Resources & Publications: Philadelphia

• Apr 03, 2013  |  Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant Taking Aim at Gun Violence: Rebuilding Community Education and Employment Pathways In a single generation, our nation is faced with the prospect of losing over 132,000 black men and boys to gun violence. Moreover, for every black male who dies from gun violence, there are another 24 others who suffer non-fatal injuries - making the impacts of such violence even greater. In black communities, gun violence is about far more than reforming gun control laws and empowering law enforcement. Gun violence for young black males predominates in communities where residents live in concentrated disadvantage with high rates of unemployment, school dropout, and poverty. The absence of opportunities in these communities gives rise to criminal activity and the loss of too many young lives. Solving the crisis of gun violence in communities requires that America address the issue of concentrated poverty and geography. The rebuilding and strengthening of these communities through creating infrastructure to provide improved education and employment opportunities for black youth will significantly reduce issues of gun violence. Read Online   |   Download PDF   |   Additional PDF
• Aug 19, 2011 Keeping Youth Connected: Philadelphia The purpose of the community profiles project is to highlight data that help community members, advocates, and policymakers understand the nature and extent of issues facing large numbers of youth in low-income urban and rural communities. This fact sheet presents data and research related to Philadelphia to help elevate the issue of youth development and high school dropout. Download PDF
• Mar 09, 2010  |  Sara Hastings, Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt, and Linda Harris Building a Comprehensive Youth Employment Delivery System: Examples of Effective Practice Many communities have shown tremendous commitment to youth employment. The return on investment and effort, however, can be greatly multiplied if federal youth funds, discretionary funding, resources from other youth serving systems, and community resources are brought together to build comprehensive youth employment system. Key elements of such a system include: a strong convening entity, an effective administrative agent, a well-trained case management arm, strong partnerships across systems that serve youth, and high quality work experience and career exposure. Download PDF
• Jul 30, 2009  |  Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Keeping Youth Connected: Focus on Philadelphia To promote greater understanding of the scope of youth distress in high poverty, urban areas, we analyze data on indicators related to education, crime and victimization, employment, and family stability. This data highlights the major school, community, family and peer factors which impede a young person on the path to completing high school. Communities and advocates can use this data to galvanize support for needed interventions, and to benchmark and track progress on achieving outcomes. Download PDF
• Jul 28, 2009  |  Sara Hastings Putting Youth to Work Series: Examples of Effective Practice in Disconnected Communities, Philadelphia There are several communities that are working effectively to address pressing youth issues. Their approach and lessons learned can be a guide for other communities seeking to improve outcomes for their youth populations. CLASP is committed to highlighting these effective practices in particular communities around the country and have initiated a series focused on youth employment service delivery. This profile highlights examples of the approaches used in Philadelphia. Download PDF
• Jan 01, 2009  |  Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Lessons Learned: Community Perspectives on Supporting the Path to Positive Outcomes for Youth CLASP convened city leadership from eight communities around the country which face the problem of high levels of youth distress. These city leaders provided their grounded perspective on the challenges that communities face when trying to create a continuum of supportive services at sufficient scale to serve all their youth. They also discuss the role that national policy organizations can play in supporting their work. Download PDF
• Feb 16, 2006  |  Linda Harris Learning from the Youth Opportunity Experience: Building Delivery Capacity in Distressed Communities In 2000, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded significant Youth Opportunity (YO) Grants to 36 high-poverty urban, rural, and Native American communities. The grants were designed to serve all young people in these areas, regardless of income or connection to school or work. Communities were required to assess and integrate existing youth-serving systems and agencies to support education, work exposure, youth development, and other services for young people. Despite evidence of considerable community accomplishments, the YO grants were ended in 2005. This report, based on a survey of 22 of the 36 sites, examines the approaches' strengths, challenges, and lessons learned, and offers recommendations for policy and practice. The appendix of this report contains a brief description of the collaborative efforts in which these YO communities were engaged. Download PDF