Young people who have lived experience navigating youth-serving systems (e.g., foster care) are increasingly recognized as essential contributors to shaping policies that impact their lives. The Authentic Youth Engagement in Policy Project is conducted by Child Trends in partnership with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Foster Youth and Opportunity Youth Initiatives and with consultation from Education Northwest. The project examines how youth are meaningfully engaged in policy processes and how that engagement influences policy outcomes, organizational change, youth development, and community outcomes.
This one-year, community-engaged research project is co-designed and co-led with representatives of five grantee organizations—one young person and one adult from each organization—and funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Together, the research partners refined a framework for authentic youth engagement in policy, conducted qualitative research to document promising practices and barriers, and identified actionable insights to strengthen youth policy engagement efforts locally and nationwide.
Project goals include the following:
- Describe how grantee organizations engage young people in policy advocacy.
- Identify outcomes, challenges, and facilitators associated with authentic youth engagement.
- Refine a research-based framework to guide youth engagement in the policy process.
- Generate findings and recommendations to strengthen policy engagement efforts with young people locally and nationwide.
Context
Research consistently demonstrates that engaging young people in public decision making leads to more responsive and effective policy outcomes. When youth are supported as co-creators and decision makers, their lived experience strengthens the relevance and impact of policy solutions. Successful youth engagement efforts are typically characterized by organizational structures that provide clear roles, consistent support, and opportunities for leadership.
In addition, meaningful engagement requires adult partners who are prepared to share decision-making power, foster trust, and create conditions where youth feel valued and heard. Without these elements, youth involvement risks becoming superficial or symbolic.
This context shaped the project’s emphasis on examining young people’s specific roles, the organizational practices that enabled their contributions, and the broader environmental factors that influenced the success of youth engagement in policy.
Approach
This project is grounded in a community-engaged research (CEnR) methodology, which positions youth and adult partners as co-leaders in every phase of the research process. The CEnR approach emphasizes shared power, co-creation, and equity in knowledge generation. The Youth Engagement in Policy Research Group, comprised of one young person and one adult representative from each of five grantee organizations, was responsible for guiding the project’s design, data collection, analysis, and dissemination. Child Trends served as a research and technical assistance partner, facilitating the group’s work while ensuring the rigor and integrity of the project.
The team collaboratively refined and applied a framework for authentic youth engagement in policy, which includes five core components:
- Youth’s roles in the policy process
- Stages of engagement, including identification, formulation, advocacy, and implementation
- Organizational supports and practices that facilitate youth engagement
- Contextual factors that shape engagement opportunities and barriers
- Outcomes of youth policy engagement at multiple levels
Resources
At the conclusion of the project, the following resources will be developed to help grantees, funders, and practitioners strengthen youth engagement in policy efforts:
- A Comprehensive Library of Community-Engaged Research Resources
- Summary report synthesizing key findings, cross-site themes, and actionable recommendations
- Authentic Youth Engagement in Policy Framework offering practical guidance for implementing meaningful youth involvement in policy processes
- Practice profiles showcasing each grantee’s unique strategies and lessons learned in engaging youth
- Public webinar to share insights and implications with the broader field and support continued learning and application
Timeline
December 2023 to June 2025
Funder
This study is supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation through its Foster Youth and Opportunity Youth Initiatives.
Local Research Partners
Five grantees are profiled in the study:
- Center for Fair Futures (New York, NY)
Secured $30.7 million in annual public funding for youth coaching and tutoring through youth-led advocacy. - Georgia EmpowerMEnt (Atlanta, GA)
Led advocacy for state legislation providing postsecondary tuition waivers for young people in foster care attending vocational colleges. - Los Angeles Opportunity Youth Collaborative (Los Angeles, CA)
Proposed—and currently engaged in—a partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services to create a new Youth Engagement Section that will provide youth-centered case management. - Los Angeles City Youth Development Department & Para Los Niños (Los Angeles, CA)
Launched Youth Advisory Councils at the city’s YouthSource Centers to elevate youth voices in local decision-making processes. - New Orleans Youth Alliance (New Orleans, LA)
Builds young people’s capacity to participate in community leadership roles through the annual cohort-based Youth Leadership Fellowship.
Youth Engagement in Policy Research Group
- Jamya Clark, New Orleans Youth Alliance
- Teddy DeLeon-Alvarado, Para Los Niños
- Blandina Flores, Para Los Niños
- Brisia Gutierrez, Los Angeles Opportunity Youth Collaborative
- Iziko Calderon, Los Angeles Opportunity Youth Collaborative
- Sam Joo, Para Los Niños
- Nadirra Monrose, Center for Fair Futures
- Faith Robinson, New Orleans Youth Alliance
- Deven Rudy-Johnson, MSW, Georgia EmpowerMEnt
- Kyra Stoute, Georgia EmpowerMEnt
- Tony Turner, Center for Fair Futures
Child Trends Staff
- Principal investigators: Amy McKlindon, Samantha Holquist
- Staff: Alyssa Scott, Ja’Chelle Ball, Jessica Conway, and Sage Caballero
- Senior advisors: Karin Malm (Child Trends), Elizabeth Jordan (Child Trends), and Julie Petrokubi (Education Northwest)