Young people know what it is like to be on the receiving end of services: medical treatments, education, mental health, social support and related programs. For several years many agencies have included family representatives in their program planning, needs assessment and evaluation of services to assure family-centered practices were an integral part of implementation. But what about the person who these services were targeted for, the youth?

Services for young people will be more effective if they are designed to respond directly to their needs in a way that youth find relevant and meaningful. The old saying, “Nothing about me, without me!” surely applies to youth with special health care needs too!

A good place to start in getting young people involved in your community or organization, is making sure that you have formal youth representation on your advisory and decision making bodies. Establishing and supporting youth for-youth organizations in your grant community is also a powerful way to raise youth involvement and advocacy. This will ensure that the youth voice is always present and heard, and it will model the importance of youth involvement and leadership for the community and for all of your service partners.