The Youth Policy Institute of Iowa is under contract with the Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning to provide substantive expertise, facilitation and assistance to the Iowa Collaboration for Youth Development (ICYD).  ICYD is a non-statutory, network of state agencies originally formed in 1999 to carry out a Youth Development State Collaboration demonstration grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Family and Youth Services Bureau.   The Collaboration was initiated to better align and coordinate youth policies and programs using a positive youth development results framework.  Over the last several years it has participated in a variety of state and national youth initiatives and continues to serve as a multi-system forum for the development and coordination of state youth policy and programs.  ICYD also partners with communities to coordinate and improve youth development policy and practice at the local level.  Carol Behrer, Executive Director of YPII, has been involved with this state-level youth development project since its inception.