Blog

Operation Youth Success (OYS), located in Douglas County, NE has been on its own journey with respect to equity. Specifically, the initiative has evolved its approach to inclusion of the youth it seeks to support – those currently or formerly involved in the juvenile justice system. When FSG began its work with OYS in 2015, there was an urgency to make the collective impact process more inclusive than past reform efforts. Many efforts in the past had been top-down and driven by the “system” rather than taking an inclusive approach to involving families and youth in the change effort. OYS leadership was committed to a different approach to change – but the path forward was not clear.

“Systems change approaches” have become a mantra of the social sector. Communities feel the frustration with being “resource rich and coordination poor.” But what does taking a systems approach look like in action? How can communities move beyond programs to influence attitudes and beliefs, improve coordination, and change policy?