A City in which every child is cherished.

No matter whether you are a parent or not, all citizens in this city have a responsibility to create conditions in which our children can thrive. That is the Call to Action and commitment the Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board (YCB) made on the cusp of our 25^th anniversary.

It’s a re-commitment, really.  In 1985, in a move that was seen as a national model for cooperative action to support children and youth development, the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, the Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board, the Minneapolis Public library, and the Minneapolis Public Schools pooled their resources and wisdom to create the YCB. This umbrella organization would “promote the health, safety, education, and development” of Minneapolis children and youth. Then and now we do this through improved coordination, stronger cooperation, and collective efforts to “identify and remedy conditions which hinder or prevent the community’s youth from becoming healthy, productive members of society.”

In our 25^th year, we turn to 21^st century tools to further strengthen coordination and cooperation between the agencies that make up the YCB and our other public, private , and non-profit partners.  We welcome this new website as a coordination and communications hub, for children, youth and their families, citizens at large, youth workers, policymakers, and youth serving organizations.

The YCB website is really three websites in one. There is the general YCB site with information about our operations, partnerships, and policy development. There is a Parents and Caregivers site, with access to helpful information, resources, and thought-provoking content that explores recent innovations and trends in children and youth development. And last but not least, the Youth site, in which much of the content is generated by members of our Minneapolis Youth Congress on behalf of their fellow youth across the city.

Above all, we want the new YCB website to be responsive to your needs and ideas. Please send us your feedback and suggestions via the survey and suggestion boxes scattered throughout the site.

Or just email me directly at ann.degroot@ci.minneapolis.mn.us. As we all know, websites are only as fresh and helpful as the content they hold. Let us know what is helpful to you and what is not.

The website can be one powerful way to harness our commitment to working together with you to create a city in which every child is cherished.