FUTUREYOUTH INITIATIVE
About the Future Youth Initiative
A statewide effort to better understand youth transition into adulthood.
The FutureYOUth Initiative (FYI) is a statewide effort focused on understanding the conditions that shape youth transition into adulthood, what's working well, where systems are falling short, and what needs to be redesigned. Because insight must come before intervention.
Future youth
Why FYI Exists
Communities across Connecticut are deeply committed to helping young people succeed. Schools are creating new opportunities. Community organizations are expanding services. Funders are investing in innovative programs. Employers are developing workforce pathways. Yet too often, decisions begin before understanding. FutureYOUth Initiative was created from a simple belief: before we decide what young people need, we should first understand what they are experiencing. Rather than beginning with assumptions, FYI begins with listening. Rather than focusing only on outcomes, FYI seeks to understand the conditions that influence those outcomes. That shift creates opportunities for stronger conversations, better questions, and more thoughtful responses across Connecticut.
Our Mission
To help Connecticut better understand the conditions shaping youth transition into adulthood by elevating youth voice, gathering meaningful insight, and encouraging conversations that lead to stronger communities and greater opportunities for young people.
Our Vision
A Connecticut where every young person is supported by environments intentionally designed to help them thrive. We envision communities that make decisions grounded in understanding, informed by youth voice, and committed to continually learning from the experiences of the young people they serve.
Meet the Founder
The FutureYOUth Initiative was founded by Dr. Dayeshell P. Muhammad, whose work has focused for more than two decades on helping adults, organizations, and communities better understand the environments that shape young people's lives. Drawing on her experience in youth development, organizational leadership, and performance improvement, Dr. Muhammad created the FutureYOUth Initiative to build a statewide process for listening to young people before designing solutions intended to support them.
She is the creator of the SEE360™ Conditions Assessment and the Thriving Environment Framework, which together anchor the initiative's approach to understanding youth conditions. Her guiding belief remains at the center of FYI: Insight must come before intervention.
Built Through Collaboration
Creating a better understanding of youth transition requires collaboration across sectors and institutions. FYI's insight is statistically validated by Yale School of Public Health and connected to adolescent development research by Cornell University's ACT for Youth Center. The initiative is supported through the Life After High School divisions of My People Community Services and My People Clinical Services. Together, these partnerships strengthen the credibility and reach of a statewide effort to understand today's young people.
Join the Initiative
Whether you're a school, community organization, employer, policymaker, funder, practitioner, or someone who believes young people deserve environments where they can thrive, there's a place for you in the FutureYOUth Initiative. Together, we can build a stronger understanding of today's young people and encourage conversations that create lasting impact across Connecticut.