Dubuque is one of 12 cities from across the country selected to receive technical assistance for re-engaging disconnected youth using resources from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The initiative, City Leaders Re-engaging Disconnected Youth through Economic Recovery Efforts, is sponsored by the National League of Cities' Institute for Youth, Education and Families and will help city leaders utilize funding to enhance employment and job creation for disconnected youth.

"Dubuque is very fortunate to be one of the 12 communities selected to receive this assistance," said Dubuque Mayor Roy Buol. "It will allow Dubuque to collect accurate data on disconnected and at-risk youth and help us gain a better understanding of which areas are succeeding and which areas need improvement."

Disconnected youth are high school dropouts age 16 to 24 who are unemployed, transitioning from foster care or are former juvenile offenders. These youth are more likely to become involved in the juvenile or criminal justice systems, presenting a significant challenge to local economies and the overall well-being of cities.

Specifically, Dubuque plans to use the assistance to develop a data-collection system to assess the scale, trends and dynamics of disconnected youth in the community.

The city of Dubuque will serve as the lead on the project. Partners willing to dedicate staff, resources and funding include: Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, Every Child -- Every Promise, Shared Youth Vision Committee, Dubuque Community School District, Four Mounds and the Dubuque Multicultural Family Center.

This technical assistance program aims to help cities develop, implement and assess the effectiveness of their plans to re-engage disconnected youth by utilizing the $1.2 billion in ARRA funds allocated for local work-force investment boards and out-of-school youth employment.

The Institute for Youth, Education and Families will provide technical assistance to cities in the form of webinars and conference calls, where leaders will be connected to experts and federal agencies and will have a chance to discuss key issues, new opportunities and promising practices. Participants also will have access to an online community for cities to share resources and interact with one another.

Other cities selected to receive this technical assistance are Des Moines; Hartford, Conn.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Manchester, Conn.; Newark, N.J.; Portland, Ore.; Reno, Nev.; Rochester, N.Y.; Tucson, Ariz.; Washington, D.C.; and West Palm Beach, Fla.

At the conclusion of the initial technical assistance, the institute will select up to six of these cities to receive more intensive, individualized technical assistance in a second phase beginning in January 2010.