Improving the Coordination and Effectiveness of 
                Youth Programs

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, and in recognition of the successful 
                interagency collaboration resulting from the Helping 
                America's Youth initiative, it is hereby ordered as 
                follows:

                Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the Federal 
                Government to promote achievement of positive results 
                for at-risk youth through:

                (a) enhanced collaboration among government 
                organizations at the Federal, State, and local level, 
                including with faith-based and other community 
                organizations, as well as among families, schools, and 
                communities, in order to leverage existing resources 
                and improve outcomes;

                (b) identification and dissemination of promising 
                strategies and practices that have been proven 
                effective through rigorous evaluation; and

                (c) online publication of essential information to 
                assist interested citizens and decision-makers, 
                particularly at the community level, to plan, 
                implement, and participate in effective programs for 
                at-risk youth.

                Sec. 2. Establishment of the Interagency Working Group 
                on Youth Programs. The Secretary of Health and Human 
                Services (Secretary) shall establish within the 
                Department of Health and Human Services for 
                administrative purposes only, an Interagency Working 
                Group on Youth Programs (Working Group), consistent 
                with this order and reflecting the ongoing interagency 
                collaboration under the Helping America's Youth 
                initiative.

                Sec. 3. Membership and Operation of the Working Group.

                (a) The Working Group shall consist exclusively of the 
                following members or their designees, who shall be 
                full-time Federal officers or employees:

(i) the Secretary;

(ii) the Attorney General;

(iii) the Secretaries of Defense, the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, 
Labor, Housing and Urban Development, and Education;

(iv) the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy;

(v) the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and 
Community Service; and

(vi) other officers or full-time or permanent part-time employees of the 
United States, as determined by the Secretary, with the concurrence of the 
head of the department or agency concerned.

                (b) The Secretary (or the Secretary's designee) shall 
                serve as Chair, and the Attorney General (or the 
                Attorney General's designee) shall serve as Vice Chair, 
                for a period of 2 years from the date of this order. 
                Subsequent Chairs and Vice Chairs shall be designated 
                by the Secretary on a biennial basis.

                (c) In implementing this section, the Chair, and in the 
                Chair's absence the Vice Chair, shall convene and 
                preside at meetings of the Working Group, determine its 
                agenda, direct its work, and establish and direct 
                subgroups of the Working Group, as appropriate, to deal 
                with particular subject matters, that shall consist 
                exclusively of members of the Working Group or their

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                designees. The Chair, after consultation with the Vice 
                Chair, shall designate an officer or employee of one of 
                the member departments or agencies to serve as the 
                Executive Secretary of the Working Group. The Executive 
                Secretary shall head any staff assigned to the Working 
                Group and any subgroups thereof, and such staff shall 
                consist exclusively of full-time or permanent part-time 
                Federal employees.

                Sec. 4. Functions of the Working Group. Consistent with 
                the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, the 
                Working Group shall:

                (a) identify and engage key government and private or 
                nonprofit organizations that can play a role in 
                improving the coordination and effectiveness of 
                programs serving and engaging youth, such as faith-
                based and other community organizations, businesses, 
                volunteers, and other key constituencies;

                (b) develop a new Federal website on youth, built upon 
                the Community Guide to Helping America's Youth, with 
                the first phase of this website to be launched within 
                10 months of the date of this order, by:

(i) identifying and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of existing 
Federal websites focusing on youth-serving entities in order to improve 
access to the most useful content;

(ii) providing for training to youth-serving entities to enable effective 
use of the Federal website;

(iii) developing additional strategies and tools and resources accessible 
through the Federal website that will help promote effective community-
based efforts to reduce the factors that put youth at risk and the 
provision of high-quality services to at-risk youth across the country; and

(iv) developing strategies to ensure that the Federal website is routinely 
updated, improved, and publicized;

                (c) encourage all youth-serving Federal and State 
                agencies, communities, grantees, and organizations to 
                adopt high standards for assessing program results, 
                including through the use of rigorous impact 
                evaluations, as appropriate, so that the most effective 
                practices can be identified and replicated, and 
                ineffective or duplicative programs can be eliminated 
                or reformed;

                (d)(i) identify and promote initiatives and activities 
                that merit strong interagency collaboration because of 
                their potential to offer cost-effective solutions to 
                achieve better results for at-risk youth, including 
                volunteer service in concert with the USA Freedom Corps 
                and mentoring in concert with the Federal Mentoring 
                Council; and,

(ii) encourage rigorous evaluations, as appropriate, of such initiatives 
and activities to ascertain their effectiveness in improving academic, 
employment, social, and other individual outcomes, and make these findings 
publicly available, and

                (e) annually report to the President, through the 
                Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, on its 
                work and on the implementation of any recommendations 
                arising from its work, with the first such report to be 
                submitted no later than 6 months after the date of this 
                order.

                Sec. 5. Administration of the Working Group. (a) The 
                Secretary shall, to the extent permitted by law, 
                provide administrative support and funding for the 
                Working Group.

                With the consent of the Secretary, other member 
                departments or agencies may provide administrative 
                support to the Working Group, to the extent permitted 
                by law and consistent with their statutory authority.

                (b) The heads of executive departments and agencies 
                shall provide, as appropriate, such assistance and 
                information as the Secretary may request to implement 
                this order.

                (c) The website referred to in section 4(b) of this 
                order shall be funded by contributions from executive 
                departments and agencies to the extent permitted by law 
                and consistent with their statutory authority.

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                Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) authority granted by law to a department, agency, or the head thereof; 
or

(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budget, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

                (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create 
                any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    President, George Bush

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    February 7, 2008.