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Invest Meta Settlement Dollars in Creative Youth
Bethann Steiner, Senior Director of Public Affairs
Creative Youth Development and after-school youth arts programming should be part of the state's plan to utilize these funds
Massachusetts is about to have an important opportunity to invest in the well-being of young people.
In August, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced a multi-state settlement with Meta resolving allegations that the company’s social media platforms harmed young people and violated state consumer protection laws. Under the agreement, Massachusetts could receive up to $516 million, including approximately $366 million guaranteed over the next 10 years. The settlement identifies a range of potential uses for the funds, including: youth crisis intervention and mental health services; after-school, summer, and outdoor programs; digital wellness and literacy: and other efforts intended to address harms associated with social media. The settlement remains subject to court approval.
How those resources will ultimately be distributed in Massachusetts has not yet been determined.
As that conversation gets underway, Mass Cultural Council believes Creative Youth Development (CYD), after-school, and out-of-school youth arts programming should be part of the discussion.
Creative Youth Development brings together high-quality experiences in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences with intentional youth development practices. Young people make art, music, theater, film and poetry; explore science and creative expression; work alongside teaching artists and peers; develop leadership skills; build relationships and contribute to their communities. These are active, in-person experiences that give young people opportunities to create and connect—not simply consume.
Massachusetts already has a substantial infrastructure for this work.
For more than three decades, Mass Cultural Council has supported Creative Youth Development through YouthReach, the longest continually running public funding program for CYD in the United States. Since its establishment in 1994, YouthReach has invested more than $26 million in 188 organizations. In FY26 alone, the program provided $1.84 million to 74 CYD programs across the Commonwealth.
That investment has also created something that is particularly relevant as Massachusetts considers how to deploy Meta settlement resources: a statewide network of organizations, established relationships, public funding mechanisms, grant-management systems, and experience measuring outcomes.
YouthReach organizations reported that nearly 19,000 young people participated in their programs in FY24. These programs reach youth across Massachusetts, including young people of color, young people with disabilities, multilingual youth, and young people connected to the Department of Mental Health.
YouthReach organizations have also demonstrated their ability to serve as trusted community partners, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many adapted their programs while continuing to provide relationships, referrals, and wraparound support to young people and families.
This existing infrastructure matters.
If Massachusetts determines that some portion of the Meta settlement should support after-school and out-of-school opportunities that promote connection, creativity, wellness, and positive youth development, there is already a proven public-sector partner with the relationships and systems to help move those resources into communities efficiently and responsibly.
Mass Cultural Council is ready to be that partner.
We are not suggesting that Creative Youth Development is a new field that needs to be built from the ground up. It is an established practice in Massachusetts with a track record spanning decades, a network of organizations serving young people in communities across the state, and a public funding infrastructure that can support both investment and accountability.
The question before Massachusetts now is how best to turn the resources associated with the Meta settlement into meaningful opportunities for young people. We believe Creative Youth Development should be part of that conversation, and that the Commonwealth should take advantage of the infrastructure already in place at Mass Cultural Council to make those investments possible.
The Agency recently shared this perspective directly with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Senate President, and Speaker of the House. Read the full testimony below for more information about Creative Youth Development in Massachusetts, the long-standing impact of YouthReach, and the Council’s proposal for how these resources could support young people across the Commonwealth.
If you agree with our recommendation, we hope you will join us in advocacy when policymakers start working on how to invest and award these settlement funds.
Mass Cultural Council Testimony Regarding Meta Settlement Funds