Municipal Leadership for Disconnected Youth

About this grant

The goal of the project is to explore new opportunities to promote and support efforts to shape local policies that promote effective alternative education for vulnerable youth.Multiyear funding will enable the National League of Cities’ Institute for Youth, Education and Families to stimulate the development of alternative programs for vulnerable youth in diverse communities across the country. Major objectives include providing direct technical assistance focusing on school improvement, afterschool programs, transitional jobs programs and youth participation and leadership to a group of five to eight selected cities; promoting the engagement and increasing the awareness of municipal leaders in these issues; offering advice and limited technical assistance to program grantees of the Mott and Gates foundations; and developing a national mechanism for supporting and encouraging municipal leadership in areas related to disconnected youth as well as K-12 school improvement and expanded learning opportunities.During the past two years, the institute investigated on-going efforts in cities to enhance the systems serving vulnerable youth. Activities included sponsoring a workshop on the needs of out-of-school youth; developing and distributing an action kit for municipal leaders on opportunities to help vulnerable and out-of-school youth; and holding an audio conference for municipal leaders.