California has the highest rate of child poverty in the nation. Join us to end child it.

LOS ANGELES, April 3, 2017  —  Assembly Bill 1520, the Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Act, challenges the California State Legislature to cut child poverty in half statewide over the next two decades. It’s a tall order—California’s poverty rate among children is, by many measures, the nation’s highest. But thanks to a comprehensive framework of research-backed solutions that form the foundation of AB 1520, communities across the Golden State are beginning to rally behind the legislation.

Youth Policy Institute has been awarded a $750,000 grant from the Ballmer Group, as part of the first Los Angeles philanthropic investments by Connie and Steve Ballmer. The award will strengthen YPI’s place-based approach to fighting poverty, including the Los Angeles Promise Zone and the Los Angeles Promise Neighborhoods.

LOS ANGELES, March 1, 2017  —  “The Ballmer Group is honored to support Youth Policy Institute’s work toward improving the lives of low-income children and families in some of Los Angeles’s highest-need communities,” said Nina Revoyr, Executive Director-Los Angeles, The Ballmer Group. “By leading initiatives such as the L.A. Promise Neighborhood and L.A.’s first Promise Zone, YPI is demonstrating how public-private partnerships and systems change efforts can have a far-reaching effect on children’s futures.”

The current political climate is causing distress to an already taxed community, and unfortunately, our kids are the ones who are most impacted.

From:
Iris Zuñiga
Vice President, Youth Policy Institute

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 17, 2017  —  

Over the last few days, we have seen an increase in concern and panic from the families that we serve at our various school sites and centers. The current political climate is causing distress to an already taxed community, and unfortunately, our kids are the ones who are most impacted. 

We are working very closely with the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unified School District to make sure YPI receives the latest information and available resources. We’re also checking in with our local nonprofit partners and working on arranging a staff training that will better equip us with the tools necessary to support our families during this time. On the national level, we are working with National Council of La Raza and supporting in a myriad of advocacy efforts to fight against these unjust practices.

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16, 2017  —  What can educators at Catholic and Protestant schools in Northern Ireland learn from their counterparts 5,000 miles away at traditional public schools and public charter schools around Los Angeles—and vice versa?

Those answers will be gleaned from a collaboration between Loyola Marymount University’s School of Education and Queen’s University Belfast—an international exchange funded with a $55,000 grant from the U.S. Embassy in London. The initiative paved the way for 17 local educators and policymakers from LAUSD, Youth Policy Institute (YPI), WISH Charter, and Loyola Marymount University to visit classrooms in Northern Ireland in January, and it will fund a trip in April for Northern Ireland educators to visit Los Angeles and LMU.

Campaign will provide families with free tax preparation services and help them claim State and Federal tax credits up to $9,000.

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 2, 2017  —  Mayor Eric Garcetti today launched a campaign to provide low-to-moderate income households with free tax preparation services, and help taxpayers claim State and Federal tax credits.

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31, 2017  —  Youth Policy Institute (YPI) was awarded $880,000 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health with funding from the California Department of Public Health and the United States Department of Agriculture. The grant will support implementation of the Champions for Change – Healthy Communities Initiative, which aims to reduce the prevalence of obesity among low-income Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) eligible populations by providing nutrition education, physical activity promotion, and working to create healthier environments for low-income individuals and families where they live, learn, work, play, and shop.

Los Angeles chosen alongside five other locations nationwide for Promise Neighborhood award to help communities launch, scale, and sustain educational supports and community-based services to meet the needs of children and families.

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 25, 2017  —  Mayor Eric Garcetti today launched a campaign to provide low-to-moderate income households with free tax preparation services, and help taxpayers claim State and Federal tax credits.

Los Angeles elected officials, community leaders, parents and students gathered in the courtyard of Berendo Middle School/Monseñor Oscar Romero Charter Middle School Wednesday to announce the award of a $30 million Los Angeles Promise Neighborhood (LAPN) grant to Youth Policy Institute (YPI). This U.S. Department of Education grant is over five years starting January 2017.

These grants will provide cradle-to-career support for at-risk children in communities across the country, offering meaningful resources that will help them achieve their potential.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 20, 2018  —  Mayor Eric Garcetti today launched a campaign to provide low-to-moderate income households with free tax preparation services, and help taxpayers claim State and Federal tax credits.

The U.S. Department of Education announced today the six winners of the 2016 Promise Neighborhoods competition, which will award $33 million to help communities launch, scale, and sustain educational supports and community-based services to meet the complex needs of children and families.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1, 2016  —  Mayor Eric Garcetti today launched a campaign to provide low-to-moderate income households with free tax preparation services, and help taxpayers claim State and Federal tax credits.

This morning, Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell joined Youth Policy Institute and Vons Supermarket to launch the Los Angeles Promise Zone FINI project, designed to increase access to affordable, healthy, locally grown produce for low-income residents who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as CalFresh in California.

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16, 2016  —  The Los Angeles City Council selected the Actors Fund and Thomas Safran & Associates as the development team for the Hollywood Arts Collective, with YPI as the lead community-based partner. The new $35 million development will provide mixed-income affordable and market-rate housing with a preference for artists and space for nonprofit arts organizations, and is reinvigorating the landscape for local nonprofit arts organizations to support Hollywood as an accessible arts entertainment district.