone who is going no where I am a person I am a person

29. 29 Weaving the strands of the summit together America’s Promise Alliance 5 Promises: 1.Caring Adults 2.Healthy Start 3.Safe Places in and after school 4.Opportunity to give back 5.Marketable Skills Listen to our youth Honor youth and families history and culture Avoid Labels Connect the dots: Create a plan with youth and family at the center

30. 30 Maine joined with 49 other states To make school completion a priority. You are part of a national movement to give all students the opportunity to graduate from high school, ready for college and work “Ready By 21 and Beyond”

31. 31 The New 3 R's Promising Schools Where Everyone Matters

32. 32 Words from the Children’s Cabinet Multiple Pathways Drop the Jargon Cross system data sharing Focus on strengths and assets of our youth and their parents/caregivers Identify barriers (policy and practices) getting in way of success Keep pushing us—we will back you up when its possible

33. 33 Whatever it takes… …to move the Maine Marks 90% High School graduation rate from 77% 41% to 56% college completion rate 48% to 56% community college completion rate

34. 34 2009 Dropout Prevention Next Steps Develop an effective plan through Eight District SYV Councils Engage community: start conversations with youth, parents, teachers, agencies, businesses Hold a regional summit to rally community to support positive youth development Use data to identify priorities Build strong partnerships to make lasting change happen at local and regional levels as partners with the state

35. 35 Juvenile Justice Task Force Co-chairs: Chief Justice, First Lady, Law School Dean By September 2010, in conjunction with the Children’s Cabinet and appropriate state agencies, establish EIGHT DISTRICT Coordinated Councils for the purpose of promoting integrated services and strategies across Maine related to health, education, juvenile justice, and economic security/employment. The initial goals of the Councils will be to implement the recommendations of the Juvenile Justice Task Force and the recommendations of the 2009 Dropout Prevention Summit. Establish a statewide goal to achieve a 90% high school graduation rate by 2016, and 95% by 2020. By 2011, implement uniform statewide suspension, expulsion, zero tolerance, and truancy policies. Create multiple pathways for educating children and youth by working with the Department of Education in the development of a strategic plan (2010). Reduce reliance on incarceration and pre-adjudication detention by fifty percent (50%) in the next five years.

36. Task Force Recommendations Cont’d Adopt and implement a quality assurance system, an accreditation system, or a set of standards that ensure effective case management for all detention alternatives to community based programs, and court proceedings. By 2014, increase by 50% the number of children and youth in Maine who have access to quality early childhood education, and proven prevention strategies and positive youth development. By September 2010, detail a statewide system for in-home and out-of- home services and placements for youth in the juvenile justice system that ensures high-quality programming that is sufficient and accessible. By September, 2010, develop a plan to identify an on-going mechanism for providing flexible funding for youth who are served by multiple state agencies, utilizing resources from the public, private, and non-profit sectors. This plan will also include funding options for in-home and out- of-home services and placements for youth in the juvenile justice system.

37. 37 Outcomes Legislation passed (so far) to include: –An Act to Increase Maine’s High School Graduation Rates –Resolve, To Implement the Recommendations of the Juvenile Justice Task Force –Drafted District Council Ready By 21/Benchmarks for strategic planning –Plan for staffing District Councils –Engagement of CBO, state agency, judicial, and school leaders

38. 38 Children’s Cabinet Legacy Plan Inclusive of Shared Youth Vision and Dropout Prevention Summit Recommendations Includes benchmarks aligned with trend data (Maine Marks) Honors the Ready By 21 Framework Prepares the next administration with recommendations for ongoing positive change (See handout)