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