Overview

Overview
The Iowa Collaboration for Youth Development (ICYD) Council is an interagency effort involving multiple state-level departments. Since 1999 the council has worked to coordinate its efforts and support positive youth development throughout Iowa.
ICYD’s structure includes
- a formalized council membership designated by legislation;
- a two-tier structure that includes a leadership council and a results team;
- a strategic plan outlining goals and annual reports providing status updates;
- youth involvement;
- regular meetings; and
- partnerships with national organizations, local communities, and programs.
ICYD’s best practices include the following:
- Provide consistent representation for national opportunities and look for support from a variety of sources.
- Develop a uniting goal to bring together the support of various agencies.
- Generate awareness and focus on positive youth development within the state.
- Connect state agencies to support overlapping initiatives.
Throughout its tenure, ICYD has learned the following lessons:
- Ongoing education is essential due to turnover on council.
- Strategic plans with lofty goals may not provide enough direction.
- Over time the structure of the collaboration may need to be adapted.
- We don’t have to do it all right away.
Additional key resources and information about the collaboration: ICYD Resources