Welcome to the King County Youth Development Network

About

The King County Youth Development Network (KCYDN) is a collaborative resource and network for local youth development staff, both online and in-person. KCYDN provides a centralized website where youth development workers share resources and best practices. Monthly in-person networking events feature professional panels and specialized training. KCYDN is staffed and supported by SOAR and led by a collaborative group of youth development staff.

SOAR is the community coalition that advances the healthy development of children, youth and families in King County. SOAR does work that no single agency can accomplish alone, building and strengthening effective partnerships and aligning community strategies to support children and youth (birth-18). SOAR’s professional development, community education, outreach and advocacy have benefitted children, youth and families countywide since 2004.

The KCYDN is continuously evolving and depends on your contributions. Register for the site on the left to contribute your thoughts, resources and questions and to receive weekly email updates! If you know of other resources or have ideas of how to improve the site, please contact kyla@childrenandyouth.org.

Purpose

To support and strengthen youth development work in King County by sharing resources, collaborating, and connecting individuals and organizations, both online and in-person. Over time, the KCYDN will contribute to a youth development community that is more cohesive and cooperative, uses its resources more effectively to benefit King County youth, and provides youth workers with a sense of belonging and professional satisfaction.

Getting Started 

• Sign-up to post: To contribute events, jobs, or discussion, click “New User” on the left. After you create an account, enter your login & password under “Log In.”
• Sign-up to receive email updates: To receive occasional updates from the site, enter your email under “Receive Email Updates.”
• Post a job opening: Click the Jobs tab and look for your job announcement- we automatically post most youth related positions from Idealist and Craigslist. If your position is not listed, fill out the form & click “Submit.”
• Post an event: Click the Events tab and click the link to post your event. Enter event details including category (press Ctrl to select more than one). Click “Save.”
• Join a discussion: The Message Board page lists several forums. Each forum contains several conversations. Click a conversation and either “reply” to someone’s post or “start a new conversation.” If you have a topic that doesn’t fit any of the forums, contact us and a new forum will be added for you.

Get Involved

• Interested in contributing content to the KCYDN? Log-in on the left and join the discussion.
• Interested in co-sponsoring the KCYDN? We are continuously looking for additional resources to support the further technical website development of the KCYDN as well as support for in-person networking events. If you are interested in more information about co-sponsorship, please contact kyla@childrenandyouth.org.
• Want to work with other youth allies around the county to support professional development, networking & resource-sharing among youth development staff? Join KCYDN’s Planning Committee, a fun, creative & productive group. Meetings occur monthly (3rd Thursdays from 9-11am) and we welcome new members. Contact kyla@childrenandyouth.org for location and more information.