National Human Services Assembly

National Collaboration for Youth

Helping Youth Reach Their Full Potential

Building A Brighter Future

Our mission is to provide a united voice as advocates for youth to improve the conditions of young people in America, ultimately helping young people reach their full potential.

National Collaboration for Youth

The National Collaboration for Youth (NCY) is a coalition of the National Human Services Assembly member and partner organizations that have a significant interest in place-based youth development. Its mission is to provide a united voice as advocates for youth to improve the conditions of young people in America by supporting organizations in the areas of policy, practice, research and convening.

Our mission is to provide a united voice as advocates for youth to improve the conditions of young people in America, ultimately helping young people reach their full potential.

Why It Exists

NCY was formed by a handful of national executives who believed that their organizations could accomplish more collectively than individually to advance a positive developmental approach to child and youth development; prevent youth from having negative experiences by offering well-founded positive experiences; and ensure justice and fair treatment for youth involved in the justice and child welfare systems. NCY still exists substantially for these purposes today.

What It Does

NCY functions in the areas of Policy, Practice, and Research, all in the realm of positive youth development, an approach to policy and programs that is at this point very well researched by some of the most respected academics and scientists and very well accepted among many policymakers and even more widely among service providers. Youth are defined by their assets and potential not by their challenges.

Policy

The NCY Washington Group, public policy leaders of member organizations, coordinates policy development and action to advance positive youth development.

Practice

The NCY Program Group, top youth development professionals at member organizations, develops and pursues initiatives that advance the practice of positive youth development.

Research

The Research Group fuels the field with evidence-based approaches.

 

For questions about this site or more information on the National Collaboration for Youth contact the Membership Team.

  • Serve more than 40 million young people annually
  • Employ over 100,000 staff
  • Utilize more than 6 million volunteers
  • Have a physical presence in virtually every community in America

NCY Initiatives & Programs

The National Collaboration for Youth has a variety of programs and initiatives that it supports.

Learn More
Identifying Gaps in Youth Employment Programs

National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC) released its report “Identifying Gaps in Youth Employment Programs’ Capacity to Address Youth Mental Health Needs.” NYEC, in partnership with its member agencies, youth providers, academic institutions, and other partners, deployed a national survey in March 2022 to understand the readiness of youth programs across the US to respond to the […]

Black Youth Excel with Research-Informed Policies and Practices

Racial disparities in many indicators of child well-being illustrate the need to improve Black children’s and adolescents’ experiences and outcomes across multiple domains, including education, health, child welfare, and criminal justice. To promote a deeper and more varied understanding of youth, Child Trends recently published the report “Black Children and Adolescents Can Achieve Greater Heights […]

Advancing Equity in Juvenile Justice

New Data on Youth Incarceration The Sentencing Project released a new report, “Black Disparities in Youth Incarceration,” showing the racial inequities that still exist in our juvenile justice system. Despite long-term declines in youth incarceration, the disparity at which black and white youth are held in juvenile facilities has grown. Black youth are more than […]

Beyond Bars: Keeping Young People Safe At Home and Out of Youth Prisons

The National Assembly is proud to re-release its 2017 report advocating for a shift in the nation’s approach to supporting young people in conflict with the law by growing community capacity and resources. “Beyond Bars: Keeping Young People Safe at Home and Out of Youth Prisons,” is a publication of the National Collaboration for Youth, […]

Education and Achieving Children’s Well-Being

On Tuesday, the Aspen Institute National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development released its final report, “From a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope.” The release spotlights the voices of educators, students, community leaders, and scholars who are part of the growing effort to reshape learning and change lives across America. After […]

New Releases of Love Notes and Relationship Smarts PLUS Resources for Teens

For the past five years, programs across the U.S. have been teaching healthy relationship skills to thousands of young people through Relationship Smarts PLUS 3.0 and Love Notes 2.1. The Dibble Institute recently announced that both of these evidence-based programs have been updated with brand new information crucial to supporting teens and young adults in today’s […]

Interested in Advocacy?

Are you a public policy professional in or around the DC area? Learn more about the National Assembly's public policy efforts, the Washington Policy Council, and getting involved in advocacy for the human service sector.

Focused on Equity

Learn more about the National Assembly's commitment to meaningful equity and inclusion work in the human service sector.