What is Ready by 21 Quality Counts?

In 2007, Oasis Center was selected as one of twelve sites around the country to take part in a national initiative through the Forum for Youth Investment called “Quality Counts”.

The Ready by 21 Quality Counts initiative is focused on improving the quality and reach of youth programs and strengthening local and state policies that guide resource allocation, accountability and workforce development. The Ready by 21 Quality Counts initiative provides community, agency and elected leaders from select cities and states across the country with a bold challenge, an infusion of national and local momentum and an accompanying suite of policy-building strategies and tools. Funding for this two-year initiative was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Atlantic Philanthropies.

In 2007, 13 places – 7 communities and 5 states – made formal commitments to use Ready by 21 tools and technical assistance to improve the quality and reach of community programs for youth. The Quality Counts sites took on this challenge with the understanding that long-term success would require not only work with programs directors, but with policy makers and the public.

The Forum for Youth Investment is leading the initiative and, using its Ready by 21 framework, helping communities engage stakeholders, assess leadership and program capacity, identify policy priorities and build momentum for quality improvement. The High/Scope Educational Research Foundation’s research-based quality improvement methodology is at the heart of the initiative, and participating sites also have access to the expertise of the AED National Training Institute for Community Youth Work in the areas of youth worker professional development and intermediary capacity building. These supports are designed to help improve the quality and reach of community programs and strengthen and align policies that guide resource allocation, accountability and workforce development.

The Ready by 21 Quality Counts sites are: Austin, TX, Columbus, IN; Georgetown Divide, CA; Grand Rapids, MI; Indianapolis, IN: Nashville, TN; St, Louis, MO and the states of Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma, New York, Rhode Island and Washington.