ExecutiveOrdersEO
MemoMemorandumObama · D

Presidential Memorandum

Creating and Expanding Ladders of Opportunity for Boys and Young Men of Color

President Obama established the My Brother's Keeper Task Force, an interagency initiative chaired by the Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary with the Deputy Secretary of Education as Executive Director, to improve life outcomes for boys and young men of color through better coordination of federal programs, data sharing, and public-private partnerships. The Task Force is directed to create assessment tools, evaluate federal policy impacts, and report back with recommendations within 90 days and a status report within one year.

Federal Register Open PDF 79 FR 12923

Impact dates

  1. Task Force provides status report on implementation

  2. Task Force provides President with progress report and recommendations

  3. Task Force members identify relevant programs and data-driven assessments for portal

  4. Task Force members provide recommended indicators of life outcomes and data plans

Key directives

  • Establish My Brother's Keeper Task Force chaired by Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary
  • Deputy Secretary of Education to serve as Executive Director
  • Department of Education to provide funding and administrative support
  • Develop comprehensive public website with life outcome indicators
  • Assess federal policy impacts on boys and young men of color
  • Create online portal for successful programs and practices
  • Provide federal data assets and expertise to public and private efforts
  • Focus on evidence-based interventions up to age 25, particularly under age 15

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • Task Force established
  • members designated

Near term (90d)

  • recommended indicators due within 30 days
  • program assessments due within 45 days
  • initial progress report due within 90 days

Long term

  • status report due within 1 year
  • ongoing website maintenance and data dissemination
  • sustained federal-private-philanthropic partnership efforts

Risks & tensions

  • Implementation 'subject to the availability of appropriations' may limit resource commitment
  • No enforcement mechanism created—memorandum explicitly disclaims creating enforceable rights
  • Success depends heavily on voluntary private sector and philanthropic engagement
  • Vague on concrete programmatic changes versus coordination and reporting
  • Potential tension between data sharing goals and applicable privacy laws
Presidential Memorandum: Creating and Expanding Ladders of Opportunity for Boys and Young Men of Color · Executive Orders