Youth in Governance

Impact in Wisconsin

Community Improvement: As youth become stakeholders and change agents in communities and organizations, they bring perspectives, knowledge and relationships that lead to better decisions and more productive action.

Bayfield County

• Teen Court members educated County Board members from the Northern District and followed up with a demonstration advocating for program expansion in Ashland County. Their testimony influenced Ashland County’s decision to increase 4-H funding to provide for a Teen Court program.

Calumet County

• Four youth who attended Winter Leadership Camp transformed the county's 30+ years old 4-H Dance. Adults refused to move to a location without alcohol, afraid that they would lose money at their silent auction held during the dance. The youth found a location where the bar is separate from the dance floor. The result was a safe, fun event, free from alcohol and smoke. The Leaders Council made nearly $400 more from their silent auction than in the previous year. The Calumet County 4-H Leaders Council has passed a motion to have the youth leaders continue to be in charge of the 4-H Dance.
• Youth Center Without Walls program has provided four activities for 7-8 grade youth so far this year. Four high School youth plan, implement, and evaluate the program under the guidance of an adult college intern.

Clark County

• 26 community members from 4-H, FFA, FBLA, the National Farm Medicine Center and public schools planned and implemented a Youth Tent at Farm Technology Days that involved over 300 youth and adult volunteers and received 5,000 visitors.

Columbia County

• Teen Court established and trained by Extension to begin hearing cases in 2005.

Dunn County

• Creating a youth council with the Dunn County Partnership for Youth.

Eau Claire County

• By going through the Public Adventures process, the 4th and 5th grade students identified a community project which they felt met a local need, developed, and with adult help, carried out a plan which resulted in a public bench and area which memorialize a resident who had been a friend, mentor and advocate for the youth of the community.

Florence County

• Eleven students trained in facilitating a community forum process through the Engaging Youth, Serving Communities project of the U.S. Department of Agriculture brought nearly 50 youth and adults together for a dialogue on youth engagement. Actions resulting from that process include:

1. 15 students in the Building Construction Class built a deck and handicap ramp for a community member that had requested it
2. Youth planned and publicized the creation of a community mural which involved over 100 community members and 259 elementary students.

Fond du Lac County

• Fair Board requested additional youth voice and held a discussion in which youth decided to take leadership for an event and attend meetings to give youth input and learn about the whole operation.

Iowa County

Two youth served on the Mineral Point Ag Chamber Committee from its inception. These youth were instrumental in developing a new partnership with the Mineral Point FFA to increase the sale of local products as fundraisers. The Ag Chamber committee received the 2007 Rural Development Initiative Award for this effort. Another Mineral Point committee recently included a youth representative showing that other groups have begun to recognize the importance of youth involvement.

Jackson County

• Together for Jackson County Kids, a community coalition, newly involves youth as voting members after an Extension-led youth-adult partnership training and  ongoing team-building activities.
• Conducted study circles on youth issues co-facilitated by youth and adults

Kenosha County

• The Youth as Resources Board, which is comprised of 9 youth members and 7 adult members, granted over $5000 to 13 local youth groups to complete service projects.

Lac du Flambeau

• Fifth graders and elders worked together to address illegal dumping of solid waste and other environmental issues. Students participated in an event where elders told cultural stories related to environmental issues, jointly held a channel clean-up and then proposed ideas for community development. With fifty projects created, the process has been adopted by the team and school to involve youth in these community issues.

LaCrosse County

• The Youth Commission is a network of youth involving four youth from each of the nine schools within the county that addresses youth issues. In 2007, they Youth Commissioners produced and aired public service announcements about alcohol and drug abuse on two television stations. They also helped to facilitate a county-wide survey of issues and needs and participated in a forum discussion about the results. Past activities include: the sponsorship, planning and carrying out of the 5th annual Martin Luther King Day "Teach-in" for over 500 eighth graders from 8 schools in the county and upgrading, staffing, and providing input into policies for a facility in La Crosse for a teen "drop-in" center. This group has also passed a uniform curfew ordinance for the county, helped build a skate park, conducted neighborhood surveys and written “Good Neighbor” articles.

Lincoln County

• As a result of the equal number of youth and adults involved on the Jr. Dairy Committee, the number of "issues and controversies" with the Jr. Dairy show and program have been greatly reduced and seems to be returning to a positive youth development experience. After the 2003 Lincoln County 4-H Fair, the Fair Board was considering eliminating this area altogether due to the number of controversies that were occurring year after year.
• 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.
• The Lincoln County Teen Court Steering Committee has met monthly since March, chaired by one adult and two youth. 30 adults and 23 youth have been involved in designing a Teen Court that will begin in March, 2005.

Marathon County

• Junior Fair Board consists of 1/2 youth and 1/2 adult members. Youth are the officers and lead the discussion for policy changes and rule changes. In February a public forum to address ethics protocol and procedures was held, with youth officers leading the forum in the UW-Marathon Campus Auditorium.

Marinette County

• Teens in the Healthy Youth Coalition outnumber the adults about two to one with nearly 40 teens serving as co-officers, on committees, doing a multiple number of community services and the Drama Troupe. Teens are the driving force and the adults the advisors.

Oneida County

• Five Rhinelander High School students each conducted a nominal group process on health issues for about 12-15 middle school students representing Rhinelander and Three Lakes School District students. Healthier school lunches and more after school activities for area youth were the identified priorities. The school board has adopted the initial plan.
• Extension led a teacher and 3rd-5th grade students through a planning process for an environmental education facility, for which the youth have demonstrated ownership by committing to work days.

Pierce County

• Three 4-H Community Clubs wrote and received grants to work on tobacco sales to minors.  They developed a variety of educational approaches including poster campaigns, postcard reminders of the rules for sales of tobacco to minors, and “Thank you for doing the right thing” artwork which reached retailers in three different cities or villages across Pierce County.

Polk County

• The Polk County Tobacco Coalition has been an active group of adult and youth partners since 1995. Youth write grants, provide peer education, present at workshops, and conduct tobacco compliance checks. Youth have established active teen peer tobacoo education groups in six school districts, have helped to raise the number of businesses checked for compliance from 50 in 1999 to 207 businesses holding tobacco licenses in 2007. Youth have been a major partner in helping to reduce Polk Counties youth tobacco use from 33% in 2002 to 21% in 2006.

Portage County

• Youth Action Committee sponsored activities that led to 600 hours of service recorded. To help strengthen the partnership between adults and youth we offered a youth-adult partner training to organizations that provide opportunities for youth to volunteer and YAC members. The adult/youth training was held May 2005. Thirty-seven youth and adults attended this training. Some of the youth participants said that they had never had an opportunity to share their views with adults before.

Rock County

• Junior Council members expanded their partnership with a community effort to donate toys for holiday gifts that allowed the group to serve 140 more families in 2007 than in 2006.

Shawano County

• Shawano County 4-H Skate Team members continued fund-raising activities under adult volunteer leadership throughout 2005. Since 2003, a total of $25,000 has been raised by this club for eventual construction of a permanent skateboard park for youth.

Sheboygan County

• Youth worked with 4-H and legislative groups to interview and offer guidance on the selection of the 4-H program coordinator.

Taylor County

• 8 youth and one adult director formed Taylor Co Youth Board for Big Brothers/Sisters. 
• 6 Youth formed a committee of the Chamber of Commerce to do a Dance Contest fund raiser on 4th of July.  4 youth and one adult work with the Chamber.
• Three teens, two females and one male became full voting members on the Taylor County Fair Board. They brought NASCAR members and their race cars to the fair for demonstration.

Vernon County

• Youth ambassadors initiated and organized a Super Saturday event to promote outdoor education in partnership with the DNR. 125 youth and 80 adults attended this youth-led event, up from 18 at the previous event.

Waukesha County

4-H youth serve as Summer & Winter Camp Program Staff in Waukesha County and are entirely responsible for the camp programming planning and its implementation at Upham woods. Counselors and Counselors in Training at camp are the first ‘court of appeal’ for campers’ troubles, disputes, and organization.

Waupaca County

• Waupaca Youth on Boards includes participation and contributions to decision in many sectors including executive (city council committees; appointed boards), county cross sectional coalitions (tobacco, nutrition and activity coalition), school improvement work (community service committee), 4-H (leaders board), non-profit (trails, triathalon, park foundation, community foundation).

Winnebago County

• A 4-H Horse and Pony committee of 6 youth and 3 adults met to propose Fair Book changes that would resolve a controversial policy about requirements for participation in the project area. Youth participation contributed to an effective policy and made the process more credible to youth in the Horse and Pony project.

Wisconsin State-wide Activities

• North Central Regional Leader Forum was an example of youth/adult partnership from engaging 17 youth and 79 adult volunteers in planning committees to presenting a larger-than-ever number of sessions led by youth/adult teaching teams.
• Youth as Partners in Civic Leadership organized the three-day YPCL Explosions of Ideas and Actions Conference, which included youth/adult teams from communities from Milwaukee to Florence and Jackson County to Grant County. 28 youth and adults representing 8 organizations played roles in conference planning. Teams attending the conference produced videos and public-service announcements that have been shared publicly and planned community development activities including an intergenerational mural in Florence.