The Maine Youth Action Network (MYAN) is conducting a statewide Accessibility and Inclusion Audit to better understand how youth programs across Maine are supporting young people with disabilities and other access needs. This includes physical, intellectual, sensory, mental health, neurodivergent, or chronic health conditions, as well as broader barriers such as transportation, financial, cultural and language access.
This work is rooted in MYAN’s role as a youth-serving network that focuses on strengthening programs and communities from the inside out. While other efforts often focus on policy or legal rights, MYAN’s goal is to learn directly from organizations about how inclusion happens in practice — and what supports you need to make programs more accessible for all youth.
MYAN is inviting organizations to share insights and experiences by completing a short 10–12 minute survey.
Your input will help:
- Map existing supports and identify access barriers
- Highlight effective, inclusive practices already happening across Maine
- Develop a practical Accessibility Toolkit to help youth-serving organizations create more inclusive, accessible programs
This is just the beginning of what we hope will be a larger collaborative effort. After the survey, MYAN plans to:
- Share early findings through community updates and virtual discussions, as well as at the Maine Youth Leadership Conference
- Offer chances to review and provide feedback on pieces of the Accessibility Toolkit
- Keep partners connected as we build shared learning around access and inclusion
Please feel free to share this opportunity with your networks and ask other organizations who provide programing for young people in Maine to complete the survey.
As a next step in this statewide effort, MYAN is now gathering input directly from youth participants and their parents/guardians/caregivers. We would be grateful for your help sharing the information below with your program participants — through email, newsletters, flyers, social media, or any other communication channel your organization uses.
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About the Accessibility & Inclusion Surveys
The Maine Youth Action Network (MYAN) is working to better understand what helps young people feel welcome in youth programs — and what gets in the way. To do this, we are gathering input from both youth and parents/guardians/caregivers across Maine.
These surveys focus on access challenges such as disability, transportation, cost, language, or any other barriers that make it hard to join or participate in youth programs. What people share will help shape future programs so they are more inclusive, supportive, and easier for all youth to access.
Who We’re Surveying
Young People (Ages 11–24): Youth Access & Inclusion Survey (Youth Version)
- We want to hear directly from youth about what makes a program welcoming — and what might stop them from joining.
- Survey Time: 5–10 minutes
- Privacy: No name is required, and all answers are private
Parents/Guardians/Caregivers (of youth ages 0–24):Youth Access & Inclusion Survey (Parent/Guardian Version)
- We want to understand what families experience when trying to access youth programs — especially when barriers like disability, transportation, cost, or language are involved.
- Survey Time: 5–7 minutes
- Privacy: All responses are confidential and will not be linked to you or your young person
Why It Matters
Your feedback will help MYAN:
- Identify access and inclusion barriers across Maine
- Learn what supports already exist
- Advocate for programs that are more welcoming to all youth
- Build tools and strategies to improve accessibility statewide
By sharing their perspectives, youth and families are helping build a more inclusive future for Maine’s young people.