Establishing a Youth Advisory Committee

Remember that the purpose of a Youth Advisory Committee is to increase communication and collaboration
between youth and adults. It’s about sharing and ensuring that youth have a voice within their services and community. After all youth are the future and they should be encouraged to take an active role in the
world they live in.

Application:
Eligibility Requirements, membership size and age limits of Sr. and Jr. YAC
To be drawn up by TAC

Mission Statement:
To be drawn up by TAC

Operation procedures:


Youth committee Qualities:
Non-judgmental - Committed - dedicated - Motivated - Respectful
Honest - Loyal - Creative - Team player - Aware of Community

Who should be on your youth committee?
What does a Youth advisory committee look like? Where are members coming from? What do they care about?
Are they involved with lots of groups or clubs? Maybe they have talents and skills you don’t
know about yet.

There are so many different possibilities for selecting your committee members and it’s a good idea to try to
narrow down some options while still allowing for plenty of diversity in your team. First you must decide who is
the right fit for your committee!

Points of consideration:
Age/Grade Levels
Academic Requirements for Junior Committe applicants
Leadership and Service Experience
Diversity

Activities
As you craft the agenda, remember that the orientation is also meant for committee members to get to know
each other and start feeling comfortable in their new roles. They might be nervous or shy, so while the meeting should be orderly, it should also be fun and welcoming. Start with icebreakers that will let everyone share things about themselves, and that will also get them to start thinking about the importance of themes that will come up later in the orientation, like teamwork, responsibility, and respect.

As you craft the agenda, remember that committee members will get to know each other and start feeling comfortable in their new roles. While the meeting should be orderly, it should also be fun. Start with icebreakers that will let everyone share things about themselves, and that will also get them to start thinking about the importance of themes that will come up later in the orientation, like teamwork, responsibility, and respect.

Group Agreement
For many meetings to come, your members will be making decisions that impact other members as well as the committee. In order for the committee to be successful, each committee member needs to be respectful of each other’s opinions and ideas. One way to promote this is to form a Group Agreement. The Group Agreement is
formed based on the idea that mutual respect and understanding are necessary for successful teamwork and
how members would like to be treated. While the discussion about making the agreement can be facilitated by
the TAHS Board, the YAC members should generate the points themselves.

The agreement will start by asking committee members to think about what needs to happen for them to feel like they are respected and successful in being leaders. After discussing their answers, the group will come up with an agreement that each member will sign. In the future, if any committee members feel that they are being treated unfairly, or if there are disagreements or conflicts within the committee that are preventing the group from moving forward, everyone will refer back to the Group Agreement and move on together as a team.

Formatting meetings, minutes and miscellaneous items
One very important item is setting up a schedule for meetings. The TAHS Board may make suggestions, but the youth members should have a say in the final decision about how frequently they have meetings, on which days, and at what times. For example, members may agree to meet on the first and third Tuesday evening of each month, with Saturday afternoons as a backup time if meetings have to be canceled. Or they may agree that
when it is more difficult to meet—for example, during winter and summer vacation, they will meet once a month
and post updates on TustinMuseum.com and a committee blog.

Aside from scheduling meetings, the opportunity to adjust any rules or requirements, or to take note of points
that may have been omitted from the application process. Approval of any changes, especially changes to the commettee mission statement, should be approved by the whole group, as well as the TAHS Board