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ED459304.Pdf DOCUMENT RESUME ED 459 304 UD 034 612 AUTHOR Hartmann, Tracey; Watson, Bernardine H.; Kantorek, Brian TITLE Community Change for Youth Development in Kansas City: A Case Study of How a Traditional Youth-Serving Organization (YMCA) Becomes a Community Builder. INSTITUTION Public/Private Ventures, Philadelphia, PA. SPONS AGENCY Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City, MO.; Ford Foundation, New York, NY.; Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, MD.; Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC.; Commonwealth Fund, New York, NY.; Mott (C.S.) Foundation, Flint, MI.; Charles Hayden Foundation, New York, NY.; Surdna Foundation, Inc., New York, NY.; Pinkerton Foundation, New York, NY.; Booth Ferris Foundation, New York, NY. PUB DATE 2001-00-00 NOTE 27p.; Also funded by the Altman Foundation, the Clark Foundation, and the Merck Family Fund. AVAILABLE FROM For full text: http://www.ppv.org/pdffiles/kc.pdf. PUB TYPE Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Adolescent Development; Adolescents; Community Involvement; *Community Programs; Program Development; *Youth Programs IDENTIFIERS Missouri (Kansas City); *Young Mens Christian Association ABSTRACT Kansas City, Missouri, is one of six sites in a national demonstration project, Community Change for Youth Development (CCYD), which aims to increase basic developmental supports and opportunities available to youth age 12-20 years. The demonstration focuses on five basic elements: adult support and guidance, opportunities for involvement in decision making, support through critical transitions, opportunities for using work as a developmental tool, and provision of positive activities after school, in the evenings, on weekends, and during the summer. The lead agency is the YMCA of Greater Kansas City, a traditional youth-serving organization. Because of its considerable organizational capacity, the YMCA was successful in operating the CCYD initiative, quickly implementing activities and expanding to additional neighborhoods. The YMCA faced two challenges in implementing CCYD. Implementing the work as a developmental tool core concept proved difficult, and involving adult residents in the management and other aspects of CCYD programming, a key element of the initiative, also proved difficult. The YMCA of Greater Kansas City demonstrated that with commitment and the proper technical assistance, a traditional youth-serving agency can successfully lead a youth-focused, community-change effort that involves local citizens in oversight and in shaping program offerings. (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. A II II A a A II 0 A lb so A A 5 e eo° 0 III 11: I' a . r PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Cheraw RAWAivAte.. tS TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFOIWATION CENTER (ERIC) ' 1 U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this A PUBLICATION OF PUBLIC/PRIVATE VENTURES document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy BEST COPY AVAILABLE COMMURITYV Fam VoiumIDEWIELC)FEWEWir A CASE STUDY OF HOW A TRADMONAL YOUTH-SERVING ORGANIZATION (YMCA) BECOMES A COMMUNITY BUILDER TRACEY HARTMANN, BERNARDINE H. WATSON AND BRIAN KANTOREK 3 RESEARCH ADVISORY FPI/ BOARD OF DIRECTORS COMMITTEE Public/Private Ventures is a national nonprofit organization that seeks to improve Slob han Nicola], Chair Jacquelynne S. Eccles the effectivents of social policies and programs. P/PV thwgns, tests and studies President Chair initiatives that incrense supports, skills and opportunities of residents of low- Hispanic Nifty Development Project University of Michigan impale cotrommities: works with policymakers to see tha the lessons and evi- Cary Walker -Ronald Ferguson dence produced are reflected in policy: and pmvides gaining, technical assistance President Kennedy School of Government arid learning opportunities to practitioners based on documented effective practices. Public/Private Ventunis Robinson Hollister Amelia Betanzos Swarthmore College Resident Alan Krueger Wildcat Service Corporation PI !Are WTI University Yvonne Chan Katherine S. Newman Principal Kennedy School of Government Vliughri Learning Center Mitchell S. Fromstein Chairman Emeritus Manpower Inc. Susan Fuhrman Dean. Graduate School of Education University of Pennsylvania Christine L. James-Brown President United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania 'Matthew McGuire 'Thesis Corismition Michael P. Morley Senior Vire President Eastman Kodak Company Jeremy Nowak Chief Executive Officer The Rehnestmeni Fund Marion Pines Senior Fe ikuv. Institute for Policy Studies Johns Hopkins University Robert Putnam Peter and Isabel Malkin hofe.ssor of Public Policy Harssard University Isabel Carter Stewart Executive Director Chicago Foundation for Women Cay Stratton Dbecoir Notional Employment Panel. London UK. Marta Tienda Professor of Sociniegy Princeton University William Julius Wilson Lewis R and Linda.L. Geyser University Professor John E Kennedy School of Government Hamad University ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people made this report possible. Most impor- tant are the youth, parents and other community members in Kansas City, Missouri, and the staff of the YMCA of Greater Kansas City who are working to improve the quality of life for youth in their neigh- borhoods. We would like to thank. Cynthia Phillips and Laurice Valentine, in particular, for their work throughout the demonstration, as well as for their insights and feedback used throughout this report. Of course, this work would not have been possible without the generous support of a consortium of fun- ders who backed the national demonstration. Primary among these is the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which not only supported the" national demonstration but has also provided additional funds to the local Kansas City site, enabling its development in 10 neighborhoods. We would especially like to thank Kauffman Senior Program Officer Barbara Haar for her comments on a draft of this report. The national consortium of funders also includes The Ford Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Commonwealth Fund, Charles Stewart. Mott Foundation, Charles Hayden Foundation, Surdna Foundation, The Pinkerton Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, Altman Foundation, The Clark Foundation, and Merck Family Fund. Many colleagues at P/PV contributed their ideas and insights to this report. The research arid technical assistance reports of Corina Chavez, Pat Ma, Yvonne Butler and Bob Penn of the Vanguard Management Group formed the basis for the conclusions presented here. The CCYD team read early drafts of the report arid provided useful feedback. Bob Penn, Kathryn Furano, Karen Walker and Gary Walker all read several drafts of the report and provided significant guidance on its structure and content. Natalie Jaffe provided the editing, Patricia Wieland copyedited the report, and Maxine Sherman guided the report through the edit- ing and publishing process with her customary attention to detail. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Kansas City, Missouri, is one of six sites in a national management and other aspects of CCYD programming, demonstration project, Community Change for Youth a key element of the initiative, was also difficult for the Development (CCYD), that airris to increase basic YMCA. First were the issues of capacity, turnover and developmental supports and opportunities available to burnout that come up in almost all resident involvement youth aged 12 to 20. CCYD has been operating in efforts. Other issues were related to the history and cul- Kansas City, Missouri, since the mid-1990s. The ture of the YMCA and its traditional relationship with demonstratrion focuses on five basic elements: adult the communities in which it operates. As a traditional support and guidance; opportunities for involvement youth-serving agency, the YMCA had not typically in decision-making; support through critical transi- engaged community adults as partners in program tions; opportunities for using work as a developmental development and operations. Staff expertise lay in youth tool; and the provision of positive activities after school, programming rather than in developing resident involve- in the evenings, on weekends and during the summer. ment. In fact, the resident involvement component of Implementing youth programs in these five key devel- CCYD has been most successful in Blue Hills, the opmental areas is the responsibility of a local lead community with the longest history of community agency working in cooperation with local residents organizing and the least YMCA infrastructure. Technical and service providers. Across the sites, lead agencies assistance was essential to helping YMCA staff imple- include city governmental agencies, nonprofit corn- ment Neighborhood Youth Development Committees munity organizations and traditional youth-serving (NYDCs), which ale the main vehicles for resident. agencies. The lead agency in Kansas City' is the YMCA involvement in each of the three target neighborhoods. of Greater Kansas City; a traditional youth-serving organization that is part of a national network. The The YMCA of Greater Kansas City has demonstrated benefits of working
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