The California Coalition for Youth’s (CCY) proposed California RHY Youth Corps is a statewide Ameri-Corps program model seeking to ensure that these cries of pain or isolation are no longer ignored; it accomplishes this by placing Ameri-Corps members directly into the needed service positions at selected runaway/homeless youth programs and captures the boundless energy of youth and youth advocates themselves to begin down the road of ending the realities that so often lead to abuse, neglect and isolation. Our proposed program will accomplish this by placing Ameri-Corps members in six to eight (or possibly more) strategically targeted youth-development agencies throughout California. CCY will monitor and coordinate their placement. The specific missions of the members will be to meet the immediate needs of runaway/homeless youth (RHY) in the service areas of the selected agencies, acting as fully functioning participants in the agency’s program services. At the same time, CCY will provide the Ameri-Corps members and the Participating Agencies with the tools and support to enable them to function together as a team and to be point persons for creating a statewide youth advocacy network. Our ultimate goal is to use their experience in serving RHY as a means for making youth of all types (and their adult supporters) intimately involved in changing the conditions that lead to homelessness and isolation. The Ameri-Corps Members will be able to do this through the direct assistance they provide and by reaching out to other volunteers and youth to work together for youth empowerment. CCY has in place some of the web-based tools that will be used for the training and technical assistance, but we will likewise seek to integrate this into the RHY infrastructure that is now just beginning to take shape. CCY will itself also be one host agency, with the Ameri-Corps members serving as volunteers on the California Youth Crisis Line in addition to helping coordinate the electronic network here in Sacramento.

Program Concept

The California Youth Corps project meets three specific Ameri-Corps priorities: it utilizes community-based (youth development) agencies to address the needs of RHYs; improves the public safety and security of the communities by minimizing the involvement of RHYs as perpetrators or victims of violence, abuse and neglect; and actively seeks to engage volunteers of all ages (with some focus on peer volunteers) to integrate these critical care services with youth and community advocacy efforts, the growing trend in community involvement initiatives.

There does not exist at this time a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon of runaway/homeless youth in California. Nor is there an adequate understanding of the many challenges facing programs that serve runaway/homeless youth in California. Part of the reason is that the existing programs are under the control of many different departments within the government of California and within federal bureaucracies. As a result, they must often conform to and many different funding expectations. Accordingly, it is difficult to say with precision what the issues and concerns of the target population or the responding agencies are at this time. We expect that the pending Governor’s Summit on Homelessness (scheduled for April 22, 2002) will inspire a increase in attention to these concerns. CCY’s goal is to ensure that RHY issues are fully integrated into the results of the Homeless Summit, and we are undertaking a number of tasks to ensure that this happens. In addition, CCY has been providing OCJP and members of the Governor’s Summit Advisory Group with data, key participant contacts and other sources of background information.

CCY introduced SB 64 (Chesbro) into the legislative process last year. The purpose of this bill is to seek funding to allow OCJP to review the needs of existing programs under its control and to determine how they can cooperate more efficiently with other RHY agencies. That bill has not yet moved forward due to the current budgetary situation, but OCJP, in accordance with a request from Senator Chesbro, is taking steps anyway to initiate an annual review process of their RHY programs. Data from state funded homeless and sexual exploitation programs (including data provided by CCY from our California Youth Crisis Line) will be reviewed in this report, as will the state’s first efforts to present a larger picture of how these programs interrelate with federally funded Basic Shelter, Transitional Living Program and Street Outreach Programs. There are approximately 30 of these HUD/HHS projects in California, funded on the basis of competitive grant making (TLP and SOP) and youth population demographics (Basic Shelter).

CCY will utilize the combined results of these efforts to examine what is currently available and to help establish the priority service needs to be met at the local level by the Ameri-Corps members. Each Participating Agency will determine the precise goals and expectations, but they will be constructed to facilitate complementary efforts of other local and state projects whenever possible.

By utilizing this model, we believe that the Participating Agencies and the RHY services in California will receive the following benefits: sufficient incentives to minimize short-term staffing burnout; regular and consistent trainings on Ameri-Corps expectations and youth involvement skills; the creation of a larger core of youth advocates; the establishment of computerized skills building and “real time” communication methods.

Planning Process

CCY would like to facilitate a six-month planning process that extends from May through October 2002. We believe that this will allow us time to prepare the needed documentation while also submitting augmentation requests to foundations who have already shown interest in CCY’s concept of a statewide youth advocacy network.

PARTNERSHIP FORM:

As noted above, CCY intends to utilize its base of members (approximately 250) throughout California to solicit competitive responses to pre-designed strategies for placing Ameri-Corps members. Our review of these responses will determine which agencies will be accepted as Youth Corps Participating Agencies. The factors that will be utilized in determining the final agencies will be based upon the overall needs assessment and other RHY factors. We anticipate these factors will include geographic location, the agency’s relationship to the existing RHY service network, any specialize outreach capabilities they may have and the ability of the Ameri-Corps members to be integrated into other youth development and service programs. We will also ask the agencies how they will contribute to providing cash, in-kind and equipment contributions. A minimum amount of cash will most likely be mandated. We will also expect that the agencies will have the ability to host periodic trainings. Chosen agencies will also have to show a reasonable level of technological competence to enable their members and other volunteers to remain active in the networking processes.

TIMELINE:

Review of RHY Assessment Materials May (Second/Third Week)

Conference Planning Calls/Meetings

Northern California June (Third Week)

Southern California June (Fourth Week)

Design of Participating Agency Application Materials July (First Week)

Distribution of Participating Agency Applications. July (Second Week)

Applications Due August 1

Review Applications August 2 - 5

Selection of Preliminary Agencies August 5

Negotiation of Partnership Details August 6-8

Submission to Ameri-Corps of Participating Agencies August 10

AMERICORPS MEMBER PLAN:

Each participating agency and CCY will be responsible for the selection of its own Ameri-Corps members, utilizing general position descriptions provided by CCY. The descriptions will be created based upon the overall assessment we conduct and the answers provided during the agency selection process. Agencies will be asked during the screening process who or which staff will be responsible within their agency for conducting supervising the Ameri-Corps members and how the members will fit into the personnel structure. The participating agencies will be required to provide an overview of their hiring processes. We will also seek an understanding of how the process will focus on targeted language, cultural or personal/professional experiences. This information will be summarized along with the final delineation of overall project objectives for each agency. All of these details will be included in the final negotiated plan.

TIMELINE:

Development of Participating Agency Application Materials July (First Week)

Distribution of Application Materials July (Second Week)

Applications Due August 1

Selection of Participating Agencies August 5

Negotiation of Acceptance Details (including objectives) August 5-10

Signing of Partnership Agreements Sept. (First Week)

Submission of Member Plans to Ameri-Corps Sept. 30

FINANCING PLAN:

The Partnership Agreements will detail the full costs for each Ameri-Corps member and who will be responsible for securing matching funds. Most agencies will be expected to provide all or a portion of the 15% cash match and an adequate amount of in-kind administrative support. A payment schedule will be established. CCY will also create a strategy for working with the participating agencies to undertake fundraising activities to ensure that the required amount of money is available. CCY anticipates requesting some matching dollars from other sources with the expectation that funds raised will be able to augment the supportive services CCY provides (e.g., technology tools) and/or will be used to ensure that a shortfall does not occur if one or more agencies is unable to achieve its financial obligations.

TIMELINE:

The specifics of the plans will be detailed in the negotiated Partnership Agreement. Accordingly, the timeline for this section is generally the same as that noted above in the Member Plan section, with the exception that CCY does expect to submit augmenting grant applications to private funders during the months of September/October in order to attempt to secure a pool of resources for guaranteeing the matches during the first operational year. We have had discussions with foundations about this and have had some potentially encouraging responses.

OBJECTIVES AND EVALUATION PLANS:

The basic expectations, subject to the guidance provided by a review of the assessment materials, are as follows:

GETTING THINGS DONE:

Providing badly needed outreach and case management assistance to RHY and at-risk youth at the locations of the participating agencies. The exact expectations will be determined by the participating agencies themselves in accordance with the programs and needs they have identified for their communities. CCY will attempt to coordinate the desired goals and the creation of the supporting network across the state. We will also ensure that the California Youth Crisis Line and its major resource contributions can be used as well.

MEMBER DEVELOPMENT:

CCY, in conjunction with the Western States Youth Services Network and other RHY technical assistance programs, will establish ongoing training and support workshops. This will include, if feasible, one-on-one trainings at each participating agency, and period regional workshops. The workshops will focus on Ameri-Corps program expectations as well as youth development and involvement skills. Specific web-based tools will be introduced and adequate support will be provided to allow the participants to engage in real-time conversations or support opportunities. An annual skills-enhancement conference will be conducted in Sacramento to bring together all of the Ameri-Corps members and other agency representatives to further their sense of collectiveness and to help them work cooperatively with other youth agencies from throughout the state.

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES:

Each participating agency will be expected to include the Ameri-Corps members in ways that strengthen service relationships for the benefit of RHY. The service concentration will be on local resources to help the clients, while general support, guidance and a sense of empowerment will be provided through the other networking connections that CCY will build. We expect that this will significantly strengthen the base of their resource options while similarly reducing the incidence of burnout and isolation that can occur as staff works with extremely vulnerable youth. We also believe that it adds a much-needed element of drawing greater connections between service providers and youth advocates who work to change the larger social barriers that enable homelessness to occur.

ROLES FOR STAFF:

CCY will dedicate a portion of its existing management and support staff to the planning process. In addition, our clinical/counseling staff from the California Youth Crisis Line will provide technical support and guidance to the participating agencies as they seek to expand or improve RHY services. The majority of the planning process will be completed by a consultant hired for the duration of the project. We have an established relationship with the Management Center in San Francisco, and have access to professional assistance with the network of nonprofit centers across the state. We are a member of the California Association of Nonprofits and the National Network for Youth, both of which maintain information about project consultants who are qualified for these kinds of tasks.

The CCY executive director will work with the project consultant to develop relationships with CCY’s membership base and other agencies who will be provided the opportunity to compete to be a participating agency. He will also co-facilitate the northern and southern California planning meetings and the conference call, with selected representatives of the RHY network. CCY’s administrative assistant will help with mailings and identify office volunteers who can coordinate many of the general operational tasks.

The project consultant will be required to prepare the materials and forms, oversee the process for soliciting participating agencies and create the supportive implementation documents that will form the end result of this arrangement. A contract with the consultant will detail the minimum document requirements and the timeline for their preparation.

PARTNERSHIPS

CURRENT PARTNERSHIP: CCY has an existing partnership network of approximately 250 individual and agency members. We have had an ongoing membership base since 1977. Community-based nonprofit agencies with a significant interest in youth development issues compose the majority of our paid members. This includes many of the state’s current RHY providers. The individual members are generally executive directors, assistant directors or program staff from many of these and other agencies who have a personal interest and commitment to youth advocacy. In addition, via contractual obligations and membership associations, CCY is also active in organizations such as the Western States Youth Services Network and the National Network for Youth. Both of these associations are key players in overseeing federal RHY programs, including the 30 major shelter and outreach providers throughout California. We have under development an electronic advocacy network that allows us to distribute information and seek guidance from these and many other agencies on public policy concerns. And finally, the California Youth Crisis Line maintains a database of over 5,000 local youth resource programs from every region of the state. These resources are identified by their areas of expertise (counseling, alcohol and drug issues, teen pregnancy, sexuality, etc.) or by their geographic proximity to youth in crisis.

PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: We will utilize the existing network of agencies to solicit applications to determine which agencies have an interest in this program and what their expectations are for fulfilling the goals and objectives of the project. We will utilize our existing web sites (www.CalYouth.org and www.CalCalendar.org) to provide current, updated information. We expect to be able to link with agencies such as the National Network for Youth as well that are starting to use professional bulletin board capabilities for ‘real time’ communication enhancement. All of the selected participating agencies will be set up to utilize this electronic network. They will also receive regular briefings and be required to attend regional meetings. CCY will coordinate one-on-one workshops on an annual basis.

In addition, we expect that other agencies within our current network will seek to join in the process, either because they already have Ameri-Corps members or as part of an extension of other youth involvement/advocacy projects that are underway. The creation of such an active network is a clear goal of the agency as a whole, making this project a particularly good fit for CCY’s anticipate growth.

Organizational Capacity

CCY operates with an annual budget of approximately $600,000. Nearly 50% of these funds are State of California operating expenses for the California Youth Crisis Line. CCY has maintained a successful contractual relationship with OCJP for 15 years, including undergoing annual audits that regularly demonstrate our compliance with standard accounting practices. CCY has never administered Ameri-Corps funds but it is expected that one or more of the selected participating agencies may have direct experience.

Budget/Cost Effectiveness

The costs for the consultant and staffing are adequate for the tasks noted here. CCY has many supportive features in place and is committed to developing the underlying youth advocacy network to address critical issues like runaway/homelessness. CCY will match approximately half of the costs for its staff during the planning processes.