Young people from across the city have a chance to get involved in the Kansas City Youth Commission, a group that provides city policymakers with input that reflects the youth perspective.
The city will start taking applications today, and the mayor will appoint up to 20 commissioners based on those applications. The membership will include 15 local youth who are high school juniors or seniors within school districts in the city or college undergraduates at higher education institutions in the city. Up to five members may also be representatives or members of youth-serving organizations. All members of the Youth Commission must be residents of the City of Kansas City, Missouri.
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The group will represent Kansas City’s youth in public hearings and will serve in an advisory capacity on issues, not only related to youth, but also on issues that affect our community as a whole.
“Today’s youth will become tomorrow’s community leaders and we need to build our City with them involved in our decision-making,” said Mayor Sly James. “The Youth Commission is a natural entity through which our young people can express their opinions and ideas. I’m looking forward to meeting our Youth Commissioners in April.”
The idea of codifying a permanent Youth Commission was first proposed by the Mayor’s Commission on Violent Crime and was included as a recommendation in their final report. The role of the Youth Commission was clarified through a series of meetings with stakeholders regarding the issue of a year-around curfew.
Interested individuals can apply at kcmayor.org/youthcommission beginning today, through March 31st at 5 pm. The youth commission members will be announced in April.
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