OUR MISSION
Friday Night Live builds partnerships for positive and healthy youth development which engage youth as active leaders and resources in their communities.
The California Friday Night Live Partnership (CFNLP) provides leadership and field support for the continued growth and enhancement of Friday Night Live (FNL), Club Live (CL), Friday Night Live Kids (FNLK), and Friday Night Live Mentoring (FNLM) programs throughout the state, as well as the California Youth Council (CYC).
The primary focus of the FNL, CL, FNLK, and FNLM programs is to work in partnership with young people, providing programs rich in opportunities and support. The Partnership is committed to the belief that a youth development framework, which is inclusive, comprehensive, youth-driven, and founded on current research, will improve the lives of young people and the communities in which they live.
The CFNLP exists to provide the following supports and services to FNL programs throughout California:
- Training and technical assistance
- Identification, facilitation, and maintenance of organizational partnerships
- Program design, development, and innovation
- Meaningful youth involvement
- Routine program evaluation and assessment
- Dissemination of the latest research materials
The CFNLP office and staff, led by Director Nani Dodson, are housed in the Tulare County Office of Education (TCOE). Tulare County Superintendent of Schools Tim Hire is a committed partner of the organization.
The California Friday Night Live Partnership (CFNLP) was developed in 1984 in Sacramento by the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP), now the
California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), and the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). Friday Night Live began as a pilot program dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by teen motorists driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs. During the first years of the program the youth involved were organized into high school-based student action groups, later renamed FNL Chapters. The success rate was so great that in 1988, ADP established a statewide office to facilitate the expansion of the program to youth throughout California. By 1990, the number of counties with the FNL Program had increased 300% and the main focus of the program began to shift from one of preventing drinking and driving among teens to one of promoting healthy lifestyles free of alcohol, tobacco, or other substance abuse among youth.
Due to the overwhelming success of Friday Night Live, a middle/junior high school component was developed in 1988 by the Tulare County Office of Education (TCOE). By 1991, this component had been expanded statewide by ADP and named Club Live (CL). In 1990, TCOE developed the Friday Night Live Kids (FNLK) Program, which focuses on youth in grades 4-6. By 1994, 48 counties were implementing either CL, FNLK, or both. The chapter locations had also broadened from school campus-based programs to recreation facilities, housing projects, youth centers, and youth in detention centers, reaching nearly one million youth throughout California.
In March of 1996, ADP, through the request for proposals bid process, formed the California Friday Night Live Partnership (CFNLP) to assume the responsibility of providing leadership and field support to FNL, CL, and FNLK programs in counties throughout the state.
In 1998, the partnership began a pilot process for FNL Mentoring (FNLM). The five original counties had great success and within two years had developed the FNL Mentoring Model.
The FNL, CL, and FNL Kids programs are continually evolving and adapting to the latest trends and issues affecting youth, responding to current prevention and youth development research, and addressing the unique needs of each community served. Membership reflects the diversity of California’s population and the program has been implemented in nearly all of California’s 58 counties.
The primary focus of the FNL, CL, FNLK, and FNL Mentoring programs is to form youth-adult partnerships with young people, to provide programs rich in opportunities and support, so young people will be less likely to engage in problem behaviors, more likely to achieve in school, and more likely to attend higher education or secure a full-time job. FNL’s vision is to work hand-in-hand with young people so they are both problem free and fully prepared.