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THE MINNESOTA YOUTH CAUCUS
on Out-of-School Time

Sponsored by the
Minnesota Commission on Out-of-School Time

July 9-11, 2004
YMCA Camp Ihduhapi

Some of the Minnesota Youth Caucus participants at Camp Ihduhapi

The Minnesota Commission on Out-of-School Time is intentional about incorporating the voices and input of youth in its work.

The Minnesota Youth Caucus on OST was one of several strategies the Minnesota Commission on OST used to hear directly from young people. Prior to the Caucus, Commission staff also gathered input from youth through an OST survey and eight youth focus groups. Youth leaders and adults from around the state came together as the Minnesota Youth Caucus to discuss OST issues in more depth and create a series of recommendations to inform the Commission's final recommendations.

Prior to the Caucus, each of the 20 caucus youth participants was asked to interview three peers who were not involved in out-of-school time programs. During the Caucus, youth reviewed the peer interview data and identified themes and issues of this group of "non-participating" youth. A summary of their findings is published in a Commission document titled "Youth on Youth: Youth conducted field interviews with non-participators in out-of-school time opportunities". Themes and findings from this peer interview data were used along with data from previously conducted surveys and focus groups as the research base to develop final recommendations for the Commission.

Six commissioners joined the Caucus to participate for a half-day of small group discussions. Each group discussed and problem-solved around one of five focus areas being addressed by the Commission. The five focus areas are: Access, Marketing, Community Will, Quality, and Resources.

By the close of the two-day Minnesota Youth Caucus, participants had developed 10 policy-level recommendations associated with focus areas. Seven Caucus youth participants presented their recommendations at the July 27, 2004 Commission meeting.

Their Recommendations are:

OST Oversight in the State

  1. Community organizations, schools, and governing/administrative bodies work together and partner to act as resources to provide quality OST programs for youth.
  2. Create an independent statewide entity to support Minnesota OST programming. Include both youth and adult members who, initially, have responsibility in four primary areas: developing and promoting quality standards; marketing and public awareness; designing and maintaining a Web site; and establishing regional resource centers.
  3. Link the statewide OST entity with regional or county "OST sub-groups" that have youth and adult representation from community-based youth organizations, schools, business partners, and parents. These subgroups give perspective and make decisions about local OST programming, in addition to informing the statewide efforts.

Specific Areas of Responsibility for the Statewide OST Entity

  1. Establish a statewide set of accepted quality standards for OST programming. These "quality" definitions guide future OST funding (foundation, state, federal, and private).
  2. Develop statewide OST public awareness campaigns targeted at youth and at the general public. Allocate funds to support marketing and public awareness efforts by OST programs in Minnesota.
  3. Create a Web site dedicated to supporting OST efforts throughout the state, and include access to marketing information for youth related to programs in their communities.
  4. Within every county in the state establish a resource center that collects and stores information on OST funding opportunities and provides free education about how to apply for funding.

Future Work Around Access Issues for the Statewide Entity to Facilitate

  1. Work for state-level changes in transportation policy including reduced fares for youth on public transportation and the relaxation of personal liability issues to promote carpooling.
  2. Make more space available for youth programs.
  3. Enlist schools to play an integral role in OST access issues, both in offering programs and marketing other opportunities, including surveying students on their interests and providing information about programs that correlate with their interests.

More in-depth information can be found in the following papers:

 

 

 

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