Helping disconnected youth become self-sufficient is a significant and complex problem, and no single agency can provide all the services needed to accomplish this task. The Shared Youth Vision Federal Partnership serves as the catalyst at the national, state, and local levels to strengthen coordination, communication, and collaboration among youth serving agencies to support the neediest youth and their healthy transition to successful adulthood.
In 2003, the White House Task Force Report on Disadvantaged Youth noted that despite billons of public and private dollars spent on services to youth, many of the neediest youth are still being left behind. In response to the report, the Departments of Education, Justice, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Transportation; the Social Security Administration; and the Corporation for National and Community Services formed the Federal Partnership with the intent of developing more effective interagency collaborations to better serve the neediest youth. The report defined "neediest youth" as children of incarcerated parents, court-involved youth, youth at risk of court involvement, homeless and runaway youth, Indian and Native American youth, migrant youth, out-of-school youth, youth most at risk of dropping out of school, youth in or aging out of foster care, and youth with disabilities.
Regional youth forums were conducted in 2004 and states were asked to designate a juvenile justice lead as part of a state team. In 2007, 16 pilot states were selected to implement their Shared Youth Vision at the local level with funding through the Department of Labor. In 2008, 12 additional states became part of the Shared Youth Vision Network. |
