Harnessing Data: The Evolution of the Autonomous Youth Council
Data drives our coalition, but it’s also at the heart of our initiatives. The Autonomous Youth Council (AYC) is a prime example. This innovative opportunity is allowing youth the chance to hone their talents and potential, then put them into action. The journey started last year with a 4-week summer session, followed by a fall academy focused on life skills and leadership development. Now, new data from the fall series is allowing us to examine the impact of our efforts and explore ways to better serve our young leaders.
"We aim to catch deficiencies quickly, to make changes in real time, to ensure the best possible experiences and outcomes for all," explained Kristin Kappelman, Milwaukee Succeeds’ director of research.
Retention for the fall series remained high, with 24 of 26 youth completing the academy (92%), but attendance dropped significantly – from 92% in summer to 62% in fall. Hosting the trainings on Saturdays during the busy school year and holding them online – first hybrid, then virtually – contributed to the slump, as well as an overarching drop in engagement.
Yet several bright spots bolstered the experience. Compensation and strong relationships emerged as highlights. Youth also found merit behind the budgeting and job readiness sessions, despite some struggling to engage with data-driven topics. Events such as the EmpowerED Convening and the Winter Jam provided opportunities for connection, yet youth weren’t always clear on their role.
“We're on a growth journey,” said Kristin. “We're hoping to take all that we learned and package some of our best practices, but also some of our stumbles.” The ultimate goal is to provide a guidebook for engaging with youth, which other organizations can apply as they continue to shift power to young people.
AYC Partner Placements
Now, our AYC members are ready to take their training to the next level: partner placements. These year-long assignments will provide them with meaningful, hands-on experience in decision-making roles. The placement sites include 8 dynamic organizations, where youth will join boards or projects that aim to elevate youth voice – like the park redevelopment project at the Milwaukee Parks Department.
“My hope is that we'll be able to tap the expertise of our young people,” said Joseph Kaltenberg, MKE Parks manager, “but then also for them to be able to integrate into our reconstruction engagement process and potentially take the lead on specific elements of that – whether it’s park renaming or a specific design element.”
At Your Move MKE, youth will sit on the board and Healing Hubs table to help create solution-based approaches to community issues. According to Restorative Justice Facilitator SilkE: “I’m really excited about…the opportunity to get the youth perspective on what's most important and figuring out what the youth want. How do we make this valuable to them?”
