In 2006, the Cleveland Foundation undertook research to identify and evaluate existing programs and services for youth in Greater Cleveland. Based on its findings, the foundation convened many key community partners to create an effective system to support our young people. The Cuyahoga County Commissioners stepped up early and in a big way, with $3.4 million and a commitment to manage day-to-day operations of MyCom through its Family and Children First Council.
Today, this youth movement – MyCom – aims to inspire and prepare Greater Cleveland’s young people, kindergarten through graduation, to reach their full potential and become good citizens. It exposes kids to a variety of activities and experiences that allow them to explore new interests and learn new skills. It connects them to a network of caring and committed adults – teachers, mentors, employers, and others – who offer guidance and encouragement. MyCom prepares Greater Cleveland’s young people to enter early adulthood with the ability to foster healthy relationships throughout their lives and the skills to compete in a global economy.
There are 6 components of MyCom that support the goals of our Family and Children First Council Child-Well Being plan. The components are: Advocacy, Transitions, Out of School Time, Neighborhood Capacity, Youth Engagement and Youth Employment. These components are also in line with other County initiatives such as System of Care and Healthy Communities.
Advocacy
Voices for Ohio’s Children have been identified as the lead agency in the area of Advocacy. Voices will partner with Berea Children’s Home and Family Services to provide MyCom with advocacy, communications materials, media relations and training. They will develop an administrative and budget advocacy agenda and timeline. Voices and Berea will work with the various programs and the selected neighborhoods to identify stories for storybanking.
Transitions
The Cleveland Public Library has been identified as the lead agency for Transitions. The first phase focused on the transition from childcare, Head Start or Universal Pre-K to Kindergarten. Future transitions will include 3rd grade, 6th grade, 9th grade (High School) and post secondary – recognizing post secondary can be college or trade school.
Out-of-School Time
Starting Point has been identified as the lead agency to develop the repository of services, identify gaps and barriers to services and provide technical assistance to struggling programs. In the early stages, the plan focuses on activities for youth when they are not in school such as recreation, tutoring, leadership and civic opportunities, job training and employment readiness. Year one will focus on building capacity and infrastructure. This will include identifying existing programs, age groups served, hours of operation, accessibility/accountability, quality and retraining staff. During the summer of 2008, there were an additional 3,152 OST slots available to youth in this community.
Neighborhood Capacity
MyCom will begin in 8 neighborhoods with a plan to phase in additional communities over time. The 8 neighborhoods in phase 1 will be selected based on need, geography and existing capacity. Each neighborhood will have an individualized plan. During phase 1, MyCom will also begin preparing the phase 2 communities. Several strategies will be universal and available to all of Cuyahoga County.
Youth Engagement
The Partnership for Safer Cleveland will serve as the lead agency for youth engagement. As the lead agency, the Partnership will facilitate the engagement of a diverse group of youth leaders from Cuyahoga County to be involved in the planning, implementation, communications, outreach, and evaluation of MyCom. The Partnership will plan and initiate strategies for various levels of youth involvement and leadership. The Partnership will be responsible for the recruitment, orientation, training, and support of youth leaders. In addition, the Partnership will provide training for Lead Agencies and as well as capacity building for these agencies that includes supporting youth in their decision making processes. Special training will be given that will promote the development of equitable partnerships among youth and organizations. MyCom has taken special care that there are a number of ways to gather input from the young people and to actively involve them in all aspects of this movement. To learn how to be heard and get involved, contact Alicia Petrella at the Partnership for a Safer Cleveland (216.523.1128) or go to their website at http://www.safercleveland.org/.
Youth Employment
While the lead agency for Youth Employment has not been identified, an emphasis for this component will be summer employment, year-round employment, career development and exploration. TCF, County and City partners have worked together to leverage dollars for 2008 summer youth employment. This partnership which includes businesses and Youth Opportunities Unlimited has leveraged dollars that will enable an additional 1,200 youth to be served this summer.