TheOF YT eam J amesHoyt ,M. A. Execut i veDi r ect or Kri st i n FergusonCol vi n,Ph. D. Di r ect or-ASU Cent erf orHuman Capi t al& Yout hDevel opment Robi n Hol l i s,Ed. D. Bus i nes sEngagement Cons ul t ant Kendel l eBrown,M. S. Pr ogr am Coor di nat or Bel i ndaEscal ant e,MSW Communi t yEngagement Coor di nat or Fel i xMoran Yout hOut r eachCoor di nat or Ri ckyDuran,B. S. Mar ket i ngSpeci al i s t El i zabet h Mody,MSW,MPA Res ear chSpeci al i s t-ASU Cent erf orHumanCapi t al& Yout hDevel opment AnI ni t i at i veof :
Oppor t uni t i es f or Yout h( OFY) i s a col l abor at i ve par t ner s hi p among gover nment agenci es , nonpr ofit or gani zat i ons and empl oyer st hat was l aunched i n 2015 i n r es pons e t o t he unf or t unat e emer gence of Mar i copa Count y as one of t he count r y’ smos tconcent r at ed popul at i onsofyoung peopl e,aged 1624,whoar enoti ns choolandnotwor ki ng.Seei ngt hechance t ol ever aget her es our cesofAr i zona St at eUni ver s i t yt o addr es s t hi scr i t i cali s s ue,DeanJ onat hanKoppel lcr eat edahomef orOFY i nt heWat t sCol l egeofPubl i cSer vi ceandCommuni t ySol ut i onsi n 2017.To ampl i f y our abi l i t yt o pos i t i vel yi mpactt he l i ves of “ oppor t uni t y yout h, ”t he Col l ege f or med t he Cent erf orHuman Capi t alandYout hDevel opment( CHCYD) .CHCYD i sahubt hr ough whi ch f acul t y,r es ear cher s ,s t udent s ,communi t ypar t ner s ,yout h, and pol i cymaker s can col l abor at e on r es ear ch,pr act i ce,and pol i cyi ni t i at i vest os uppor tt heeducat i onal ,car eerandl i f egoal s ofMar i copaCount y’ sYout h. OFYwor kst ol owert her at eofoppor t uni t yyout hi nt heGr eat er Phoeni x Ar ea by s uppor t i ng t he many or gani zat i ons and empl oyer s wor ki ng i nt hi s ar ena by conveni ng par t ner s and es s ent i alcons t i t uenci es ,f aci l i t at i ngcount ywi des ys t emschange, and connect i ng yout h wi t h r es our ces and oppor t uni t i es f or s ucces s .I nt hes er ol es ,wer el yont heact i vepar t i ci pat i onofyout h, s er vi cepr ovi der s ,educat i onalpar t ner sand empl oyer st oi nf or m and gui deOFY’ songoi ng effor t st o devel op s ol ut i onsi n exi s t i ng educat i onalandempl oyments ys t ems .Si nceOFYdoesnotdi r ect l y s er veyout h,weacknowl edget hatoureffor t sar eonl yaseffect i ve as t hey ar e meani ngf ul t o yout h, communi t y par t ner s , and empl oyer s ,ands owedependont hei rpar t i ci pat i oni ndevel opi ng t hes es ol ut i ons .We al s o woul dl i ke t ot ake t hi soppor t uni t yt o t hankourf under sf ors uppor t i ngt heOFYi ni t i at i ve,andmaki ngi t pos s i bl et omai nt ai nourmoment um i nt heGr eat erPhoeni xAr ea aswel lashel pi ngust oachi eveour2018accompl i s hment s .
J amesHoyt Execut i veDi r ect or
I nf rast ruct ureDevel opment OFYi sbui l di ngcapaci t yt hr ough t hedevel opmentof a cr osssect or ali nf r ast r uct ur e,t hr ough i t s Leader shi p Counci land f ourAct i on Teams.Thewor koft he Leader shi p Counci li si mper at i vet o pr ovi di ngst r at egi cvi si onf orandover si ghtoft heOFYI ni t i at i ve.Thi s i ncl udest hedevel opmentofacommon agendat hat definesst r at egi esf orpol i t i caladvocacy,communi t y engagement ,andshar edmet r i cs. I n addi t i on t ot he Leader shi p Counci l ,OFY’ sf our Act i on Teams:Car eerConnect i ons,Educat i onalMoment um,ReengagementCent er s,and Yout h Leader shi p & Devel opment ,f ocus on el i mi nat i ng bar r i er s t hat affect yout h. Suppor t ed by OFY st aff, t hese t eams ar e compr i sed of pr of essi onal s and yout h l eader si n each oft hese ar eas.They convene on a mont hl ybasi st oexami net hei ssuesaffect i ngOYand devel op st r at egi c sol ut i ons.Act i on Team cochai r s al someetbi mont hl yout si deoft heLeader shi pCounci lt oi dent i f yandi mpl ementover ar chi ngsol ut i onst o suppor tOY i nr eengagi ng i n educat i onaland car eer pat hways.
By t he end of2018,OFY i ncr eased over al lpar t ner par t i ci pat i on by52%,wi t h Leader shi p Counci lmember shi pi ncr easi ngf r om 25t o 32i ndi vi dual s,Car eer Connect i onspar t ner shi psi ncr easi ng f r om 16 t o 32 empl oyer s,Educat i onalMoment um par t ner shi psi ncr easi ngf r om 19t o30or gani zat i ons,andReengagementCent erpar t ner shi psi ncr easi ng f r om 12 t o 16 agenci es. I n addi t i on t o bui l di ng capaci t yi n ourcommuni t y, OFYal sohasbeeni mpl ement i ngsyst emschangesat t heAct i onTeam l evel .Eacht eam hasbegunt oi dent i f y gaps i n pol i ci es and ser vi ces wi t hi nt hei rf ocus ar eat hathi ndereffect i veyout hout comes,andi sdevel opi ngsol ut i onst or emedyt hosei ssues. Fi nal l y,OFYhaseffect i vel ydi ver si fied t hei ni t i at i ve’ s f undi ngpor t f ol i o byi ncr easi ngi t soper at i ngbudget f r om $75, 224i nJ ul y2017t o $958, 830byt heend of 2018, wi t h suppor tf r om 11 pr i vat e and publ i c f under s.
Learn MoreaboutOpport uni t i esf orYout h www. opp4yout h. org 480. 727. 8300 Opport uni t i esf orYout h@asu. edu Oppor t uni t i esf orYout hi sani ni t i at i veoft heASU Wat t sCol l egeofPubl i cSer vi ceand Communi t ySol ut i ons ,hous edi nt heCent erf orHumanCapi t alandYout hDevel opment