|
A signature program of Michigan’s Children, this youth public forum empowers young people to advocate on their own behalf by bringing them before a panel of state legislators, other public officials and community leaders to speak out on issues of concern to them. KidSpeak forums are held on a statewide and local basis, in policymaking settings such as the state Capitol and City Council chambers to provide youths with an authentic civic engagement experience.
The events also give policymakers a rare opportunity to hear the voices of young people and the impact of public policy on their lives. When given the opportunity, in ways both poignant and powerful, young people can change the way adults make decisions. |
|
|
White House on Young Americans Roundtable |
|
On May 23, 2011, Michigan's Children partnered with Vista Maria, the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Comcast Foundation to put together one of only 100 Young American Roundtables selected for a visit from the White House. View the Video Footage on YouTube!
Read Press and Guide Newspapers on Vista Maria students discuss education issues with White house representatives
View photos from the event
Download the Final Report
On June 2, 2011 the White House showcased this event on the Office of Public Engagement blog! |
|
The theme for this year's Statewide Kidspeak event, held May 11, 2011 was Youth Speak Out: Achieving Success from Cradle to Career. It was selected in acknowledgement and support of Governor Snyder’s strategy for education reform.
Approximately 16 youth from across the state spent the day in Michigan’s State Capitol meeting with state legislators, state department leaders, and other state level private nonprofit administrators to discuss both educational barriers and pathways they have experienced in graduating from high school and enrolling in college. Educational barriers identified by the young people included inadequate funding for education, access the need for additional schools designed to serve teen parents, free or low cost credit recovery programs for transient youth, access to mental health programs and services to assist with gaining access to psychotropic medications, and the need for college access programs that target specific populations like young people who have aged out of foster care. Educational pathways students who dropped out of school used re-engage in academics included Youthbuild and Job Corp programs.
View photos from the event |
|
A President's Recipe for Success: Prioritizing Education
The theme for this year's Kidspeak was chosen in acknowledgement and support of President Obama's priority for education as he chose to release his fiscal year 2012 budget on February 14, 2011 at Parkville Middle School and Center for Technology, a large urban middle school in Baltimore, MD.
Despite the dangerous road conditions and heavy snowfall on February 21, 2011, approximately 12 youth from the Skillman Foundation's Good Neighborhoods within the city of Detroit and other targeted areas supported by the Comunity Foundation of Southeast Michigan, spent a day at Detroit City Hall educating local and state policymakers and other community leaders as to how they can work together to improve educational outcomes for young people who reside in and around the city of Detroit. Educational barriers identified by the young people included access to transportation to get to school, the need for additional schools designed to serve teen parents, free or low cost credit recovery programs, access to school counseling programs, teacher quality and student-teacher relationships.
Michigan's Children proudly presented this event in partnership with the University of Michigan School of Social Work's Youth and Community Program, the Detroit Parent Network, the Skillman Foundation, Kresge Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan.
View Jack Kresnak's Children First Story
View coverageof the event by Our Life in the D
View photos from the event |
|
Foster Youths Speak Up for Education Reform
Michigan's Children, along with several partners, hosted two KidSpeak events this year. On July 29, Michigan's Children and Western Michigan University hosted a forum as part of WMU's Seita Scholar Initiative, a program that provides college access and college retention services to students who age out of Michigan's foster care system and are interested in pursuing post-secondary educational opportunities at WMU.
The second forum was held August 6 at Michigan State University's College of Law, coinciding with MSU's annual Foster Child Summer Program, a pre-college program designed to bring foster care youths to campus to learn about college life.
These targeted Kidspeak events were made possible by the generous support of the Mott Foundation and were part of Michigan's Children's larger strategy to reduce high school drop out rates and increase college access for at-risk youths.
Several follow-up activities also are underway to support high school graduation and college access for this population, including:
- An education benchbook is being developed to assist judges in being more actively engaged in the education case plans of the young people on their dockets.
- Discussions are occuring with state and federal policymakers, and funders to increase awareness of the educational disparities of foster care youths through the publication of fact sheets and the development of legislation designed to address these barriers.
View KidSpeak 2010 Report
View photos from Kidspeak 2010
Read news coverage of the WMU Event
Kalamazoo Gazette (7/27/10)
Kalamazoo Gazette (7/30/10)
Read news coverage of the MSU Event
Read Issues for Michigan's Children: Fostering Connections to Success Act (08/17/2010)
Download information on WMU's Seita Scholar Program
Download information on MSU's Foster Youth Alumni Services Program
Read Michigan's Children's publication on the National Fostering Connections Resource Center |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Page 1 of 2 |
Programs