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LEXINGTON YOUTH COMMISSION
CHAIRMAN 'S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
,
Stephen Politi
September 20, 1972
INTRODUCTION
To date, the Lexington Youth Commission has held approximately four
meetings These were successful in serving to briefly acquaint the Com-
mission members with one another, in ratifying at least for the present a
set of by-laws, in selecting an executive committee of nine members, and in
electing a chairman and a secretary
On the other hand, these meetings were disappointing in some important
respects The subcommittees were created without any in-depth or imaginative
thinking. Brief experience operating under them has shown that their scopes
I are overlapping and that they lack clearly defined charges In even more
basic terms, though, the Commission has failed to educate itself fully as to
its fundamental responsibilities, as to its relationship with other town
Boards, and as to future directions in which it would like to see itself move.
During the past several weeks I have talked to a great many town officials
1 and to representatives of Youth Commissions in other communities The following
represents the results of these discussions
COMMITTEES
1 "The Commission shall prepare a comprehensive town-wide inventory of youth
programs, services, and facilities and shall continually review this in-
ventory " (By-laws-Section four)
i
A. Functions
The compilation, publication, and distribution of this inventory will
serve two major functions
I First, it will provide the youth of the town, parents, recreational
leaders, youth oriented organizations, and counseling and guidance
personnel with a complete listing of all youth programs, activities,
and related services now available in Lexington.
Second, having such information readily available to us is a funda-
mental prerequisite to the Youth Commission evaluating the merits and
weaknesses of existing programs and to supplying leadership for com-
munity needs, which are not now being met
Third, the annual updating and reviewing of this booklet will require
the establishment and maintenance of a continual contact with a wide
variety of community resources
B. Contents
The inventory should include both public and private youth oriented
programs available in Lexington Examples of activities which should
not be included are those which take place during school hours and
which are school sponsored
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Whenever possible, the direct contact with organizations, rather than
the use of form letter requests for information, should be the primary
means of obtaining data for inclusion in the inventory This will in-
sure that the activity booklet is as complete and as accurate as
possible. Further, it will establish an all important, personal line
of communication between the Youth Commission and youth related organ-
izations At the conclusion of the committee's data gathering, however,
a form should be printed in the Minute-man to reach any organizations
that might have been overlooked
C. Form•
Needless to say, the method by which such information is presented will
be as equally important as the information itself The youth services
directory should be indexed, compact, and easy to read Hopefully,
some imagination will go into it also.
D Printing and Distribution
To adequately fulfill its purpose, it is essential that the inventory
be distributed to each household in the town. Selectman Busa has in-
dicated that funds will be available for the printing but not for the
mailing Thus dovetailing the completion of the booklet with that of
the Annual Town Report will be an important consideration.
11 "The Commission shall identify the problems and needs of the youth of the
town " (By- laws, Section four)
A Purpose-Goals
First, the identification of these needs and problems will require close
and extensive communication with all of Lexington's youth This will ,
in turn, publicize the existence of the Youth Commission and also the
fact that there is a town government sponsored committee that is willing
and anxious to listen to what the youth of the town have to say
Second, there are still public officials and private citizens who
question whether youth needs and problems have reached such proportions
so as to require government intervention either in the form of addi-
tional programs or in the form of increased financing of existing facil-
ities In any case, when the Youth Commission makes a recommendation
to a town Board it should have the facts to back up its proposals
Third, a compendium of the needs and problems of the youth of Lexington
will provide an invaluable source of information to the numerous town
Boards and Committees charged with making youth related policy decisions
Finally, the knowledge of such problems and needs will serve as a yard-
stick by which to evaluate the capacity of existing programs, services ,
and facilities is essential if the Youth Commission is to effectively
supply leadership for new programs
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B. Scope of Study
One immediate and obvious observation is that there is no single set
of youth needs and problems This committee should thus be charged
with identifying the needs and problems of Lexington's alienated and
hostile youth, of Lexington's articulate and actively involved youth,
and most importantly, of those youth who fall somewhere between these
two extremes
C. Procedure:
Just as there is no one set of youth problems and needs, there will be
no single procedure for this committee to follow in acquiring all the
information needed to meet its charge. One thing that is certain,
however, is that the committee must reach out to the youth of Lexington
and not sit back and wait for the youth to come to it
C. Form:
I envision the result of this subcommittee's work taking the form of a
detailed written report The report of Dr Heard, chancellor of
Vanderbilt University, hopefully will provide an example of the type
of analysis and insight which is both possible and necessary
111 "The Commission shall prepare, publish, and distribute to the Town Meeting
each year the Commission's recommendations on all proposals and requests
for appropriations for youth services and facilities, excluding only
those proposals presented by the School Committee (By- laws, Sections one
and five)
A Purpose:
First, the preparation of such a report will present to Town Meeting
Members and to other town officials a separate listing of existing and
proposed town financed youth services and the amount of money now
appropriated for each such program.
Second, preparation of the report will require meetings with those
groups requesting funding and will necessitate a critical evaluation
of the youth programs that these groups are responsible for
Third, in making tit recommendations the Commission will be fulfilling
a second charge specified in section four of the by-laws, i .e. "The
Commission shall evaluate the capacity of the existing programs, ser-
vices, and facilities to deal with the changing needs of the youth of
the town.
Finally, the recommendations of the Commission will insure that town
monies available for youth activities be spent as wisely and as effec-
tively as possible.
B. Form:
The written report should consist of a list of all existing and proposed
youth oriented activities and services which are town funded except those
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Mr Ben Bertini , Lexington's director of recreation, will be the guest
speaker at FOR's next meeting on September 26 at 8:00 p.m. at the home
of Ellen Sklar, 19 Hilltop Avenue.
Postponing the formation of a recreation committee will in no way prevent
the Commission from studying or taking a position on specific recreation
problems or proposals which are brought to its attention
V "The Youth Commission shall make recommendations on matters pertaining to
the youth of the town " (By- laws, Section one)
A Introductory Comments
These matters may be chosen by the Commission itself or referred to
it by other town Boards or Committees
Examples are further specified in section four of the by-laws and in-
clude those which shall promote the communication between youth,
parents , and groups concerned with youth and those which shall promote
programs designed to stimulate understanding of the problems of youth
Illustrations of programs which this committee may select to study
and to make recommendations on, include the following
B. Youth Referral Service:
This was enumerated as a goal in the one page Opportunity Subcommittee
report dated June 15, 1972
The Towns of Arlington and Needham have been particularly successful in
this project In these towns, the service consists of maintaining a
direct contact and liason with prospective employers and the registration
of youth seeking full time, part time, and summer employment The pur-
pose is not to provide a direct employment service involving pre-
employment interviewing, screening, and job follow-up but to free up
and to collect youth employment opportunities through one central source
which serves to plug the needs of the youth employer into those of
youth seeking job assistance.
The service is widely publicized in both the Arlington and Needham com-
munities Needham indicates that their project has been highly suc-
cessful , while in Arlington, 25% of the applicants have been placed
The Arlington program was initiated with the use of volunteers and
clerical help. The Needham project employs a fulltime Youth Coordinator
and is run in close connection with the Work/Study program of the School
Department.
Because of a decrease in the number of summer job opportunities that
were coming into the Needham office, a publicly financed summer job pro-
ject was proposed to the Board of Selectmen which would have involved
the Needham Youth Commission, Public Works Department, Council on Aging,
and the School Department The proposal eventually received favorable
.
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approval with the major exception of the funding aspect It has now
been submitted to the state and federal governments for possible state
and federal funding.
Volunteer opportunities are as important as paying jobs For example,
there appears to be no reason why high school students who express an
interest in law could not explore this interest by working with lawyers
in town. Similar opportunities could be worked out for those who ex-
press an interest in veterinary medicine and countless other professions
The possibility of unpaid Internships with the Town Manager and Planning
Director could also be explored
C. Calendar of Youth Activities
At the suggestion of the Needham Youth Commission, the Needham paper
now publishes weekly a calendar of activities, programs, and services
of special interest to youth It appears in the same section of each
week's paper, is a central source of information to the youth com-
munity, is used by groups for the purpose of planning their own
meetings and projects, and has been a major factor in eliminating
overlap and duplication
D Town Government Course:
The need for such a course is founded on the premise that one can not
fully appreciate town government or even begin to propose meaningful
changes without first taking time to completely understand it
The course would not be historical in scope but would explore the
powers and responsibilities of the Town Meeting, Town Manager, Town
Boards , and Committees.
It would introduce the student to Town By-laws and park regulations ,
and would provide such practical information as to voting requirements
and as to the procedure to be followed in having a proposal placed in
the Town Warrant
The course could be implemented as a one week segment of the present
high school U S History course or as a seminar during free activity
blocks Town Officials could be invited to participate in the in-
struction and course requirements could include attending sessions of
the Town Meeting, the meetings of the Board of Selectmen, or the
School Committee.
E. Literature Discussion Grouos
This proposal envisions the library establishing and guiding literature
discussion groups especially designed to bring together the Town's
Senior Citizens, parents, and youth Meetings could be held in par-
ticipants' homes on a rotating basis or in the library
Books to be read and discussed are those which will elicit a wide
variety of reactions, responses, and opinions
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F Group Discussion Program for Parents of Children Aooroaching
Adolescence.
This program is one which has met with success in Needham and is one
which looks toward prevention rather than one designed to meet im-
mediate youth needs
The Needham program is a cooperative effort between the Family Service
Association of Greater Boston, the Norfolk Mental Health Center, and
the Needham Youth Commission.
Experienced professional group leaders direct the discussion series
and when necessary provide suggestions for topics to be discussed
The discussions center on topics brought up by the participants The
group leader helps the participant to explore the issues, contributes
his expertise on an issue, and encourages the participation of all
group members
Questions and issues focus on developmental concerns involving the
adolescent, some understanding of what goes on physically and
emotionally in adolescence, the dependent-independent struggle of
the adolescent especially as it focuses on the parents, anti-social
behavior, peer relationships, and the role of the adolescent in the
family unit
The importance of the family unit and the relationships within it
are stressed so that parents are helped to see that because the
values and attitudes of their teenage children differ from theirs
does not mean that their relationship is in jeopardy
Parents enrolled in the Needham program are assigned to a group con-
sisting of five to eight couples and an experienced group leader
Each group meets once each week for a two hour evening session for
ten consecutive weeks A fee of $5 per couple per session is re-
quired to defray the cost of the program.
V1 Concluding Comments
One charge of the Commission which I have not yet addressed myself to is
that of "providing an open forum for public discussion of new programs"
(By-laws, Section four) Before we even begin to meet this responsibility,
though, it is essential that we publicize our existence, our goals, and
our present efforts to the town, to town Boards, and to the town's youth
population I will give this top priority during the coming weeks