Creating a Youth Commission

Best Practices on How to Best Create a Youth Commission

Creating or starting a youth commission can be a rewarding endeavor that empowers young people to have a voice in their community. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you get started. Contact rdalal@californiayouthcommissions.org any time for help or advice.

  1. Research and Learn:

    1. Conduct research on existing youth commissions, especially the youth commissions in your area, to understand their structures, functions, and successes. Identify what has worked well in other communities and consider adapting those practices to suit your local context.

    2. You can also reference the CAYC website’s blog to find other youth commissions’ shared best practices: https://www.californiayouthcommissions.org/blog

  2. Define the Purpose and Goals:

    1. Identify the issues or areas of focus that the commission will address, such as education, community development, youth engagement, community service, civics, etc. It’s great to be expansive, but we recommend going through the exercise of prioritizing the list to a list of three. The reason is that you will need to efficiently communicate the “why” for your proposed youth commission to multiple audiences. Having a compact narrative is essential for these conversations. Once you have your youth commission up and running, you will have endless opportunities to expand your agenda.

  3. Engage Stakeholders:

    1. We suggest reaching out to and introducing your idea of creating a youth commission to one or two council members and working closely with them to propose a youth commission to the City Council for approval.

    2. Connect with community leaders, educators, parents, and local organizations to garner support for the youth commission. Explain the benefits of having a platform for youth involvement and address any concerns.

    3. Find an advisor from your City Council’s government that will act as a liaison to the City Council once the youth commission is up and running, e.g. your City Manager or another member of your City Manager’s office.

    4. Create a Steering Committee with 1-2 other motivated teens who also want to serve on your youth commission. Your Steering Committee will serve many important roles, including:

      1. Further outlining the goals of the youth commission

      2. Conducting interviews

      3. Selecting members for the Youth Commission

      4. Leading the youth commission during the year

  4. Identify Candidate Outreach Strategy:

    1. Develop a transparent and inclusive process for recruiting youth members

    2. Consider holding open applications, interviews, or elections, depending on the structure outlined in your proposal. 

    3. Ensure diversity and representation from different student backgrounds and communities.

  5. Seek Local Government Approval:

    1. At a City Council meeting, you can officially present your proposal to local government officials, such as City Council members or school board representatives. 

    2. Highlight the potential benefits of a youth commission for the community and address any questions or concerns they may have.

    3. Here is a presentation template that you can use, where you can customize the template by editing the bracketed sections: CAYC YC Presentation Proposal Template.pptx 

    4. Here is an accompanying script, where you cancustomize the template by editing the bracketed sections: CAYC YC Presentation Proposal Script Template

  6. Create an Application Process:

    1. We recommend a hybrid process of creating an online application using Google Forms but also have paper forms available in the local town hall. 

    2. We also recommend that the applications include demographics, which will aid in ensuring diversity.

    3. Here is an example of some questions that you could use for your first-round of applications: CAYC Youth Commission Application Template 

    4. After narrowing down your list of candidates to 15-20 students, begin the interview round of the application process to see how your candidates interact with others and then finalize the list.

  7. Selecting Members:

    1. Make sure that you are considering many factors when selecting your members, whether it be for the interview round or for the final YC. Keep in mind each applicant’s:

      1. Answers during the written application

      2. Answers during the interview

      3. Their personality and behavior as observed during the interview

      4. Activities & Extracurriculars (as described)

        1. Make sure they will be able to be fully committed to the YC.

      5. Demographics (how will they contribute to the diversity of the current YC?)

        1. Gender, ethnicity, grade, religion, disability, public/private school

  8. Define Roles and Responsibilities:

    1. Create a charter. 

  1. Here is an example: Hillsborough Youth Commission Charter 

  2. Include information on how it will operate, the selection process for youth members, and potential sources of funding.

  1. Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of youth commission members, including leadership positions.

    1. See Article V (page 5) of the Charter for more in-depth explanations of leadership positions  

  2. Establish expectations for attendance, participation, and communication.