Explanation
This resolution declares the City of Columbus’ support for the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Task Force’s Youth Perspective Report & Next Step Recommendations.
On February 27, 2014, President Barack Obama launched My Brother’s Keeper to expand opportunities for boys and men of color. In September 2014, President Obama issued a national challenge to cities, townships, tribes and counties to create and implement “cradle-to-college-and career strategies” to address two of the six following challenges:
· Ensure that children enter school cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally ready;
· Ensure children read at grade level by the third grade;
· Ensure youth graduate from high school;
· Ensure youth complete post-secondary education or training;
· Ensure youth out of school are employed; and/or
· Ensure youth remain safe from violent crime.
On December 1, 2014, the Mayor hosted its first MBK Community Forum, attending by nearly 400 community stakeholders. In May 2015, the Mayor and City Council formed the MBK Task Force to focus on workforce development, and community violence and safety. Four youth summits were hosted at Linden-McKinley STEM 7-12 High School, West High School, South High School, and Walnut Ridge High School to gather information on the needs of the City’s boys and young men of color.
The resulting recommendations are:
· The City should appoint a key person in the Mayor’s Office to lead and oversee the City’s My Brother’s Keeper efforts;
· The City should promote the need to enhance the capacity of HandsOn Central Ohio, Columbus’ 2-1-1 centralized information and referral system, so that it can serve as the city’s one-stop shop that connects residents with the existing programs and service they need, when they need them;
· The City should convene service providers working in the following spaces to identify and implement ways they can better work together to support the success of African American male youth and other: (a) educatio...
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