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Exhibit 2 <br />STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS AND PRIORITIES <br />General Requirements <br />1. Project must serve youth. For the purposes of this program, youth is defined as a <br />person between the ages of birth and 26. <br />2. Project must increase youth accessibility to natural or cultural resources and <br />associated services. (For definitions of natural and cultural resources, see Appendix <br />N.) <br />3. Project must include design features and program elements to promote youth health, <br />safety, well-being, and comfort. <br />Funding Priorities <br />Projects containing the following elements will be given priority consideration in funding <br />decisions: <br />1. Projects that feature youth -led opportunities. Youth -led means projects in which youth <br />are a participant in the planning, decision making, facilitation, and evaluation; <br />2. Projects that propose resource awareness campaigns featuring youth and using youth <br />vernacular; and <br />3. Projects that empower youth to make healthy choices. <br />Underserved Communities <br />The historical context around the War on Drugs is critical to understanding the impact the <br />Youth Community Access Program aspires to achieve. The War on Drugs <br />disproportionately impacted communities of color, particularly low-income communities. <br />Harsh federal and state drug policies enacted during the War on Drugs led to mass <br />incarceration of people of color, decreased access to social services, loss of educational <br />attainment due to diminished federal financial aid eligibility, prohibitions on the use of <br />public assistance, and the separation of families. The Youth Community Access Program <br />aims to be a resource to address and repair the multi -generational community impacts of <br />the War on Drugs. <br />To fulfill this aim, the statutory focus of disadvantaged will be referred to as underserved <br />communities. Underserved communities means communities of color and vulnerable <br />populations. Communities of color are American Indian/Alaskan Native, African <br />American, Asian -Pacific Islander, and Latinx. Vulnerable populations are foster and <br />transition age youth, LGBTQIA youth, youth with disabilities, youth involved in the juvenile <br />or criminal justice system, and other youth populations disproportionately affected by past <br />state and federal drug policies. <br />The statutory focus on low-income communities will prioritize communities with an annual <br />median household income less than 80 percent of the statewide average. <br />Ir <br />55B-11 <br />