City Leaders Gather in Minneapolis to Collaborate on Youth, Family Issues; Press Briefing May 3

5/2/2002

News Advisory:

Hundreds of community leaders from 39 cities in 25 states will discuss the role of local government in education, family and youth issues at the National League of Cities (NLC) "Your City's Families Conference" at the Minneapolis Hyatt Regency, May 1-4.

The 39 cities range from Waco, Tex. and San Francisco to Bloomington and Minneapolis, Minn.

---- May 3 A press briefing at the Hyatt at 11:30 a.m. (Skyway Suite on 2nd floor) will feature:

-- Minnetonka Mayor Karen Anderson (president of the National League of Cities),

-- New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, (first vice president of NLC)

-- City team leaders from Portland, Ore. and Fort Worth, Tex,

---- May 4 General Sessions and Workshops

-- Creating Healthy Communities: Putting it All Together for our Kids 11:45 am to 1:45 pm; Peter Benson, Search Institute, Minneapolis, MN

-- Student Learning: A Community Approach 9:45am to 11:30 am; Doris Baylor, Minneapolis Beacons Project, and Martin Blank, Coalition for Community Schools, Institute for Educational Leadership, DC

-- Neighborhood Initiatives to Protect Children, 9:45 to 11:30 am; Becky Butler, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Atlanta GA, and Susan Kelly, Center for the Study of Social Policy, Ann Arbor MI

-- Collaboration: How to Succeed, Avoid Pitfalls, and Maintain Momentum 1:45 pm - 3:30 pm; Lynn DeLapp, Independent Consultant/Author, Davis, CA; Annie Nelson, Minneapolis Youth Council; Bonnie Politz, AED Center for Youth Development and Policy Research, Washington DC

---- Press are welcome at the entire conference. The four-day conference will bring together community leaders whose work supports positive development of children, youth and families. Workshops will help local officials develop action plans to take back to their communities. The workshops will address after-school programming, youth development, early childhood education, city hall-school collaboration, preventing youth violence, funding strategies, and support for working families.

The National League of Cities is the nation's oldest and largest municipal organization with a membership of more than 1,800 cities and towns of all sizes. All of the nation's 49 state municipal associations are members of NLC. Visit www.nlc.org.