Youth Voices in Policy (Youth VIP)

(03/01/2001 – 12/31/2002)

Funded by Pew Charitable Trusts, Youth VIP engaged young people in public policy research in Chicago and Philadelphia. In turn, these efforts connected to larger national policy issues. The goal of the project was to develop a model of youth engagement to increase the effectiveness of young adults' participation in community problem solving and integrate these local efforts into a national policy discussion.

Among its products was the development of "Girl Driven Research Project", a manual on Youth-driven research which grew from a research collaboration between Girl World, a project of Alternatives, Inc. and CURL. A model of youth engagement was developed that aimed to increase the effectiveness of young adults' participation in community programs solving and integrate these local efforts in a national policy discussion.

Research Team:

• C. George, CURL

• J. Hoereth, CURL

• M. Troche-Rodriguez, Graduate Fellow, Sociology

• B. Ferman, Temple University

Community Partners:

• Temple University

• Cristo Rey Jesuit High School

• Latinos United

• Alternatives Inc. Girl World

• Chicago Alliance for Neighborhood Safety