For youth, to apply for a tag (and preference points) they have to have hunter safety, a SSN and tunr 12 before the last day of the season. My kids took hunter safety at 8 years old and the 12 year old shot his first deer at 12 years and 1 day.

Youth have a lot of opportunities. RFW and elk conversion tags are the best. You can put them in for a point, a 3rd or 4th season elk tag and if they do not fill it, they can convert a bull or either sex, or just use a cow tag in the late season. They are area restrictions, and late season is colder and snowy too. That is what I do with my kids.