Youth in Governance

Impact in Wisconsin

Youth Voice and Representation: Advising and partnering with government officials and other public decision-makers

Burnett County

• Extension facilitated a county board strategic planning process coordinated with three civics teachers in the schools, surveying 160 youth and ultimately becoming the largest single group to provide feedback to the strategic plan committee.

Columbia County

• Teen Court trainings held in 2005 increased the potential jury pool by an additional 27 teens. At the end of 2005, the Portage Police Department was granted approval to directly refer cases. Eighteen cases were heard during the year.

Door County

• Two youth delegates joined the Door County Legislative Days delegation for the first time in 2007. They teamed with adults to visit legislative and agency staff and raised issues related to education and other Door County needs.

Douglas County

• Beginning in 1998, youth worked with UW-Extension to create a very successful skate park, often used by more than 100 youth per day. From this beginning model of youth-adult partnership, youth serve in many meaningful roles in the county:

1. Youth serve on the Superior City Council, give a report, participate in debate and cast advisory votes
2. Youth serve on the Douglas County Board, give a report at each meeting, receive expense reimbursement, participate in debate and cast advisory votes
3. Youth are involved in key groups, such as United Way of Superior/Douglas County

• Through participation in Superior Days, a grassroots lobbying initiative, 47 high school youth from six counties lobbied with adults to promote issues of Northwestern Wisconsin to state legislators. Youth Delegates helped to identify regional issues and then educated state elected officals about the need for funding of the new academic building at UW-Superior and education issues with the Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin Technical College Board.

Green Lake County

• Markesan students presented to the Mayor, City Council, and the Public Works Committee advocating greater youth voice. The Public Works Committee approved a motion to have a youth voting member on the Markesan Events Committee.

Iowa County

• Four 4-H youth were elected to the governing body of the Iowa County 4-H Leaders Association for a two year term. The Leaders Council voted to increase this from two members to 4 members in an effort to increase youth involvement in decision making and leadership.

Iron County

• As part of the local comprehensive planning process, 40 students took pictures of how they would like their community to look in 20 years and how they would not like it to look, created presentation boards, and presented before 25 adult leaders on their findings.

Jackson County

• Added three youth members to Law Enforcement Committee where they provide input to five county board members. This is a result of the successful inclusion of five youth on the Extension Education Committee.

Kenosha County

• 11 Youth have been seated on six different county board committees for the first time in 2007. Supervisors received training on working with youth. The youth were formally inducted and play an advisory role in discussions.

Lincoln County

• As a result of the involvement of 17 adults and nine youth and adults on the "After the Bell" Steering Committee, a strong after school program for middle school youth was implemented. Lincoln County 4-H Ambassadors worked with youth in afterschool program to plan program improvements and learn citizenship skills.
• Youth led a youth-adult forum to frame the county 4-H Expansion and Review process. 4-H Ambassadors have been active in implementing the outreach plan to broaden the diversity of 4-H membership.
• A youth-adult partnership has existed on the Lincoln County 4-H Board of Directors since the 1991-92 4-H year. At the November 2005 Annual meeting, six youth were elected to the board, moving closer to having an equal number of youth and adults. In 2007, a youth was elected to an officer position for the first time.
• The Lincoln County Teen Court Steering Committee has met monthly since 2005, chaired by one adult and two youth. 3 youth have served as co-chair and all youth members make key decisions in the direction of the Teen Court program. Teen Court has been actively hearing cases since 2006.

Marinette County

• The Teen Court has completed four years and has now had l14 cases. 26 teens serve as panelists (judge and jury), spokesperson, advocate and scribe(recorder) with Hitt and two volunteers as advisors. Because being a panelist has been such a positive experience, this year we started having some offenders do part of their community service sanction as a panelist.

Milwaukee County

• Youth commissioners were sworn in to the County Board for the first time in 2004.

Oconto County

• Teen Court members became concerned over high school expulsion policies and several joined a task force that presented recommendations to the school board and, having garnered board support, will form a student-adult group to implement the ideas.

Oneida County

• Representatives and alternates from three school districts began serving as representatives to the Oneida County Board of Supervisors in October 2006. They are appointed to committees including tourism, land conservation, forestry, and solid waste. Adult board members seek youth input on a range of issues such as the needs of tourists.

Ozaukee County

• Port Washington Saukville United for Youth is a youth-adult group working on improving relationships with local law enforcement, providing input to youth member of park and rec board, business improvement district and chamber of commerce.

Pepin County

• In January 2005, the Pepin County Board added youth positions to a board committee: the AEESWEDC.

Pierce County

• Pierce County Extension Community Partner Advisory Group includes two youth among its 20 citizen members. All have heard updates on Extension programming and offered input into issues Extension may address in the future.

Polk County

• Extension-trained youth made a presentation to the Unity school board, gained approval, and began hearing Teen Court sessions on truancy issues beginning in the fall of 2004.

Portage County

• Five youth and twenty-four adults are members of our county's Fair Exhibit Committee. At the fairs when a decision needs to be made a minimum of three people from the committee can be called together to resolve conflict that requires immediate attention. A youth has been part of the majority of on-site decisions.
• The Portage County 4-H program engages youth in leadership and shared governance roles through the Animal Committee, Fair Exhibit Committee and Foodstand Committee.

Rusk County

• The Rusk County 4-H Small Animal Committee invited youth to the table for input on the small animal program and at the end of the year voted to have youth as voting members with a voice.

Sheboygan County

• The 4-H Youth Association presented a proposal to have voting youth representatives on the Executive Board. The board changed its bylaws to incorporate two youth representatives, who served successfully last year.

Taylor County

• Three youth were recruited as full voting members on the Taylor County Fair Board. Those three youth also took their place at the fair to help with many of the fair board jobs and responsibilities.
• Four youth took their place as voting members on the Taylor County Federation of 4-H Executive Board of Directors.

Vernon County

• 4-H Leader Parent Federation has 10 youth representative positions, with full voting privileges on the board.
• Extension trains youth volunteers for the Teen Court program.

Vilas County

• Teen Court in Vilas County held 33 sessions in 2007. Four trained High School youth serve on the panel each month and create sanctions to hold their peers accountable. 17 offendors successfully completed their sanctions, including 141 hourse of community service, and none re-offended.

Washburn County

• Three youth representatives are selected annually to attend monthly county board meetings, participate in discussions with the adult supervisors, and cast an advisory vote.

Waupaca County

• Youth on Boards includes contributions to decisions in many sectors: executive (youth appointed to 7 city council committees), county cross sectional coalitions (tobacco, nutrition and activity coalition), school (community service committee), 4-H (leaders board), non-profit (trails, triathlon, park foundation, community foundation). City council committees have a spot on their agenda for youth. Expanded space and equipment in library worth $25,000 and youth-initiated programs like a new jail library. Expanded space, equipment and programs at the recreation center for youth (a 3.5 million project).

• Waupaca County 4-H Leaders' Board currently includes two youth representatives. A bylaw change was approved in January to include all youth in grades 7 and above as voting members of the larger Leaders' Association, which could be about 150 members. The Expansion and Review sub-committee included three adults and two youth working in partnership. Youth also play active decision-making roles in camp and project committees.

• After 4-H and CNRED training in land-use planning at Waupaca High School, three young people are participating actively in each of  2 different township board committees and the county executive committee for the Comprehensive Planning Process. One young person is on a committee drafting a public survey and has worked to ensure that youth perspectives will be gathered.

• Teen Court was reestablished after a 2 year hiatus. The police liaison officer and Abert conducted training of 25 youth panel members. This officer has now held court sessions for three months.

Superior Days

• In 2005, forty-three youth delegation members participated in issue identification, lobbied alongside adults and were the chief lobbyists for two of the legislative issues.