Minneapolis, Minnesota Recognized as the Second UNICEF Child Friendly City in the United States
Four years to the day after Minneapolis joined forces with UNICEF USA to pilot the Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) in the United States, the city was officially recognized a UNICEF Child Friendly City.
Minneapolis's CFCI local action plan
The Minneapolis Health Department and Youth Coordinating Board worked collaboratively with city leaders, government agencies, service providers, nonprofits and — most importantly — youth and families to work towards becoming a Child Friendly City.
One of the first steps was to create a CFCI local action plan. The City of Minneapolis's plan highlights four top priorities: emergency management and preparedness planning, youth voice in decision-making spaces, community safety and child rights education.
Emergency management and preparedness a top priority
Emergency preparedness was identified as a priority in the wake of three recent events, the Francis Drake Hotel fire in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020 and the resulting racial reckoning. Since the launch of the local action plan, Minneapolis has:
- Updated city emergency operation plans to intentionally include and consider children and families during response and recovery
- Engaged in the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) to increase the capacity of local public health departments to prioritize mothers and children in preparedness and response.
Young people need a seat at the table to help steer public policy
To build a truly child-friendly community, the voices of young people need to be included in decision-making, so Minneapolis set out to increase youth participation on city boards, commissions and committees. With support from the United Way, the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board (YCB) piloted the Youth on Boards Program and placed six young people on three boards in an advisory capacity. The city is currently working to give voting power to youth board members, a key step in meaningful youth inclusion.
Community safety a key issue
Minneapolis is often cited as one of the best places to live in the U.S., but measures of well-being often reveal significant racial disparities. The city has become increasingly segregated, and that segregation perpetuates significant inequities, including the burden of violent crime.
In October 2023, young people conducted interviews with over 100 of their peers for a Community Safety Report produced by the Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board (YCB). The survey also included data from parents of young children in the Minneapolis area Core themes that surfaced were the need for community involvement, addressing police relations, ensuring safe educational environments and establishing a replicable support system. The report was the first step to providing recommendations to the city around important community safety work.
Every child is born with basic human rights
In 2023, Minneapolis expanded its popular Reach Out and Read Minnesota initiative, distributing free books to children and their parents via hospitals and health clinics in Hennepin County. Some of the books introduce the concept of children's rights as outlined in the CRC: every child, no matter where they are born or where they live, has the right to food, water and shelter, to go to school, to be free from violence, to breathe clean air and more.
Being recognized as a UNICEF Child Friendly City "does not mean everything is perfect for children" in Minneapolis, said Michael J. Nyenhuis, UNICEF USA's president and CEO. "But it does say that the city has a commitment to continue the work."
By signing on to a global network that values children, the City of Minneapolis has affirmed its intention to prioritize the needs of children and young people and create a better future for everyone.
