Tuesday, March 31, 2015 for IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, March 31, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAYOR NUTTER RELEASES

‘MY BROTHER’S KEEPER’ LOCAL ACTION REPORT

Philadelphia, March 31, 2015 - Mayor Michael A. Nutter announced the release of the Philadelphia ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ (MBK) Local Action Report highlighting how Philadelphia will sustainably improve outcomes for youth in Philadelphia—particularly boys and young men of color—by leveraging existing, evidence-based programs and by making investments in proven initiatives.

Since accepting the MBK challenge in September 2014, the Nutter Administration has hosted listening meetings throughout the city with stakeholders and young people to identify City and community programs that produce positive outcomes for young people, identified partner organizations to drive the agenda forward, determined the baseline data that highlights the disparities for boys and young men of color, and established a common framework for the work.

“The My Brother’s Keeper Initiative has brought an incredibly important issue to the National stage—how do we provide generation of boys and young men with the opportunity and ability to succeed?,” said Mayor Nutter. “In Philadelphia, we have highlighted our programs, initiatives, and policies that promote improved outcomes for boys and young men of color. This report is Philadelphia’s framework on how to drive this conversation and this work forward.”

Mayor Nutter also announced that the City will increase investments in programs that have been identified as reducing disparities: a $1 million investment in the READ! By 4th Grade, a city-wide grade-level reading strategy, a $3 million investment for the Philadelphia Youth Network to increase the number of high-quality, paid summer jobs, and the Community College of Philadelphia will receive an additional $3 million in increased support to eliminate tuition increases for the 2015-2016 school year.

The My Brother’s Keeper Challenge is a call from President Obama to cities and communities throughout the United States to identify collective opportunities for collaboration to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color. The goals of the My Brother’s Keeper Challenge and their Philadelphia leads are to ensure that all:

·  Children enter school cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally ready: Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity;

·  Children read at grade level by 3rd grade: Free Library of Philadelphia;

And then, to ensure that all older youth:

·  Graduate from high school: Project U-Turn;

·  Complete post-secondary education or training: Community College of Philadelphia;

·  If they are out-of-school, they are employed: Philadelphia Youth Network; and

·  Remain safe from violent crime: Philadelphia Youth Violence Prevention Collaborative.

The major findings of the report include continuing engagement with young people, who are excited and interested in being active participants in this work; streamlining overlapping initiatives, such as City summer internship and employment programs, to provide young people with enhanced access to these opportunities; and to standardize data across multiple platforms to better measure progress.

Individuals and organizations interested in participating in the ongoing work can email . To learn more about the findings for each milestone, the report can be accessed at www.phila.gov.

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