Our Impact
Youth Leadership
Californians for Justice believes that youth are the leaders we need to create the kinds of schools and communities we all deserve. Each year we engage youth in leadership training and civic education to develop their sense of power and voice to ensure that every young person, especially low-income youth of color, feel heard, valued, and reflected in the decisions that affect them. Each year we:
- Engage 250 youth in leadership development and advocacy, with a focus on low income youth, youth of color, LGBTQ youth, foster youth, and immigrant youth.
- Support the social emotional development and well-being of over 100 core youth leaders
- Graduate CFJ alumni who are 3.5x more likely to attend a 4-year university and 5x more likely to remain civically engaged into adulthood than their peers.
Public Education
We aim to break the cycle of racial bias in our schools to ultimately increase economic prosperity and well-being in low-income communities of color by transforming policies, practices, and perceptions. We currently work on state policy and in 8 districts and 11 schools around these issues:
- College & Career Access
- School to Prison Pipeline & Social Emotional Learning
- Equitable & Engaged School Funding
- English Learners & Bilingual Education
- Teacher Retention, Diversity & Support
Community Power
Strengthening our democracy is critical to economic prosperity and racial justice. We connect with community members across differences of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and age and get them active in civic life. Each year we connect with:
- 4,000 youth and community members who take action to improve their community
- 9,000 young voters of color
- 40 elected officials who meet face to face with young people to hear the issues they face and solutions they have to offer