YOUTH POLICY INSTITUTE

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE


	The Youth Policy Institute (YPI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 
research organization which works to inform citizens so that they 
can shape policies and programs which affect their neighborhoods 
and their lives.  Now in its thirteenth year, the Institute's goal 
is to provide information on policy history and policy options, 
including a memory of past successes and failures.  

	YPI believes that sound program strategies can emerge only 
from knowledgeable debate coupled with neighborhood participation.  
To support and spark that debate, the Institute publishes 
objective reports on current, past and proposed policies and 
programs.  The Institute applies a rigorous research methodology 
to achieve comprehensive, up-to-date coverage of more than 250 
topics areas from AIDS and infant mortality to community 
development and early childhood education.  YPI publishes two 
monthly magazines and a journal, and has initiated demonstration 
projects with neighborhood-based urban and rural coalitions who 
are expressing an immediate need for this information. 

	To accomplish its other goal of training and supporting young 
people engaged in community problem solving, the Institute 
combines age and experience with youth and enthusiasm.  Over the 
years, YPI has been staffed by more than 800 individuals.  This 
interracial, intergenerational group has been educated about the 
workings of the policymaking process while at the same time 
serving an important role within it through their published 
research efforts.  Operationally, a small core staff of accredited 
professionals guides the research and publishing efforts of a 
group of between eight and eighteen college and graduate school- 
age analysts working out of YPI's offices in Washington, D.C. 

	To expand the reach of YPI's research, dissemination, and 
training efforts, the Policy Action CORPS has been formed with the 
expectation of reaching 200 college and universities in the next 
two years.  Through the Policy Action CORPS, hundreds of college 
students will be trained to use their research skills and 
information resources to facilitate the problem-solving efforts of 
local and national organizations.  By joining their intellectual 
talents with direct community involvement, students trained in 
this unique form of service have the potential to transform the 
relationship between colleges and universities and their local 
communities.


YOUTH POLICY INSTITUTE
1221 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite B
Washington, D.C. 20005
202/638-2144
David L. Hackett, Executive Director