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YouthNet exists to ensure that every Kansas City youth, 6 through 18 years of age, has access to safe places, caring adults and positive, developmentally appropriate activities. These three elements are inseparable: a quality developmental activity, by its very nature must be safe and will involve connected, skilled adults. The nonprofit, youth-serving sector is a major provider of developmental activities and programs, especially in the central city. Therefore, if we are to achieve success in our mission, we must build a stronger non-profit, youth-serving sector both administratively and programmatically, in order to enhance and increase youth development activities. Kansas City youth and families will reap the benefits.
Agencies do not operate in a vacuum. They cannot grow stronger without changes in the larger system. YouthNet believes that young people, parents, youth-serving agencies and funders together make up the youth development program delivery system. The YouthNet vision is that these stakeholders work together to build an effective and sustainable network of youth development programs. (Please note that when YouthNet refers to "youth-serving agencies," we refer to the agency board of directors, the executive leadership, middle managers, and front line youth workers, each a stakeholding group in this endeavor). The system as a whole is responsible and accountable for sufficient, quality, youth development programs in our community.
YouthNet's role is to facilitate change within the youth development system that will ultimately benefit youth and families. YouthNet believes that to facilitate change a common language and a common way of operating must be established while maintaining an agency's flexibility in addressing a variety of programmatic outcomes. The development and implementation of a common set of standards are a necessary first step because:
- Standards provide a common language, they facilitate communication across the system
- They provide a means to document costs of quality across youth programs
- They hold the system accountable for financing the programmatic needs of agencies if they are, someday, to be held accountable for program outcomes
- They assist in defining technical assistance needs
- As they are implemented, they provide a context for conversations to emerge around policy and advocacy issues within the system
- They define the physical capacity of the individual agency and the system as a whole to deliver quality youth development programs
Implementation of a common set of standards provides a context from which to evolve a strong, united voice for the youth-serving agencies in Kansas City. YouthNet and agencies are partners in an effort to remove barriers and identify resources to strengthen, enhance and increase quality youth programs for Kansas City youth and families. Together we can find out whether resources can be made available to truly make Kansas City the youth opportunity capital of the world.
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