Annie E. Casey Foundation

In partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, IMCI serves as an intermediary to fund community-based organizations to provide relationship education programs for vulnerable youth/young adults. Vulnerable youth/young adults are defined as those who are low-income, system-involved, disconnected from school and work, and/or pregnant or parenting. The IMCI partnered with Public Strategies, Inc., and the Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development, to identify and fund grantees to deliver relationship education to disadvantaged youth populations. They also provide training, technical assistance, and documentation of the lessons learned by these grantees to further the field of youth relationship education.

IMCI found that relationship education programming resonated with a variety of teen/young adult populations. Grant-funded services were offered to those who: had been in the child welfare system, were pregnant/parenting teens, were currently in a juvenile justice detention facility, or were engaged in a broader, positive youth development program offering other life and education-focused skills. Services were offered to young people ranging in age from 14 to 20 who were found in a variety of settings—community programs, schools, or various systems such as juvenile detention centers. IMCI has learned valuable lessons from this experience that will inform the fields and the futures of relationship education, positive youth development and other youth-focused programming.