# MCMF Citywide Partners Meeting 4.9.26

- Date: April 9, 2026
- Type: Video
- Length: 1:09:35
- Topic: Other
- Video: [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0Jt3vw525w)
- Transcript: Machine transcription, 8,267 words ([text](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/files/transcripts/youtube/u0Jt3vw525w.txt))
- Mayor: [Brandon Johnson](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor)

## Description

Mayor Brandon Johnson attends the MCMF Citywide Partners Meeting.

## Transcript

[0:00](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=0) There's nothing for youth without youth, right? But we wanted to start this first meeting this year during the middle of the day because, you know, we know people are working and you can maybe get here for lunch. But just know, for all you first-timers, future meetings will be a little bit later in the day. And I think somebody even mentioned to me they suggested Saturdays. But we definitely want to make sure it's a time that young people can be in here because their voice is pivotal and the most important in supporting their development. I also want to take some time to acknowledge the leadership of Commissioner of the Department of Family Support Services, Ms. Angela Green.

[0:38](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=38) Thank you so much for your leadership and your passion and commitment. Also, we had Alderman Taylor, chair of our education committee, start us off this morning but had to go to another engagement, so just wanted to acknowledge her and her presence. We coordinate these spaces to offer a chance to connect with each other, engage in conversation, and to share ideas that help the city's strategy toward supporting young people while building community.

[1:09](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=69) Many of you are in particular agencies, you're in particular organizations, you're in particular sides of the city, and you do hard, tireless work on behalf of young people and their development. But it also is important to know that you're part of a community of people, a movement of people that are committed to the positive development of our young people. And spaces like this reinforce that. A lot has happened since we last spoke, in particular, a space like September.

[1:40](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=100) And we have plenty to share with you today in terms of the announcements and discussions. As a start, I do want to share a reflection of our of the most recent team bash on March 28th at Navy Pier. All right. So I know that what gets a lot of attention and a lot of press is, you know, young people gathering themselves and, you know, they call them teen trends or takeovers.

[2:12](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=132) But on the 28th of March, we took over the Aeon Ballroom of Navy Pier, which is this jewel of Chicago, right? And we had over, I'm not over, but almost 1,500 young people in attendance. And no issues, no concerns, just fun skateboarding, bicycling, dance competitions, young people getting jobs, resources.

[2:45](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=165) It was amazing. And it was a testament and proof that when adults that care about young people provide safe spaces for them to congregate, it will be magical, amazing, and it will really support their development. So you also likely saw videos of this event on the screen coming in, and I know many of you attended, volunteered, and you brought young people. We had 30 buses bringing young people from across the city to make sure that there was equity across the connection to young people across the city.

[3:17](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=197) And I bring this event up for a couple of reasons. For one, it represents the literal example of what the My Shine, My Future initiative is about, the collective, the community I mentioned earlier. The event would not be possible without the organizations, without the city departments, without the sister agencies who tabled, provided activities, chaperoned youth on buses, helped to plan meetings, stayed there until the very last young person left, and just to ensure that young people knew that they were heard and they were cared about.

[3:49](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=229) It would not have been possible without the hundreds of individuals coming together, highlighting the importance of working collaboratively. The second reason that this event provides us a moment to reflect on how we open up spaces for teens to be themselves, as I mentioned earlier, right, to dance, to, I remember, and I'm going off script, but I remember working on the West Side with young people that lived in the Henry Horner homes and Rockwell Gardens, and we would do this teen bash, I meant teen bash, teen party late on Fridays.

[4:23](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=263) And all of the staff that I worked with, I don't think any of them are here today, they really didn't like to be there. They didn't like to be there late on Friday nights. They really didn't like walking around with flashlights while teens were dancing and wanting to dance provocatively. But those young people were safe, and they had a place at least two Fridays a month to come in on a Friday night. So team bashes, opening spaces for young people to socialize and recreate in the way that they want are really important.

[4:54](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=294) And it's a reminder of why we need to continue safely opening these spaces. public spaces like parks, libraries, and schools, but then community spaces as well as spaces that many of you manage and program out of. I believe that our connections here in this room will make that possible. So I look forward to this meeting because it will be a chance for us to reflect, to learn, plan the upcoming warmer months.

[5:25](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=325) I look forward to building on the momentum we've started in 2026 together. And you know we have a little bit of a longer summer break this year, so you've got to get going and get ready for that. So with that, I'd like to take a look at our My Shot, My Future mission and vision as always. Every young person in Chicago connects to a variety of rich, engaging, safe, and youth-centered out-of-school experiences that empower them to discover and cultivate their talents, passions, skills, and identity, develop physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy members of our society,

[6:08](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=368) build relationships, and network with peers and mentors and explore a multitude of pathways to college, careers, trades, entrepreneurship, and lifelong learning. I'll leave the second half to you all to read yourselves so that I don't have to go back to school where I'm feeling inadequate reading aloud. Okay, so let's take a look at our agenda today.

[6:39](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=399) We have a welcome mission agenda, opening remarks, announcements. We have resources and information from our immigrant, migrant, and refugee rights team in the mayor's office. We have our youth impact report and network exercise, data conversations around staff support, panel conversations around creating safe youth-centered spaces, and then we have some final reminders. So, again, thank you all for being here. And now I'd like to invite the amazing, the wonderful Commissioner Angela Green of the Department of Family Support Services to the stage for some remarks.

[7:27](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=447) Thank you, Deputy Mayor Humphreys. Thank you for that. I will make sure I use my notes because I want to make sure I want to speak to you really from the heart today. And there's some things I want to make sure I convey in terms of the vision that our department has for this work. Once again, my name is Angela Green, and I'm the commissioner. the new commissioner for the Department of Family Support Services with the city. And it is truly a pleasure to welcome you all here to this city partner meeting today.

[7:58](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=478) But first I want to at least start with saying thank you. Thank you for the work you do every day. Thank you for the care you bring to young people and families across this city. And thank you for your partnership, because the truth is this work only happens when we have committed people and organizations coming together around a shared purpose. So our department is committed to supporting Chicagoans, and we really do it across every stage of life.

[8:36](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=516) Our work spans from children and youth to homeless services, to senior services, to workforce development, to community services, and gender-based violence as well. And I know all those sound like different parts of areas on a sheet of paper, but there's one thing that connects them all, and that's people. And it is the belief of our department that every Chicagoan in every neighborhood deserves access to support, opportunity, and the chance to really thrive.

[9:15](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=555) So that commitment is especially important to me when it comes to our young people. Because when we invest in youth, it's not just responding to a moment, right? but it's really responding to our ability to reshape not only their lives, but the city's future. So we are helping young people discover who they are and who they want to become and what they're capable of and where they can grow and thrive and soar. And that work matters.

[9:48](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=588) So one of the things we know at DFSS is that young people do their best when they're surrounded by adults and organizations and communities that believe in them. ...create space for them, and that makes sure they have access to meaningful opportunities. That is exactly what you all do. You create places where young people feel safe. You create programs where they feel engaged.

[10:19](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=619) You create opportunities where they feel challenged and supported and seen. And in many cases, you are not just providing a service, but you are also becoming a trusted presence in a young person's life. And that kind of impact cannot always be measured by numbers alone. Sometimes it looks like a youth gaining some confidence. Sometimes it looks like consistency in a young person's life.

[10:50](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=650) Sometimes it looks like a young person showing up, speaking out, trying it again, and believing all of a sudden that, hey, there's something better out there for me. We can't put numbers to that, but we can't put our heart to that. And that work matters. And I also know that the best way to do this work is by staying grounded in the voices and experiences of the people we serve. That means that we're listening.

[11:21](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=681) That means that we're learning from what we hear. And it means that we need to continue to evolve how we design and deliver services so that they are truly responsive to what young people and families need today, not just what worked yesterday. Across our youth programs, our community service centers, our senior centers, the shelters that we have, the support services that we provide, I'm constantly asking, how can we strengthen what we do?

[11:54](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=714) How can we improve how we show up? How can we make sure that Chicagoans across this great city know the supports are available to them, and not only that, but they can actually access them? So for me, this gathering today is critical. It's important that we stay connected. Today is not just about information sharing. It's not just about different reports or updates or logistics.

[12:25](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=745) It's also about alignment. It's about relationship. It's about making sure that as we move into this next season of work, that we're doing it together. We're doing it with clarity. We're doing it with purpose and with a shared commitment to the young people of the city. As we welcome the warm and weather, and I don't know about you, but I'm so ready to take off that coat. But as we begin preparing for the summer months and the shared commitment that comes with what happens during the summer,

[13:02](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=782) because we know summertime is extremely critical here in the city. Summer brings excitement. It brings festivities. It brings events, but it also requires us to be strategic and intentional about what we do. It is a season when we have to be especially focused on creating safe spaces for young people, spaces where they can be inspired, supported, and encouraged to dream bigger and go beyond their best.

[13:34](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=814) And for many young people, those summer opportunities are not just nice to have, they're essential, they're life-saving, because it can open a door that can change the trajectory of a young person's life. And that is why this work matters so much. You know, at DFSS, we are totally committed to making sure young people across Chicago have access to programs and opportunities that help them explore their interests, develop their talents, and build pathways towards their future.

[14:13](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=853) But that commitment is reflected through efforts like Chicago Youth Works. Yes, I have to promote. This is our new logo, our new name. Come on, give it up. Let me tell you, Deputy Commissioner Kathy Kulik worked hard. I'm sorry. And we have one more. Oh, my gosh. I just forget my man's name. Zach. That's that plus 50. If y'all don't know, you'll know if you're blessed to learn. Zach, who is critical in helping us help us get the youth together, get the name, get the logo. So it's no longer one summer Chicago. It is now one more time.

[14:52](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=892) It's now. OK, thank you. But because of programs like this, because of the. work that you are doing. We stay committed to those efforts. It's critical that we are making sure that young people in every part of our city knows that there is a place for them, that they are valued, and that their future is worth investing in. So let me be clear. None of this happens through the city government alone. It only happens because of our partnership it happens because of agencies like you step in and you commit and we appreciate

[15:30](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=930) that it happens the programs you bring and the relationships you develop the creativity you bring forward in this work and the consistency you do and the care that makes opportunities for youth real so as we gather today i hope we all stay rooted in that bigger purpose behind this work. So I know we all have the liberals, we have outcomes, we have program measurements, we have timelines we have to meet, we have those operational pieces that are all important and we all need to

[16:03](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=963) get it right. But underneath all of that is something bigger. It's the opportunity to help shape a city where young people feel connected, supported, and full of possibility. And that's why your partnership means so much to me. So thank you for your commitment. Thank you for collaboration and for the role you continue to play in helping Chicago's young people thrive. I am proud to be

[16:34](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=994) in this work with you. And we're excited about what we're going to continue to do. So thank you and I look forward to our conversations. Thank you. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought he was standing. Give me a standing ovation. I'm sorry. Thank you. But now let me bring to the mic our Deputy Commissioner, Kathy Kulik. Good afternoon.

[17:06](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1026) Thank you, Commissioner Green. Welcome, everybody, again to the Spring 2026 My Shine, My Future citywide partner meeting. It's such an honor to stand in front of you all today. My name is Kathy Kulik. I am the Deputy Commissioner of the Youth Service Division at the Department of Family and Support Services, which I'm biased, but I think is the best division commissioner. I would be remiss if I was on this platform and did not thank the team at DFSS that helped create this event, put this event together,

[17:37](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1057) make sure you all had invites, make sure you all had food and material. So if we could please just give my team a round of applause. They fight the battles on the back end that you don't see, just to make sure you all have the resources that you need to continue to serve our youth when there are so many boundaries or barriers put in place that can sometimes prevent that. So I'm grateful for them. I'm also going to stick to my script.

[18:08](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1088) So our youth service division supports young people ages 6 to 24 across employment, out-of-school time, and violence prevention and intervention. While we do this work year-round, as Commissioner mentioned, the summer months are coming up and they are extremely critical to not just all residents but young people. and for us doing the work. So today I want to highlight two key opportunities for you all

[18:38](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1118) and for our youth this summer. But before I do, I'm going to piggyback some stuff from Commissioner Green. I have an exciting update. What you all have known for many years as One Summer Chicago is now Chicago Youth Works. So I need a huge round of applause. Let me get some. Yep, there we go. Chicago Youth Works. So this change reflects not just the city's youth employment initiatives as a whole, but also a continued investment in expanding access to meaningful work experiences

[19:12](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1152) and strengthening long-term career pathways for our young people. And under the leadership of Mayor Brandon Johnson, we are excited to once again aim to employ over 30,000 youth this summer. So applications are open. If you know a young person or tell a young person, even if you don't know them, please visit our new website, which is chicagoyouthworks.org. Applications are open until May 29th.

[19:44](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1184) So now shifting to these two key opportunities, I want to make sure that are on your radar. And if you are not the person to know this, please take this information back to your organization. They are both under the My Chi and My Future umbrella. The first one is going to be safe spaces for you. So we have an RFP that is currently out. It is open for you all to apply. It focuses on creating safe, engaging experience designed by young people for young people. This includes hosting youth-led events and supporting a paid youth program that builds work readiness and social development.

[20:21](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1221) The submission deadline for this RFP opportunity is Monday, April 20th. So it's open now, Safe Spaces. The deadline is Monday, April 20th. The second one is, let's see if I can get this right, Community Youth Opportunity Collaborative, formerly known as Anchor Orgs. So I'm going to say it again. The Community Youth Opportunity Collaborative RFP, formerly known as the Community Anchor Organizations Program.

[20:51](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1251) That program supports existing youth-serving networks in strengthening local youth opportunity ecosystems. This includes hosting quarterly convenings, mentoring youth, coordinating events, supporting those events, trainings, and other resources. So this RFP will be released in the next upcoming days. I'm super excited. with the submission deadline of May 8th. So again, this formerly known Anchor Organization's RFP

[21:21](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1281) that is now Community Youth Opportunity Collaborative, that RFP will be opening within the next few days with the expected deadline of Friday, May 8th. So all of this information and more, including eligible community areas, will be shared with you all following this meeting. You all can also find it on the City's e-procurement bid opportunities page. If you have any questions or need support related to either one of these RFP opportunities, please don't hesitate to reach out to my team. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I understand that the impact of the work we do lie with you all who are boots on the ground.

[21:55](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1315) So thank you so much for just being that front line and holding the front line and for your continued partnership. We look forward to continuing your work over the summer. We look forward to doing some site visits, and we look forward to your continued partnership. And I am now going to bring up the next speaker, which is Sanjana. Hi, everyone. My name is Sanjana. I work on My Shine, My Future at the mayor's office. And I'm really excited to talk to all of you today about our youth impact report.

[22:28](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1348) And our youth impact report is the report that you can find at all of your tables. If your table doesn't have one, maybe a table next to you does, or we can get you one afterwards. We have extra. And it showcases a year of investment, opportunity and empowerment for Chicago's young people. And you can also scan the QR code to access it online. It is shy.gov slash youthimpactreport. And I'm also really excited to show that for the first time we have a youth artist designed cover for the Youth Impact Report.

[22:59](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1379) This was designed by Arturo. He is a member of TA98 in Little Village, and he's a senior. And, yeah, we're really excited that he designed our cover this year. So, yeah, we'd also really like to thank Amy from TA98, who is here today, for connecting us with him. and it's really great that we could get Youth Voice in our report as well, which is something that's really important to us. Next slide, please. So I just wanted to kind of go through some of the sections of the report

[23:29](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1409) that when you look at it, you will see that it's divided into a few sections that kind of focus on all of the highlights that happened. So the first section is our section on collaboration, and that highlights the 14 City of Chicago departments and sister agencies that were doing youth work during the year, and that submitted their information to be included in this report. And we also had features from community organizations as well. Next slide. And we also focused on youth safety as our second section. And just a couple highlights from that was that we had a 23.2% decline in youth homicides last year,

[24:05](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1445) which is really important. And, you know, obviously it's important not to just think about homicides as just numbers, and we do want to recognize that those are lives, but that is something that we wanted to highlight. And we had over 900 young people and families participate in video game nights, and that was hosted by MOCS, our Mayor's Office of Community Safety. Next slide. Our next section was youth employment, as Kathy just talked about. We had our summer youth employment program, now Chicago Youth Works,

[24:40](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1480) hire 31,000, over 31,000 young people. And there was also a 55% increase in city-funded summer youth employment jobs, since Mayor Johnson started his term. And so what we're going to look at is more statistics and things like that, and data about youth employment is in the report as well. Next slide. And the next section focuses on our youth ecosystem, which is MyShyMyFuture. And these statistics focus on the number of people that visited our MyShyMyFuture platform,

[25:10](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1510) which many of you may have interacted with. You can upload all of your events and opportunities to this platform so young people can find it because we had over 49,000 people visit our MyShyMyFuture website and app, including young people, to find opportunities. and we had over 37,000 opportunities and events uploaded to the MyShyMyFuture website and app. Next slide. And our last section was about youth leadership, which focused on our Mayor's Youth Commission, and you'll get to hear from a Mayor's Youth Commissioner later today.

[25:41](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1541) And we had 53 young people serve as youth commissioners over two different cohorts in 2025, and we had 37 community areas represented in our Mayor's Youth Commission. So those are kind of all of the sections that you'll see as you look through the report. Feel free to take it home. We'd love for you to share it with your own communities and your organizations. And you can always request reports from us as well by emailing us. And, yeah, thank you so much. And we will talk about our Youth Impact Report a little bit more in the next section.

[26:17](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1577) All right. Hi, everyone. My name is Claire. When all of you registered today, raise your hand if you put networking and meeting people as one of the reasons you came today. Yes? I read that most of you said collaboration, learning more resources. So we're going to turn it back all to you. Sanja and I just shared a lot about some of the themes around youth voice and safety and youth engagement. And so we are going to spend a few minutes in our tables. Introduce yourself if you haven't already. But we have two questions we really want you to talk about as a group.

[26:48](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=1608) And that's really around how are these themes showing up in your work? What are the successes you're seeing with young people? And then on the flip side, where are you still seeing gaps? Where are you seeing unmet needs? And so I'm going to invite everyone. I hope it gets really loud here. I'll come back up and kind of corral us all back together. But turn to your tables, and our questions are on the board. All right?

[39:48](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2388) Share information. This work is about collaboration. This work is about this ecosystem. And with that, I am going to re-invite up Deputy Mayor Kihari Humphries. When she did the jazz hands, it reminded me of a young person. It's like they put the hush over the room and everybody was supposed to be quiet after that.

[40:21](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2421) Let me see if I hear anybody. They had the magic hands. So it is my esteemed pleasure to be up here, to be in the role that I'm in, and honestly to be in the city at this moment. I'll tell you why, right? Right. We have a leader that is not just a parent of CPS students, which is the first time we've had a leader of the city do that. And a leader as a teacher in the classroom, you know, also a youth worker in an out of school time program.

[40:59](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2459) Right. So, of course, you know, we have safe spaces versus snap curfews. We got invested neighborhood schools versus privatization. So for me, it is a huge pleasure. I need you all to clap your hands. I need you to get on your feet so we can welcome the people's mayor, the youth mayor, and your mayor, Brandon Johnson. Thank you.

[41:30](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2490) Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you very well. That's exactly how my 7th and 8th graders would greet me every single morning at Jenner Academy in Cabrini-Green, USA. Let me just say I am grateful to have great partners who believe in the vision that we have put forward to build the safest, most affordable, big city in America. And the best way in which we can do that is by investing in people.

[42:00](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2520) And thank you to our Deputy Mayor, Kahari Humphreys. We have a number of city leaders that are here today. our DFSS Commissioner, Commissioner Green, and all of you, our community leaders, who understand the assignment. You know, building safe spaces is not a radical idea. However, it is a radical idea to believe that safe spaces can help transform the lives of young people. It's radical because for many of us, the act of survival has just been the normal flow of existence.

[42:41](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2561) Until people begin to come together to recognize that we cannot leave it to chance for people to be able to receive what government should do automatically. We have to create guarantees. And that is the hope and the dreams and aspirations of those who have come before us. And as organizations, city leaders, residents, youth make up the beauty of our city. It's the soul of who we are. You know, when you go to the continent of Africa, there are different tribes there,

[43:12](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2592) and the greeting is not what's up. The greeting is not what's going on. The greeting is how are our young people. And if the young people are not well, that is more indicative of the failures of the elders than the young people themselves. And so my administration will continue to prioritize our young people and their future through direct investment because the city of Chicago cannot be well until every single young person in this city is well.

[43:43](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2623) And that's why we have worked hard to hire young people to give them not just a job, but to help them find their purpose. This year, we have budgeted yet again to break records, 29,000 jobs. Last year, 31,119 young people received W-2s because of our investments. And these programs are so critical to the vibrancy.

[44:15](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2655) Now, I want to brag just for a second here, because I know that there has been a number of pundits, you know, opining about young people gathering downtown or in other spaces. And though we certainly do not condone in any way the type of reckless and dangerous behavior that we have seen. But the other week ago, Mayor Johnson hosted the largest teen gathering that this city has ever experienced with 1,400 young people at Navy Pier and not one incident of negativity.

[45:05](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2705) So I'm just saying to the media, I'm good at hosting Teen Trends. But when you host them and provide opportunities for them and not provoke them to wrath, you're going to experience better outcomes. See, that's a warning from the scriptures that fathers and mothers are not to provoke their children to wrath. And when we disinvest in our public schools, when we shut down public housing, when we do not fully fund the very things that can transform their lives, that is provocation.

[45:46](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2746) It's not enough for us to say that we support young people. We have to ensure that we make the promises a reality. And we will never waver from supporting our goals to invest in young people and to support them. But if we're going to ensure that these goals are reached, it's going to take all of us. The spaces, the mentorship, the pathways that you all are providing for young people, give them opportunity to find their passions, to connect with new and old friends,

[46:17](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2777) and build community. I was listening to Patty at SGA, I want to get her organization right. SGA Youth and Family Services? You've got to say it like that. And she talked about how young people were gathering in this facility to engage in sports and physical activity. And then something happened that didn't surprise Patty. It won't surprise any of you in this room. But if you create spaces for young people to come together and connect, they will begin to build community on their own.

[46:54](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2814) And so these young people are coming together and spending time with one another and bringing snacks from one another. As a father and as someone who was a former public school teacher, listen, there's not a better compliment that you can ever receive from a young person if they bring you some snacks. Now, I will say this, though. In my classroom, I got so sick and tired of sunflower seeds. Listen, you all and your children have these doggone sunflower seeds. I digress. The point being that they're building community, and that's what you all are providing.

[47:26](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2846) And that's why, in closing, this meeting is so important. Let us continue to make and strengthen these connections to build stronger communities. And I really hope that we leave this space today with new contacts, learning about the programs that people across this city are doing. Doesn't it feel good that you're not the only one doing the good work in this city? Look around, sisters and brothers. The work you all are doing to support young people.

[47:57](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2877) outside of these walls, you are sparking the transformation and change that not just this city needs, but the world is looking for. It's our young people that are clear about environmental justice. Our young people are clear about fully funding our public schools. Our young people are clear about having safe and accessible transportation. Our young people are clear about good-paying jobs and having stable housing. Because so many of our young people, because of what's going on at the federal level, are now having to be the breadwinners of their own home.

[48:29](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2909) They are bearing the responsibilities as adults. And as long as I'm mayor of the city of Chicago, it doesn't matter what Trump tries to bring this city. He will be always met with the heat of the love that this city has for his people. God bless you all. God bless the greatest freaking city in the world, the city of Chicago. Thank you.

[49:23](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2963) Hello, hello, everyone. My name is Elizabeth Lopez, and I'm a community liaison with the Office of Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights. It's going to be a little harsh to follow that, but I'm going to try my best. It's an honor and a pleasure to be here alongside leaders of the city and community organizations. Thank you for all the advocacy and work that you do to support our young people here in the city. So I'm going to be here talking a little bit more about our office, but more importantly also directing you to some of the resources from our office

[49:54](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=2994) and also community partners. With all the attacks that we've been seeing from the federal government this year and last year. It's more important than ever to just try to connect with these resources, know who to connect with, what number to call, and knowing that there's a city office here to fight for your rights and for your advocacy as well. So our office builds on Chicago's proud legacy of immigrant protections and affirming the city's responsibility to protect immigrant communities. These are our core functions as an office. We advocate for immigrant, migrant, and refugee communities here in the city of Chicago. We provide strategic leadership and operation guidance on immigrant matters.

[50:28](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3028) We uphold the Welcoming City Ordinance and Language Access Ordinance here in the city. We also promote the long-term integration and inclusion and belonging of immigrants here living in the city as well. And then lastly, we share accurate and powerful resources that folks can easily access and connect with in multiple languages. Next slide. So Mayor Brandon Johnson, in August of 2025, established an important initiative, the Protecting Chicago Initiative. When we were hearing threats from the federal government, when we were seeing the actions and inactions,

[51:01](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3061) this initiative was established to protect our residents of Chicago, making sure that they had accessible resources that they can connect with, and also getting accurate information from the city as everything was happening so rapidly. So with this initiative came about some Know Your Right palm cards and also some signs that folks can take back with them establishing ice-free zones. If you'd like to learn more and connect with some of these resources, you can access or go to chicago.gov forward slash protect. You can access some of those Know Your Right cards that you see that are on your screen. And then also our office, we transformed our website to make it a little bit more inclusive,

[51:36](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3096) accessible for folks, especially when accessing Know Your Right's information. So we recently updated our Know Your Right's hub to include a lot of the information that we were seeing and concerns that we were hearing around what's going on at the airports. So our office is dedicated in providing that timely information as well. So you can go to chicago.gov forward slash K-Y-R or chicago.gov forward slash I-M-R-R. Next slide. And then if you have your phone, if you have something to take a picture, now's the time to take it out. These are some important community-based resources that everyone should be aware of and know how to connect with.

[52:09](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3129) First one, starting off with the Resurrection Project. Specifically, they have an arm that does immigrant justice, and they've been very involved with providing Know Your Right trainings, family preparedness trainings, any kind of trainings for immigrant communities as well to access some of these resources. Also, if you know anyone that needs to access legal clinics or have that one-on-one support with an immigration attorney, you can also connect with the Resurrection Project there at trpimmigrantjustice.org or scanning that QR code. The Illinois Immigration Info Hub is an amazing website that folks can access.

[52:41](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3161) It was a partnership between the city, the state, and also community-based organizations to centralize a lot of the information that folks were hoping to connect with. So anything from know your right resources, palm cards, knowing what legal services that you can access here in the city and in the states, all of that is centralized into one website at IllinoisImmigrationInfo.org. I hope many of you have already heard of this organization, the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, or otherwise known as ISER. They have an integral in providing very life-saving resources, which is the ISER Family Support Network hotline.

[53:17](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3197) everyone should have this number on their phones, share it with a community member, with a loved one, anyone. If you know anyone that wants to report, or you yourself want to report immigration activity, get connected to social services, referrals. And now with the cuts that we're seeing from SNAP and some of the impacts that we're seeing to the SNAP benefit program, this hotline has transformed to also act as a way for folks to connect to some of those neighborhood and community-based resources for food. Thanks as well. And then lastly, the National Immigrant Justice Center provides legal aid and support, so you can access a lot of

[53:48](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3228) other information on their website, and they also have a hotline number that you can call and access there as well. But again, please take a picture, and feel free to connect with us as well. We're a department and office that are dedicated to advocating with and for community, so if you'd like to connect with us, I'm more than happy to do so as well. But thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here with you this afternoon. My name is John Weber. I'm the Senior Director

[54:20](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3260) Director of Operations with the Youth Services Team at DFSS. I lead a small data evaluation and capacity building team in our youth division, and we oversee a professional learning initiative that supports staff in our DFSS-funded youth services programs. I also support some continuous quality improvement work in those programs, and I'm here this afternoon to share some data highlights from a survey that we sent to our delegate agencies earlier this year. Some of you in the room may have completed that, and so I just want to say thank you for taking your time to do that.

[54:52](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3292) The data has really interesting implications for the way that DFSS supports our community organizations. may resonate with you as well as you think about how you do that or how you can better do that. So we implemented an annual survey in January of the workforce, of the staff that are supporting our youth services programs. Over 115 agencies respond to that survey, and so we're looking at who is doing the work in our programs, the roles that they're in, the length of time that they've been in the field or that they've been at their organization,

[55:26](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3326) Do they have access to professional learning or training? And what needs do they have in terms of support for professional learning? And there's a national data set that kind of aligns with this as well. There's a QR code here to the Power of Us Youth Workforce Survey Report that was released about a year ago. It was done by the American Institutes for Research. It's a really phenomenal report. I encourage you, if you're not familiar with it, to download it and review it. They also cover career pathways, how youth workers find their way into the field, their motivations for working in the field.

[56:02](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3362) And they also cover things like well-being of staff and pay equity of staff who are working in the youth field. So definitely encourage you to take a look at that. Now, while we are focused primarily on our delegates, we anticipate there's generally probably alignment with some of the things that we're seeing in the data and things that you know and that you experience as well. Next slide. Great. So as Commissioner Green described earlier today,

[56:32](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3392) how important it is at DFSS to ground ourselves in the voices and the experiences of those that we serve. Staff are instrumental for young people to have access to developing those interests, those talents, building those pathways for the future. So part of our theory of change in doing this kind of work is if we understand the needs of staff who are working in our programs, and if we help address those training and professional learning needs, then the staff could be better prepared to deliver high-quality programs and services.

[57:05](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3425) They're better connected to each other. There's networks of support or connections to other services. And we also know that that can play a role in supporting retention. The reasons why you stay in the field are the reasons because you're prepared to do the work, because you have a network of support around you. So that's some of the reasons why we do this work. Now we're going to look at some of the data that we see. Next slide, please. So the survey asked a series of questions about access to professional learning opportunities.

[57:37](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3457) Now that could be things like trainings and workshops, conferences, coaching or mentoring, learning communities, it can be a really broad set of experiences. And so when you look at these slides, which you'll get as a handout or sent to you as a follow-up to the meeting today, the blue on the right side is agree or strongly agree, and the red on the left side is disagree or strongly disagree. So you see about 90% of respondents say that they have access to professional learning in their organization,

[58:08](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3488) and a slightly higher percentage has access to professional learning outside their organization. So you're relying on both your internal capacity as well as other networks of support to do that. About 90% of folks are saying that they have adequate opportunities to participate, but younger staff or people who are earlier in their career are responding maybe a little less strongly. So those who are earlier in their career may wish to have more opportunities for professional learning.

[58:44](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3524) Looking at whether the training and professional learning meets their needs, about 87% say that the opportunities do meet their needs, and that's slightly higher than the national data that we see in the Power of Us survey report, so that's great. Congratulations. However, younger staff and earlier career staff, again, have less strongly positive responses. So those younger staff feel like their training, their professional learning, might not meet their needs as much.

[59:14](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3554) Greater than 90% say that the training that they receive is relevant to their roles and responsibilities. That's terrific. Next slide. Okay, 90% or more say that they have support to participate in professional learning, but there's a difference between having support to participate and being able to implement what you learn. And so you see the data shows that a slightly lower percentage of respondents say that they have support once they go back to their organizations to make meaning of it,

[59:46](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3586) to change the way that they work, to implement what they've learned. So I think it helps us think about what conditions do we create, how do we support organizational leaders, how do we create space and time in our programs so that those... Those opportunities aren't just one-time experiences, but they can really change the way that we work with young people. Okay, generally people say they would like access to more professional learning, earlier career staff especially want access to more. And then this last one that I'm showing you here, this is the lowest positive response to any of the questions in this area that we asked,

[1:00:22](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3622) and it relates to satisfaction with opportunities for professional growth. So only about 80% of folks are saying that they're satisfied with their opportunities for professional growth. Now, that could be a response to the trainings, the workshops, those kind of professional learning opportunities. It could also be related to a sense of growth opportunities, career pathways within the organization or the field as well. So we're thinking about how do we keep talented staff, committed staff, who are making a day-to-day impact in the lives of young people,

[1:00:57](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3657) how do we keep them in our organizations? How do we see them develop in their leadership capacity to stay in the field? Next slide. We asked about access to certain types of training within their organization. We had a list of about 40 topics across four different areas. And those four different areas are areas that we provide some support to our delegate agencies, things like working directly with youth, program management, data management, and organizational capacity building.

[1:01:31](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3691) Now, those last two areas may not be your job responsibilities for all of the staff, those frontline workers, but they're certainly critical to developing and delivering high-quality programs to ensure that those programs are continuing to meet the needs. So what you see on this slide is some of the highlights. On the left side, topics that respondents are saying they have more access to. So more than 60% of staff are saying that they have access to things like youth engagement and program facilitation training or conflict resolution training or youth power leadership and voice.

[1:02:04](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3724) It's great to see that organizations are supporting their staff in those areas. On the right side, you see less than 40% of respondents are saying that they have access in their organization to suicide prevention training. to substance use and harm reduction or to support staff retention and turnover, some of the more data-focused content areas at the bottom, logic modeling or coding and analysis of qualitative data. So it points out some gaps in what's available for organizations.

[1:02:38](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3758) And lastly, in the survey we asked people, is this topic a priority, high, medium, or low priority? Do you have access to this in your organization? And for anybody who said, this is a high priority for me, we asked a follow-up question to say, do you need additional support in this area, or is the training that's available to you, is that sufficient for you? And now, across all the 40 topics, more than 50% of respondents said that they wanted more support in every area. So none of these areas do we feel like everybody's got it covered.

[1:03:11](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3791) But the ones we're showing you on the slide here, this is the top ten, the topics with the highest percentage of staff saying that they need more support. And these are pretty heavy, pretty weighty. So suicide prevention best practices is the highest percentage of respondents saying that they need more support. So I'll give you a chance to look at that list. There's a lot to reflect about in this list. What does it say about the health and well-being of young people? You know that in the work that you do every day. There's other data sources that say a mental health crisis is real.

[1:03:45](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3825) It's enormous. A Better Chicago State of Our Youth 2026 report released a couple weeks ago emphasizes mental health. But this is a different perspective on it, coming from the staff who are working to implement those programs. And so it helps us understand the prevalence of these challenges for you in your day-to-day work. What type of supports would help you address these type of needs for young people and for you to address the weight, the burden, the challenges of delivering those on a daily basis. So on the bottom of this list, go back to staff development, advancement, navigating burnout and compassion fatigue.

[1:04:25](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=3865) So we want to pivot and hear a little bit from you. We have a QR code here. I encourage you to take out your phones. We're going to do a couple of Mentimeter slides to answer these three questions. What one area of professional learning is most needed for you? What makes professional learning effective and long-lasting? And what would help your organization provide professional learning like this to your staff? So we'll take a minute to have you open that up and start to fill those questions out. And I think we'll be able to display some of those results in just a second once we have.

[1:07:45](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=4065) Mental health, burnout, networking, coaching, time management, balance, youth mental health, data analysis, leadership, crisis response, technology, fundraising, asset mapping. Okay, this is really wonderful. Thank you so much. A little bit short on time, so we're going to wrap up this part of the presentation today with an invitation. We are going to be hosting a focus group later this month,

[1:08:18](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w?t=4098) exploring more about what makes this professional learning effective and long-lasting, and your input is going to be very crucial to us at TFSS, thinking about how we shape and support our delegate agencies. So there will be a QR code here. If you're interested in participating in that focus group, in a couple weeks' time, We're going to be at the Manning Branch Chicago Public Library on the near west side and scan to complete that form. I do have some flyers that we'll put at the table in the back when you leave, and thank you so much.

Sources and methods: [how we get and count this data](/about#methods) · [report an error](/about#corrections)

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Source: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/u0Jt3vw525w · Chicago Politics, an independent tracker of the Chicago City Council. Guide for agents: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/llms.txt