Quality Elements
Youth Leadership
Youth are visible and active in leadership roles.
- Youth are actively engaged in planning for adulthood
- Youth voice actively drives policy and decision making
- Youth are encouraged and supported in leadership roles
- Youth leadership opportunities are leveraged and connected
- All youth are confident and ready for life
In addition:
- Youth actively participate in the development of their transition plans
- Youth are supported in setting goals and identifying resources that support them
- Youth participate in decisions about their lives, education, work, and families
- Youth are informed about their personal rights, including supportive services and resources
- Youth actively participate in shaping the system
- Youth are engaged as leaders on local, state, and national public policy and decision-making bodies
- Perspectives and experiences from youth guide decisions about their lives
- All youth have access to a continuum of opportunities and guidance to develop decision-making skills
- Youth are engaged as decision makers with adults
- All youth have access to older youth of similar backgrounds as mentors
- All youth have opportunities to take risks
- Youth have opportunities to participate in service and civic engagement activities
- Youth are involved in a full range of decision-making bodies
- Youth have leadership roles at a variety levels and institutions within their communities
- Youth have opportunities and support to network with peers
Youth with disabilities may also need:
- Exposure to mentors and role models including persons with and without disabilities
- Youth-focused training and practice that includes self-advocacy, disability issues and disability culture, leadership, program development, planning and evaluation.
- Training and support to advocate for themselves
The YCi Elements of a Comprehensive Local Youth-Serving System chart can be found in the All Youth One System, YCi Guidebook. This guidebook was funded by the California Workforce Investment Board and produced by New Ways to Work.
Funded under a grant/contract supported by the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the U. S. Department of Labor, grant/contract #E-9-4-X-XXXX and the California Workforce Investment Board. The opinions contained in this publication are those of the grantee/contractor and do not necessarily reflect those of the U. S. Department of Labor.
Marin Brown, ITOP Project Coordinator
Phone: 707-849-2265
Email: marin.brown@calstat.org