Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan are aiming to make Minnesota the best state in the country for kids to grow up in. They released their budget proposal and a fact sheet that summarizes all the potential benefits for youth and families. There is still a lot to be done and things could change, but you can access the fact sheet.

M3 Huddle

The M3 Huddle is a facilitated workshop bringing program teams together to intentionally make meaning of program data and plan action steps for improvements. For those who haven’t been involved in a huddle before HERE is an overview of what it is all about.  

Date + Time: Friday, February 3, 2023 from 9:30am-3:00pm
Location: North Commons Recreation Center
Register your Team HERE - only one form per team. 
*Lunch will be served

If you have questions about whether your team is ready to participate in an M3 Huddle, contact Rachel.Oberg-Hauser@minneapolismn.gov to consult.

For years we've wanted to create an online space for early childhood tips. We now have that space with our Early Childhood Blog. Our Early Childhood Director - Deby Ziesmer - shares tips, resources, and her feelings on this page. We hope to update it frequently, so please visit often. Find our Early Childhood Blog HERE. 

The YCB and members of the Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) team spoke in front of the Health & Safety Committee on November 9, 2022. We provided an update on our CFCI work and the Local Action Plan. We also asked the committee to vote to send our World Children's Day resolution to the full City Council. A video of our presentation is available (our portion begins at 28:02). 

We want to thank Voyage Minnesota for sharing a story on Ibrahim Oduniyi of our Outreach Team. They caught up with Ibrahim to ask him about his Hard In The Paint Hoops initiative. We're proud of the impact Ibrahim has made on our city. Please say hi to our Outreach Team if you ever see them in their yellow "Youth Are Here" shirts! Read the full interview HERE. 

All youth-serving professionals and volunteers are invited to complete the Power Of Us survey! This is a first of its kind national research project that hopes to deeply understand the youth fields workforce. The data from this project will help us understand the field's needs, inform policy makers, and pave the future of the youth field. If Minneapolis submits enough data, the researchers will also return the data to us so that we can use it. Currently, 40% of all submissions in Minnesota are from St. Paul, so Minneapolis is not being properly represented. Let's step it up, Minneapolis! If you complete the survey, you also have a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card (10 winners picked each month). CLICK HERE to start your survey. 

The YCB and other youth serving partners worked with the City of Minneapolis to recognize November 20, 2022 as World Children's Day in Minneapolis. Our city continues to work to become one of the first cities in the country to earn UNICEF's Child Friendly Cities Initiative designation. We'll have some major updates on that initiative in 2023. For now, you can access a PDF of the City of Minneapolis' resolution below.