The Miami-Dade County Commission, and, in particular, Commissioner Barbara Jordan of District 1, must be commended for creating the Youth Commission that has begun to meet and develop recommendations as to how the county can best meet the needs of its young people.


The 24 members of the Youth Commission, ages 15-18, will, as Ms. Jordan said, provide “an insider’s perspective on violence and other issues our children face every day.” Too often, measures taken to curb youth violence and other delinquent behavior have been designed by adults who, it almost always seems, have little idea of how to relate to young people. A “youth curfew” usually pops up among the priority solutions. At another level, the solution seems to be to try, as adults, youths who run up against the justice system. There are other ways of dealing with youth problems.

According to their mandate, they will foster increased youth involvement in county government, hold forums on issues of concern to youths, recommend programs beneficial to youths and comment on proposed legislation that would impact youth. The Youth Commission, whose members are drawn from across the county, and its input into the deliberations of those who make laws for governing Miami-Dade, can only make for a better community.