The New and Improved Youth Adult Equity Ladder Assessment

One way to ensure your organization is effectively incorporating youth voice is through the Youth Adult Equity Ladder Assessment. This tool, piloted last year and re-released in an improved format this winter – measures how well organizations are interacting with and empowering young people.

“It's an opportunity to use data as a flashlight to highlight successes and areas of improvement,” explained Kristin Kappelman, Milwaukee Succeeds’ director of research.

The updated version not only awards a score based on where you land on the Youth Adult Equity Ladder, but it also provides concrete suggestions based on your particular industry to help your organization improve.

“I think it was very insightful for us to do it,” explained Nate Deans, director of the MPS Department of Black and Latino Male Achievement (BLMA). The results and lessons learned from the process led BLMA to incorporate more student leaders, putting them in positions to lead sessions and conduct projects such as voter registration drives.

For SKY Schools, who completed the new and improved version, the recommendations helped them develop action steps, including more paid internship positions for students, that will allow youth to take an active part in decision-making.

The assessment will continue to grow and evolve as more organizations like SKY Schools and BLMA complete it. The aim is to incorporate local examples of organizations who are demonstrating what successful youth adult equity looks like in practice. 

“I know this assessment is focused on youth,” added Maria Hamidu, Milwaukee Succeeds’ high school success project manager, “but if you work with families and parents in the community, you can also use this assessment to gauge how you work in partnership with the community members that you serve.”