The second annual National Youth Summit, hosted by the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration on Children, Youth and Families, was held in Washington, DC, on November 6–8, 2003. The theme of the summit was "Building on the Strengths of America's Youth." Attendees—young people who are active in their communities; national, state, and local policymakers; community leaders and youth service providers; and experts in the field of Positive Youth Development—discussed effective practices in youth development and learned of contributions that youth are making to their communities.

OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores joined other members of a panel of public policy experts at the summit's youth town hall meeting. OJJDP also sponsored summit workshops on mentoring and youth courts. Among recipients of FYSB's summit attendance scholarships were youth and advisors recommended by OJJDP from grantee organizations in several of its programs that foster youth-adult partnerships and positive youth development. These programs include Tribal Youth Program, Title V Community Prevention Grants Program, Drug-Free Communities Support Program, and Youth Crime Watch of America.

A report on the first National Youth Summit, held in June 2002, appeared in the July/August 2002 issue of OJJDP News @ a Glance, available on the OJJDP Web site.