Item - 2021.EC23.3

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council approve Investing in Youth Outcomes: A Strategic Guide for City of Toronto Youth Programs in Attachment 2 to the report (June 16, 2021) from the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration.

2.  City Council request all City divisions at the City of Toronto that deliver youth programs, including Economic Development and Culture, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, Social Development, Finance and Administration and Toronto Employment and Social Services, to implement Investing in Youth Outcomes: A Strategic Guide for City of Toronto Youth Programs, including the collection of socio-demographic data identified in Attachment 2 to the report (June 16, 2021) from the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration for the purpose of measuring program outcomes through monitoring, evaluation and analysis.

3.  City Council forward the report (June 16, 2021) from the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to the Boards of Directors of the City of Toronto's Agencies and Corporations that deliver youth programs, including Toronto Community Housing Corporation, Toronto Public Library and Toronto Police Service, and request that they implement Investing in Youth Outcomes: A Strategic Guide for City of Toronto Youth Programs, including the collection of socio-demographic data identified in Attachment 2 to the report (June 16, 2021) from the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration for the purpose of measuring program outcomes through monitoring, evaluation and analysis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged and changed the City's youth programs. Some have needed to pause, others have shifted online or made other adjustments to meet public health guidelines to keep young people safe. Despite these changes in regular programming, the eight City of Toronto divisions, agencies and corporations involved in the delivery of youth programming were able to advance the Youth Service Review through strong interdivisional collaboration, the assistance of an external consultant and extensive research on youth development and youth violence.

The Youth Service Review brings under one frame the City's current portfolio of youth programs delivered directly, or in partnership with, community organizations. The Review also delivers Investing in Youth Outcomes: A Strategic Guide for City of Toronto Youth Programs. The Guide is a strategic approach for City of Toronto youth programs that supports positive youth development, contributes to violence prevention and fosters equity and inclusion. It has three key components: 1) the Youth Outcomes Framework, 2) the Youth Violence Prevention Spectrum, and 3) Promising Practices to Improve Program Access. These components are intended to guide program planning, monitoring and evaluation, service delivery and decision-making. Investing in Youth Outcomes: A Strategic Guide for City of Toronto Youth Programs is also aligned with SafeTO: Toronto's Ten Year Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan being considered in the July 2021 City Council cycle.

The evidence-based Youth Outcomes Framework will establish a culture of monitoring and evaluation to maximize the impact of programming for Toronto youth (ages 12-29). Full implementation of the Youth Outcomes Framework will enable strategic and data-driven decision-making related to policies and programs that support the wellbeing of all Toronto youth, including those most vulnerable to serious crime and violence.

Toronto City Council has consistently expressed commitment to youth violence prevention in the City's portfolio of youth programs. Using the Youth Violence Prevention Spectrum, the Youth Service Review distinguishes between universal programs that prevent the development of risk factors for youth violence and highly targeted programs that focus on youth that are experiencing risk factors for serious crime and violence.

Most of the City's youth programs, such as the well-established and popular youth hubs and youth spaces, are universal programs aimed at the general youth population and contribute to preventing the development of risk factors to crime and violence through the promotion of positive youth development. Along the Youth Violence Prevention Spectrum, however, there are a few "targeted prevention" and "intervention" programs in the City's youth service portfolio. These types of programs, such as TO Wards Peace and Community Healing, are high dosage (i.e. frequency, intensity, and duration) and target youth that are either experiencing risk factors for violence or are already involved in violence, crime and/or high risk activities. Both types of programming are valuable to support more systemic efforts to achieve broad-scale community safety in Toronto and support the development of healthy and resilient young adults.

Based on the findings of the Youth Service Review, staff recommend continued investment in the development of the TO Wards Peace model to advance a balanced spectrum of universal and targeted programming in the City of Toronto's youth portfolio.

The Interdivisional Youth Service Working Group has also identified a list of high impact City of Toronto youth programs that will be incorporating one or more Promising Practices to Improve Program Access in the upcoming year. These practices, summarized in Attachment 2, will help optimize the impact of youth programs across the Youth Violence Prevention Spectrum, including enhancing the ability of universal programs to serve youth facing structural inequities due to income, gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, immigration status, and/or the neighborhoods they live in.

Finally, the Youth Service Review highlights the need for increased support and investment in building the capacity of City divisions, agencies and corporations to monitor and evaluate all youth programs in order to improve outcomes for Toronto youth.