Program Managment

Youth Network Council is a programmatically diverse organization with an annual operating budget of approximately $9.3 million (FY 2007 revenues). Each of the organization's programs is consistent with its mission of supporting local, community-based youth serving agencies and enhancing their capacity to serve young people and their families in their respective communities. Currently, the organization's programs include:

Illinois Youth Services Resource Center (IYSRC): Since the inception of Illinois' system of community-based youth services in January 1982, the IYSRC has been providing training, technical assistance, and other support to local providers throughout the state.

Region V Training and Technical Assistance Program (RVTTAP): Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) under the Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) program, YNC provides specialized training and technical assistance (T & TA) to RHY grantees in Illinois, and subcontracts with intermediaries in five other DHHS Region V states (IN, MI, MN, OH, and WI) while maintaining cooperative agreements with the other nine federally funded regional T & TA programs.

Pathways: An Independent Living Operation (ILO), funded by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). YNC, as the contractor, administers and coordinates the program, also serving as a liaison to DCFS. In this complex, collaborative effort, clinical oversight is provided through a subcontract with a mental health agency, and direct community support services to clients are subcontracted among four (4) community-based youth services agencies throughout Chicago and Cook County.

Pathways/TLP3: This addition to the continuum of Pathways services provides transitional housing for adolescents in the state's child welfare system. It is a collaborative effort among YNC and five (5) community-based youth services agencies, currently based in Chicago and Cook County.

Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY): Established in 1979 by a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), ICOY is the membership arm of YNC. Since 1981, ICOY activities have been sustained through membership dues and other unrestricted revenue sources. ICOY focuses on the development of youth policy and legislation, which supports and enhances the capacity of local agencies to serve young people and families in their communities. In addition, ICOY works with the public sector and other funders of services to promote program initiatives that reflect best practices.

Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission (IJJC): The Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission (the Commission) serves as the federally mandated State Advisory Group to the Governor, the General Assembly and the Illinois Department of Human Services. The Commission has 25 member positions appointed by the Governor. They have training, experience, and/or special knowledge concerning the prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency or the administration of justice.

International Programs (INTLPROG): YNC has current on-going commitments with the Veneto region of Italy and Youth Clubs, U.K., of Leicester, England to develop study tours, staff exchanges, and other program opportunities. Through the Mexican Consulate in Chicago, YNC also is exploring exchange and study tour opportunities with the State of Jalisco, Mexico. In addition, negotiations with government and youth development leaders in China's Zheijang Province are in process, as well as Sister Cities relationships through the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers that have included study tours with Hamburg, Germany; Casablanca, Morocco; and Durban, South Africa.

Positive Youth Development Collaboration (PYD): Through a subcontract with the Illinois Department of Human Services, from a grant by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), YNC is coordinating a five-year youth and community development effort in the Grand Boulevard neighborhood on Chicago's south side. This is one of only nine (9) programs of this type, nationally. The effort involves young people at the directorship level of the project, working with adult partners from community organizations, the faith community, schools, and businesses. James B. Hyman, Ph.D., Inc. consulted with FYSB in designing this innovative demonstration in community youth development.

SEED: SEED, Youth Network Council and the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS/DCHP) are collaborating to make The SEED Diagnostic and SEED Stretch available to select IL youth programs. This pilot program is aimed to provide program specific data that will be a useful capacity building tool for community service providers who participate in the process.

Making Mentoring Meaningful (MMM): YNC is implementing a three-year grant, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under their Mentoring Children of Prisoners (MCP) initiative. In partnership Chicago Youth Centers (CYC), MMM will provide volunteer adults in a positive and constructive mentoring relationship to children whose parents are incarcerated.

Juvenile Justice / Mental Health Initiative (JJMHI): Through a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), YNC operated the Juvenile Justice/ Mental Health Initiative (JJMHI) from September 2005 to November 2006. JJMHI operated through twenty-two youth services provider organizations at thirty-eight sites throughout Illinois.
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Illinois Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (IJDAI) : Through a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and in coordination with the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, Illinois' JJDPA State Advisory Group (SAG), YNC administers a state-wide effort to create incentives for jurisdictions to reduce census in their detention centers.

Project Repay: Through a grant from the Jane Addams Juvenile Court Foundation, YNC works in coordination with the Cook County Department of Probation and Court Services, Juvenile Division, to administer restitution payments to crime victims of youth on probation who have completed community service.