Teen Summer Programs at DC Public Library

This month, with summer now in full gear, we have a guest blog post from Jennifer Thompson, Teen Programs & Partnerships Coordinator at DC Public Library.

Teens come to the library for many reasons. Many of us (me included) have fond memories of using our library as a teen. Granted, I mostly used the library to play poker with my friends, but while I was there, I ended up learning much more than to how to tell when someone is bluffing.

I learned that the librarians and other library staff were great resources for not just book recommendations. They would help me reserve rooms in the library for study groups, they would guide me to online resources when I had homework-related questions, and they would take time out of their busy schedules to chat with me about my day. Today, teens use the library in similar ways. They enjoy checking out books and getting recommendations from our staff, hanging out and chatting with their friends, using our computers, learning about other opportunities in their community, and expressing themselves in the programs we offer to them.

Advancing Progress Toward Ending Youth Homelessness in the District

Last week, Maggie Riden, our Executive Director, had an opportunity to write a guest post for the Department of Human Services.

Here is an excerpt:

Last year, we got a call from a partner organization. They were working with a young mom of one year-old twins.

She’d connected with them to get help finding a GED and workforce program. Despite a lot of clear challenges, this was a young woman they described as highly motivated. She had a sense of agency and determination. She was thrilled when not only was she able to get into a GED program, but they could also help her access the childcare she’d need to make it possible to attend the classes.

At first, things were okay, but over the course of a few weeks things began to deteriorate very quickly. Attendance at school was slipping. Her twins weren’t making it to child care consistently. Things hit a tipping point, and she revealed to her education coach that she had been placed in one of the emergency motel rooms here in the District.

Read the rest of the post here.

Top Ten Reasons to be a DCAYA Member

As budget season has come to an end, we thought we'd spend this time highlighting some of the reasons to join our DCAYA family, or renew your membership if you're already a member.

So here are our top ten reasons your organization should be a DCAYA member

Being a member saves you time. In fact, DCAYA was partially found because a number of youth-serving organization realized that individually they didn't have the time or resources to dig into the policy and legislative work needed because you're operating at capacity just supporting the programs and services to your youth. So where you don't have the time, we do.

via GIPHY

So how do we save you time? We make legislation and legislators accessible. We take the time to breakdown legislation to make it and its consequences easily digestible. We understand the roles and relationships our elected and appointed representatives at the Council, the Mayor's Office, and various agencies have to the work you do.

Big Wins for Youth and Families in the FY18 Budget

The second FY18 budget vote will occur on June 13th at 11am (watch here: http://dccouncil.us/videos), and the final legislative vote will follow shortly after. But in the meantime, we wanted to share the progress we’ve made in elevating the needs of the District’s youth and families through the Council’s first vote.

To highlight the fruits of your labor throughout this budget season, read on for more about the Council’s budget decisions impacting our four issue areas: Expanded Learning, Disconnected Youth, Youth Homelessness, and Youth Workforce Development. 

Expanded Learning: $4.9 Million to OST*

Office of Youth Outcomes (Deputy Mayor for Education): While significant progress has been made to build the new Office of Youth Outcomes on a solid foundation, the Committee on Education maintained flat funding at $4.9 million for community-based afterschool opportunities for District youth. In this budget season, the Committee on Education prioritized identifying funds to reach the recommended increase of 3.5% in per-pupil funding, yet *Chairman David Grosso did commit to allocate an additional $2 million to the OST system in the likely chance of a budget surplus this summer. As the system continues to strengthen, DCAYA is committed to restoring OST funds to the historic $10 million mark to ensure demand for these critical youth development programs are met.