Welcome to our Citywide Youth Council (CYC) application! CYCs serve as a mechanism for current 9th -11th graders to have input on city policy. Each CYC consists of 25-30 young people from across the city who meet to participate in team building, leadership development, research, and the creation of policy proposals to key decision makers in city government. Citywide Youth Councils allow youth to have a voice in the formation, implementation, and evaluation of public policy; councils we are recruiting for now include the Juvenile Justice Council (JJC), CPS Student Advisory Council (SAC), Teen Health Council (THC), and Youth Safety Advisory Council (YSAC).

...but you must be between the ages of 16 and 19 as of July 1, 2022 to qualify for the Citywide Youth Councils.

If you were born after July 1, 2006 and live in the Chicago neighborhood of Gage Park, New City/Back of the Yards, or North Lawndale, you may qualify for our Neighborhood Leadership Council program. Click here to fill out their application.

If you were born before July 1, 2003, you may qualify for our Mikva Summer Fellows program. Please click here to apply.

....but these Mikva programming opportunities are only for young people living in Cook County. If you do indeed live in Cook County, please click the "yes" button above to correct your application.

....but because you live outside of Chicago and are not interested in participating in the Juvenile Justice Council, we do not have any programs you are eligible for. We wish you all the best going forward. You may close this browser window.

To determine your eligibility for the program, please continue filling out the application. A Mikva staff member will reach out to you for additional information within 3 business days.

Unfortunately, you cannot apply for a Chicago Youth Council position if you are a current college student.

Please check back in early spring for possible summer opportunities.

Congrats! You are eligible to apply for our Citywide Youth Councils.

Each council is a group of about 30 young people from across the city who will meet bi-weekly during the school year and work to build a team, conduct action research and take action on policy recommendations that were presented to city leaders about how to address top issues facing Chicago youth. Most if not all council work is expected to take place in person in the Mikva Challenge office at 200 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60604. Programs are subject to change to virtual or hybrid depending on Covid-19 local and state health mandates.

Please read the brief description of each council below and use the drop down menus to tell us how interested you are in each one. (i.e. not at all, a little, some or a lot)

Congrats! You are eligible to apply for our Juvenile Justice Council.

This council is a group of about 20 young people from across the city who work to build a team, conduct action research and take action to create and present policy recommendations to city leaders about how to address top issues facing Chicago youth.

Please continue filling out the application to provide us with additional details.

You marked you had some or a lot of interest in our CPS Student Advisory Council - that's great! In order to fully apply for this council, a staff member will reach out to you to complete the application process.

If you ALSO marked you are interested in any of our other three councils, please continue this application by clicking "next" below.

This program is a year-round commitment. It is very important that you are able to participate fully in programming both during the school year and over the summer. Please read the statements below carefully and provide an honest answer.

Please be as detailed as possible. Each response should be between 2 and 4 sentences long.

Please click the submit button below. You will receive an email confirmation once you submit.

NEXT STEPS: If you are selected for an interview, you will hear from a Mikva staff member shortly.  If you have any questions, please send an email to youth@mikvachallenge.org.