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   1.

Can you tell us a little about the McKnight Foundation?

Jeannine: We have a 23-million dollar budget in grantmaking for early childhood, youth development and support for families. The McKnight foundation gives away 93 million annually, primarily for activities in Minnesota. We also have an arts, environmental, and international grantmaking program along with the children and families program.

   2.

Can you share how the McKnight Foundation’s grantmaking addresses issues relevant to youth impacted by foster care, juvenile justice, or other systems of public care?

Chris:  Two of our major foci in youth development are the After-School Program and the Homeless and Runaway Youth Program. In the After-School Program, we have three types of grantmaking. The first is direct grants to after-school programs across metropolitan areas. Second, we support training for youth workers and networking among groups of youth organizations that come together around best practices. Third, we support policies and advocacy that support more after-school opportunities and resource for youth across Minnesota.

In the Homeless and Runaway Youth Program, we provide direct-service operating support for organizations that provide housing (emergency and supportive) and support services (education, jobs, counseling, life skills) for homeless and runaway youth. Additionally, we support networks of these grantees that come together around best practice and field improvements. 

Jeannine:  We have just started working in the juvenile justice area, and I am the person that is primarily involved with that new work.

   3.

How did you become involved in YTFG and why?

Jeannine: We learned about YTFG from Connect for Kids, one of YTFG’s nonprofit partners. We read the Blueprint’s Nine Tenets for Improving Outcomes for Youth – published by the Juvenile Justice Group of YTFG – and that seemed to resonate with us.  We ultimately decided that we could learn something and see if we wanted to go further on juvenile justice grantmaking in our own organization. 

   4.

How has being involved in YTFG helped you and/or your organization?

Jeannine: Professionally it has helped me in the area of juvenile justice by learning where the gaps are for kids who are in the system or at risk of being in the juvenile justice system. The Blueprint has been extremely helpful and has impacted our work. There is a lot of knowledge in YTFG that we are able to tap into.

Chris: It also gives us the opportunity to network with other funders. It gives us ideas on how other funders approach problems. Additionally, it’s comforting to be with others who are working on the same issues as we are.

   5.

Can you tell us about some of the projects that you are currently funding that pertain to disconnected youth issues?

Chris: We are interested in the juvenile justice work because the tradition of the McKnight Foundation is to fund programs that work with youth who are adjudicated or at risk of becoming a part of the juvenile justice system.

We have also made some grants that focus on efforts within the Minnesota foster care system to help young people be prepared for independent living after aging out of foster care and to help them avoid homelessness.  In juvenile justice reform, we provide membership support to YTFG and the Juvenile Justice Work Group. We have recently funded a state-wide effort in Minnesota to implement a reform platform to make sure youth are better served in the juvenile justice system, after they leave the system, and to prevent them from entering the system.

   6.

If someone or an organization was interested in focusing on foster care, juvenile justice, or education reform, what would you advise as a starting point?

Chris: If you are a funder, my advice would be to first frame the issues as they relate to your current grantmaking portfolio -- and then find out what the “state of the field” is right now. Of course, the YTFG research and writing about juvenile justice issues are excellent framing guides for foundations. You can choose among a number of elements to support that will have impact in the field.

Jeannine: We are at the starting point in the Juvenile Justice area and that’s why we’re tapping into the knowledge of the YTFG group. It’s also a good place to learn about best practices at a regional and national level.

   7.

If you had to choose one policy priority for 2008, as it relates to older youth, what would it be?

Jeannine: In foster care, funding for foster youth should not end at age 18. Foster youth should have funding at least to age 21. It seems in the long run that we would be saving money.

Chris: In juvenile justice reform, I wish there were dollars to support the models that we know are working, such as the Cook County Chicago model, which takes an asset-based approach to its work with young people.