Youth Development
The mission of the Office of Youth Development (OYD) is to build collaborations and partnerships to meet the needs of young people by coordinating programs and services and advocating for youth and youth service programs.
The office’s main objective is to work with community partners to develop a coordinated community-wide Out of School Time (OST) system for youth and youth programming. This system will assist us to better coordinate programs and services for young people, improve the quality of these programs, engage parents and expand professional development for youth workers.
OYD’s Commitment to the community includes:
• National Leadership – Louisville is nationally recognized as a leader in the youth service field having been recognized by America’s Promise Alliance four consecutive times as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People. Louisville is also highly recognized in the youth service field by organizations such as Ready by 21, The Forum for Youth Investment and the Wallace Foundation.
• YouthPrint – The Louisville YouthPrint is a report commissioned through a partnership between Metro United Way, JCPS and Louisville Metro Government to develop recommendations to create a coordinated Out of School Time system designed to coordinate services to better meet the needs of young people.
• Youth Worker Training – OYD provides many professional development opportunities to assist youth workers and agencies to be more effective in working with young people. OYD offers three trainings on a regular basis (Youth Service Worker Training monthly, Advancing Youth Development quarterly and Afternoon of Youth Development quarterly), which provide training for more than 500 youth workers each year.
• Information and Referral – OYD serves as a clearinghouse of information about youth services in our community. The office secures, researches and disseminates information about funding opportunities, trainings, youth-centered initiatives, and maintains a searchable database that helps link the community to available youth services. Search the Louisville Youth Services Directory Now!
• Networking – OYD works to develop networks throughout the community to advocate for specific needs of young people.
• Special Events – OYD partners with other organizations to develop and implement special events for youth. The office helps organize events such as the Youth Opportunity Showcase, Dr. Martin Luther King Day of Service, Youth Summits, and the Doing the Right Thing Festival.
For information on the Graduate Greater Louisville: High School Dropout Solutions Summit, please click the picture below:
