HCHY List: for those interested in youth mapping projects

[Deborah Fisher]

National League of Cities: Audioconference to Focus on Using GIS  =

Technology to Map Youth Programs

by Katie Meade


A free, upcoming audioconference will highlight city efforts to use  =

geographic information system (GIS) technology and other tools to map  =

available youth programs and resources, and to analyze gaps in city  =

services. Sponsored by NLC=92s Institute for Youth, Education, and  =

Families (YEF Institute), this hour-long call, entitled =93Using GIS  =

and Mapping Tools to Guide Local Action,=94 will take place Thursday,  =

December 18, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Cities such as Boise, Idaho, Denver, Colo., and Florence, S.C., have  =

recently used GIS technology and other tools to assess the  =

accessibility of local youth programs. These tools have also helped  =

municipal officials map key indicators =97 like school attendance,  =

juvenile crime and afterschool program participation =97 and compare  =

that data with the location of a broad range of services for children  =

and youth. The data gathered from these local mapping efforts can be  =

critical to ensuring that young people have access to the programs  =

and services they need most.

Identifying Gaps in Afterschool Programming
Several cities have used community mapping as a tool for creating  =

citywide systems of high-quality afterschool programming. For  =

instance, after learning that some neighborhoods had  =

disproportionately fewer afterschool programs, the City of Florence  =

partnered with the school district, police department, housing  =

authority and community leaders to expand afterschool opportunities  =

for youth in those neighborhoods. In Boise, the city reallocated city  =

funds to create mobile educational vans that bring city afterschool  =

staff and resources to neighborhoods that lack sufficient afterschool  =

programs.

Several cities have also made the findings of their community mapping  =

projects publicly available through searchable websites and  =

databases. Residents in cities like Boise, Denver and Boston can log  =

on to city websites to search for youth programs in their neighborhoods.

In Chicago, Mayor Richard M. Daley recently announced a new After- =

School Chicago website (www.afterschoolchicago.org) to help youth and  =

their families choose from thousands of afterschool programs located  =

throughout the city. Users can input their addresses and search for  =

programs in eight interest areas: academic, career, creative, health,  =

life skills, religious, community and sports. Because the site is  =

powered by Google Maps, search results map program location, dates  =

and times, related fees, age range and Chicago Transit Authority  =

routes. Development of the site was led by the Chicago Department of  =

Children and Youth Services and funded by The Wallace Foundation.

=93The After-School Chicago website will make it easier for families to  =

explore and access quality programs that best suit their child=92s  =

needs and support their healthy development,=94 said Mayor Daley.

Community Youth Mapping
Many cities have worked directly with young people on community  =

mapping projects. The Academy for Educational Development=92s (AED)  =

Center for Youth Development has assisted municipal officials in  =

conducting Community YouthMapping, in which cities organize teams of  =

young people to identify and document programs and services in their  =

neighborhoods, and then work with the youth to analyze the location  =

of those services using GIS.

The City of Grand Rapids, Mich., is currently undergoing a youth  =

mapping project as part of a larger youth master planning process.  =

Members of the Grand Rapids Youth Commission have already received  =

extensive training, and will begin surveying their neighborhoods in  =

the coming months.

The December 18 audioconference will feature speakers who will  =

discuss their cities=92 efforts to use GIS and other mapping tools to  =

guide local action on behalf of children, youth and families.

How to Register
While the call is free, it is available only to a limited number of  =

participants. Advance registration is required by close of business  =

on Tuesday, December 16. A separate registration is needed for each  =

phone line that will be used to listen to the call.

To register, visit www.nlc.org/iyef. No phone registrations can be  =

accepted. One day prior to the event, each registrant will receive an  =

e-mail or fax message providing a toll-free, dial-in number to use in  =

joining the audioconference.

Details: To ask questions about the audioconference, leave a detailed  =

message on the YEF Institute's information line at (202) 626-3014.




National League of Cities

1301 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Suite 550 =B7 Washington, DC 20004
Phone:(202) 626-3000 =B7 Fax:(202) 626-3043
info at nlc.org =B7 www.nlc.org
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