In recent years, public and philanthropic stakeholders have increasingly recognized the value of youth participation in shaping the policies that impact their lives. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Foster Youth and Opportunity Youth Initiatives have supported this movement by funding organizations that prioritize youth engagement in policy processes. A new Child Trends project, in collaboration with youth and adult representatives from five such organizations, offers a robust framework for understanding what authentic youth engagement looks like in practice.
The Authentic Youth Engagement in Policy Framework builds on prior research, including foundational contributions by Samantha Holquist and Julie Petrokubi, and has been refined via the lived experiences of young people and the day-to-day practices of youth-serving organizations. It outlines four interrelated components that are essential to meaningful youth engagement: (1) young people’s roles in the policy process, (2) the stages at which they engage in the policy process, (3) the organizational supports that facilitate their participation, and (4) the local contextual factors that influence engagement. Together, these components shape a fifth, critical element: the multi-level outcomes that result from meaningful engagement.
This blog highlights key insights from the project and provides actionable guidance for organizations seeking to elevate youth voice in policy development and implementation.
Be flexible with youth’s roles in the policy process.
Youth are not monolithic, and their contributions to policy change vary over time and context. The framework identifies three primary roles for youth:
- Speaking: Sharing experiences and ideas with adults who act on them
- Co-designing: Partnering with adults to shape the policy process
- Designing: Leading policy initiatives with adult support
“Because we get really excited and we're young people, so we tend to like, go all over the place, so [staff] are over there just to help us … But for the most part, we are the ones that facilitate the meetings, [we’re] the ones that facilitate, like pretty much everything. Yeah, they are there just to support us in that sense.” - A Youth Advisory Council member at Para Los Niños
All five profiled organizations provided examples of young people playing all three roles, but youth most often took on speaking and co-designing roles. The project highlights a clear opportunity to expand youth leadership by increasing their presence in the design phase of policy initiatives—particularly beyond advocacy into identification, formulation, and implementation stages.
Key insight: Authentic youth engagement is dynamic and fluid. Roles should be youth-defined, flexible, and scaffolded[1] to encourage leadership development over time.
Engage youth at every stage of the policy process.
Too often, young people are brought in during the advocacy stage after policies have already been identified and formulated. Our framework, however, challenges this practice by emphasizing youth engagement across all four stages:
- Identification: Defining the policy problem
- Formulation: Developing potential policy solutions
- Advocacy: Building support for the policy
- Implementation: Enacting and monitoring the policy
While the organizations in our study demonstrated youth engagement across all stages, young people were most frequently involved in advocacy and least involved in implementation. This imbalance represents a missed opportunity. If young people are not engaged in implementation, policies may fall short of addressing their lived realities or be implemented in ways that do not reflect their priorities.
“I helped lead focus groups, helped do research on outcomes and things for former foster care alumni. So basically, what are the rates of youth that want to go to postsecondary education or technical school and what are the rates of those that actually attempt? What are the barriers to entry? […] What are the outcomes in terms of housing, health care, things like that, if they don't achieve some postsecondary education? So I worked within that group, speaking to the Senate, speaking to the legislators.” - A youth advocate with Georgia EmpowerMEnt
Key insight: Organizations should build capacity and partnerships to involve youth not only in elevating issues but in shaping and stewarding the policies that address them.
Create organizational practices that promote youth engagement.
We found organizational practices to be a critical enabler—or, alternately, a barrier—to authentic youth engagement. The framework categorizes supports into two domains:
- Structures: Centering youth in organizational values, offering flexible participation, and providing resources (e.g., compensation, transportation, training)
- Connections: Fostering peer and adult relationships, supporting youth development, and linking policy work to long-term opportunities
Among structural supports, resources and practices were most cited as essential, especially compensation and leadership training for young people. Among connections, adult support, including from staff with lived experience, was vital to youth feeling safe, respected, and empowered. Yet gaps remain: Young people and adults identified the need for stronger adult training, especially to disrupt adultism and prepare staff to serve as facilitators, not directors, of youth engagement.
“[Opportunity Youth Collaborative staff] do provide space for us to, you know, if we reach out, we don’t know what we wanna say, or at the meeting we have questions, they provide that space just so we can brainstorm to be prepared … I do reach out when I need help, and they are more than happy to help me and assist me.” – Young leader in the Los Angeles Opportunity Youth Collaborative
Key insight: Authentic youth engagement requires intentional infrastructure. Organizations must invest in both structural supports and relational connections to create a culture that values youth leadership.
Recognize external influence of local context.
The framework identifies six contextual factors that affect youth engagement:
- Stakeholder and partner engagement
- Political landscape
- History of youth engagement
- Philanthropic and private support
- Historical systemic inequities
- Geography and infrastructure
All five organizations faced both enabling and constraining local contexts. For example, the infrastructure and shared resources in Los Angeles facilitated the creation of new youth advisory councils, while limited youth engagement history in New Orleans inspired a new fellowship. Flexible philanthropic funding was a key enabler across sites, allowing organizations to be responsive to youth needs in ways that public funding often cannot.
“One of the benefits of us being so engaged was we [funders] could be incredibly responsive […] to meet the funding needs. And when we realized that we really needed youth voice and young people leading [… we] were pretty quick to be able to mobilize some funding to support the initial coordinator and then to provide a fund of stipends for […] a broader group of young people to really be able to engage in the Youth Advisory Board as that developed.” - An external partner to Center For Fair Futures
Key insights: Youth engagement efforts must be attuned to their specific context. Effective strategies require not just organizational readiness but also navigation of broader environmental dynamics.
Authentic youth engagement influences systemic and individual outcomes.
When young people are authentically engaged, the benefits are expansive and seen at multiple levels:
- Policy: Coalition-building, increased support from decision makers, and tangible legislative or administrative wins
- Organization: A shift toward youth-centered culture, stronger youth-staff partnerships, and expanded youth leadership roles
- Community: Greater awareness of youth needs and assets, broader support for youth-led efforts, and replication of youth engagement models
- Youth: Increased self-efficacy, leadership and advocacy skills, expanded networks, and new educational or professional opportunities
These outcomes were evident across all five organizations and often reinforced one another. As young people developed leadership skills and built trusted relationships with adults, organizations evolved to more intentionally center youth voice. Such shifts enhanced both internal culture and external impact, creating stronger coalitions and community support. Youth were influencing policy, how organizations operate, and how communities engage with young people.
"A lot of Fellows have been able to take what they learned from the Fellowship and run with it, if not for their own careers, [then] by advocating for policy with City Council or things like the Youth Master Plan …" – Fellow at the New Orleans Youth Alliance
Key insight: Authentic youth engagement is not a short-term tactic. Rather, it’s a long-term investment in systems change and youth development.
Final Thoughts: Shifting Power to Youth
The Authentic Youth Engagement in Policy Framework provides a research-informed, practitioner-tested model for engaging young people in policy change. It illustrates that youth engagement is most effective and sustainable when youth are involved at every stage, supported by committed adults, and operating in enabling environments.
Nevertheless, the work is ongoing. Moving toward a system in which young people are designers of policy—and not just storytellers or advisors—requires continuous reflection, capacity building, and a willingness to share power.
The framework is not a checklist but a roadmap toward that goal.
Check out our project page to learn more about the project and our learnings.
This blog is intended as an early look at emerging insights from the Youth Engagement in Policy Study. It previews key themes that will be explored in greater depth in the forthcoming full report and webinar, both scheduled for release in June. These upcoming products will offer a comprehensive analysis of youth engagement efforts across the United States, drawing on the voices and experiences of youth, practitioners, and policy leaders. We encourage readers to stay connected as we build toward these releases, which will provide actionable findings and strategic recommendations to advance the field.
Footnote
[1] Scaffolded refers to providing structured supports that help youth build their skills and confidence progressively.
Suggested citation
Holquist, S.E., McKlindon, A., Scott, A., Ball, J., Conway, J., Calderon, I., Clark, J., DeLeon-Alvarado, T., Flores, B., Gutierrez, B., Joo, S., Monrose, N., Robinson, F., Rudy-Johnson, D., Stoute, K., & Turner, A. (2025). A framework for authentic engagement of youth in creating policy. Child Trends. DOI: 10.56417/7262d929e