Frequently Asked Questions About the Forum

Why the Forum?

There are numerous organizations in New Mexico that earnestly strive to better the lives of young people. However, regardless of how successful they are in accomplishing their specific objectives, they are limited in scope, mostly defined by their organizational mission. Through its broad emphasis on positive youth development approaches, the Forum serves as a state-level network intermediary to provide a cohesive vision for youth-serving organizations.

The Forum provides meaningful opportunities to implement assets-based strategies by: 1) establishing and coordinating statewide infrastructure, capacity-building, and advocacy networks, 2) establishing supports through the Forum’s seven domains of work, 3) providing facilitation, training, and technical assistance services, 4) informing youth policy established by government agencies and systems, and 5) supporting development of resources for positive youth development through the statewide “Next Generation Fund”.

The Forum works closely with a number of government, philanthropic, tribal, and community partners to build assets-based approaches in the field of youth development. Among these is the New Mexico Children’s Cabinet, established at the state level to build systems-level changes for Positive Youth Development approaches.

What are the projects and committees of the Forum?

Committees include:

• Capacity Building : Training/Technical Assistance
• Communications: Media, Marketing, & Technology
• Policy/Legislative

Projects include:

• Out of School Time Network
• Youth Alliance
• Youth Violence Prevention Project
• Americorps*VISTA Program
• Network for Service Learning

What is the Children's Cabinet?

Lt. Governor Diane D. Denish is chair of the Children's Cabinet. This group, which was created by an executive order signed by Gov. Bill Richardson, is made up of every secretary and department head dealing with children. The aim of the Cabinet is to focus state resources on improving the lives of New Mexico's children by increasing interaction among state departments in an effort to streamline services and reduce bureaucratic red tape. It will also track child well-being indicators such as teen birthrate, infant mortality rates, rates of crimes against children, dropout rates and immunization rates.

By looking at these indicators we can see both where we are failing our kids and where we are succeeding. More important, we can adjust policies on the fly so that they are meeting the vital needs of our families and children. By increasing communication, we can hopefully achieve the following goals: Literacy by the third grade Increased availability of health insurance for children An improved rate of immunization Increased availability of childcare for parents working their way off welfare Removal of bureaucratic roadblocks to public assistance for our children A large part of this effort will also include economic development, because if we can create better jobs for New Mexico 's parents then we can build a brighter future for New Mexico 's kids.

These departments make up the Children's Cabinet:

• Children, Youth and Families Department
• Department of Human Services
• Department of Health
• Department of Labor
• Department of Corrections
• Bureau of Economic Development
• Department of Finance and Administration
• Department of Public Safety
• Office of Aging
• Public Education Department