Our Mission

We are dedicated to improving the health, education, and wellbeing of our most vulnerable children and youth through youth leadership development, policy advocacy, education and community action.
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We advocate for policy and systems changes that increase investments in children and youth and that reduce the criminalization of young people. In addition to its own policy work, Youth Forward assists other organizations with strategic support in the areas of youth organizing, policy research, and organizational development.

​Our Values

Youth Forward believes that young people must play a central role in social change efforts.

​When addressing issues that directly affect youth, the voice and perspective of young people are key to developing solutions that work. We value…
​  Youth Voice
  Youth Leadership
  Youth Power
We are committed to supporting youth voice and youth/adult partnerships, so in 2018, we added four young adults to our board of directors. Currently the board includes four adults and six young adults who together have broad and deep experience in organizing, advocacy, and racial justice.