Resource Archive

While an increasing number of afterschool providers have made quality improvement a priority, addressing quality in a systemic way is complicated: It requires research, planning, building consensus, developing resources, managing new processes and sometimes redefining old relationships. Building Citywide Systems for Quality is a how-to guide designed to support the development of quality improvement systems (QIS) in afterschool settings.

In order for community partnerships to have a positive collective impact on young people’s lives, federal policies need to support comprehensive, place-based interagency efforts. The Forum for Youth Investment, in partnership with the National Collaboration for Youth, American Institutes for Research, the Campaign for Youth, the Children's Leadership Council and the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions, hosted a webinar to learn about the White House and the Obama Administration’s plans to support such comprehensive efforts for youth in general, and for disconnected youth in particular.

Conceiving goals and indicators is easy. The challenge is getting community leaders to agree on goals and indicators that cover all young people of all age groups, in all aspects of their lives—from education and health to interpersonal skills and job readiness.

The National Human Services Assembly produced a brief, Putting Human Needs on the National Radar Screen, on messaging and collaborative action for nonprofit human service and community development organizations. The brief suggests language and new narratives about the collective contributions of nonprofits. Use this as a resource to infuse new ideas and language into your community’s collective actions.