At a glance
Youth Advisory Councils (YACs) or boards are a common youth engagement strategy that has local impact.
UChoose Youth Advisory Council
The UChoose Youth Advisory Council (YAC) helps improve Baltimore City Health Department programs.
It includes young people between 14 and 20 years of age. Council members live in Baltimore, Maryland. They meet every other week, learn about health topics that affect teens, and provide feedback on health campaign messages.
They also plan and develop activities for youth in Baltimore. Members receive training to develop their leadership skills. YAC members receive a stipend, or payment, for participation.
Office of Children and Family Services Youth Advisory Board
The Office of Children and Family Services Youth Advisory Board in New York has up to 15 young people between 18 and 24 years of age. The members live throughout the state.
Their activities include:
- Attending meetings every 3 months.
- Completing monthly assignments about ways to help foster youth become successful adults.
- Representing the voices of these young people in their state.
- Giving feedback on issues like: licensing of foster homes, creating guides for people working with foster youth, and helping decide what to consider when matching foster children with foster parents.
Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health’s (MOASH’s) Youth Advisory Council Collective
The Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health's (MOASH's) Youth Advisory Council Collective is a group of four YACs promoting adolescent sexual health in Michigan. Each of the groups makes important decisions for the state. Members must be between 13 and 24 years of age and live in Michigan.
All four YACs focus on youth voice and youth access to sexual health education and services. Two YACs also promote the voices of transgender youth. One YAC is working to help students with disabilities receive access to sexual health education in school.
MOASH members took part in an online meeting about helping youth with disabilities feel included. They developed a Disability in Sex Education toolkit for teachers. They also worked with government leaders to increase access to sexual health education in schools that have individualized education programs. These programs are written plans to meet a student's educational needs.