http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus.xml?type=youth In Focus articles from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) en-us Sat, 18 May 2013 05:12:22 -0500 info@clasp.org webmaster@clasp.org 40 Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0060 On Wednesday, President Obama released his long-awaited budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2014. Typically, the PresidentaEUR(TM)s budget is released in February. This year, it was pushed back as he and Congress addressed the recent budget sequestrationaEUR"arbitrary and indiscriminate cuts enacted through the Budget Control Act and the ongoing tug of war to fund the federal government. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0060 Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0061 This week, President Obama released his Fiscal Year 2014 Budget. This proposal reflects the AdministrationaEUR(TM)s priorities to ensure a world-class education for all students, provide opportunities for employment, and build strong communities. The budget includes several areas of investment that could provide education and employment opportunities for black boys and young men along the age continuum from cradle to career. It also expands supports to low-income communities for revitalization, poverty reduction, increased jobs, and decreased violence. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0061 Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0058 132,000 Black Men and Boys Are Too Precious to Lose By Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant The gun violence issue most keenly affects black men in America. While black males are 6 percent of the United States population, they constitute 48 percent of the homicide victims who die by firearms in our nation. On average, about 4,900 black males are killed with guns every single year. Between 2000 and 2010, 53,850 black males died by firearms in America. Between now and 2025, if we donaEUR(TM)t act, more than 68,600 black males will face the same untimely death. That means, in a single generation, over 132,000 of our nationaEUR(TM)s black men and boys will lose their lives to bullets. The vast majority of these black males that are dying are young. In 2010, more than half of black male homicide victims were between the ages of 13 and 29. Eighty-six percent were under the age of 40. Gun violence in black communities, however, is far bigger than the issue of gun reform and whether tougher gun control laws will reduce access to guns. ItaEUR(TM)s really about concentrated poverty. For black males, issues of gun violence are largely concentrated in distressed neighborhoods within communities. For several decades, these black communities have lacked the infrastructure and resources to make them viable places to live, work, or raise a family. Jobs left these communities decades ago, so employment prospects are few. Their school districts are struggling, and many fail to graduate half of their students each year. Illegal underground markets and gangs have crept into many of these communities, exposing everyone to less safe neighborhoods. The revitalization of some neighborhoods and the return of higher-income residents has pushed long-time low income residents into further concentrated poverty. It should not be surprising to us that crime and violence have been difficult to contain in these communities. The absence of opportunity for education and economic self sufficiency makes growing up in these neighborhoods difficult for young people, in particular young black boys. Often, it breeds anger, resentment and hopelessness. When black boys in these communities have no positive prospects and the future before them is empty, what are they supposed to do? What are their options? Only the most resilient are able to overcome the devastation in their communities and families to graduate from high school, complete college, move forward into careers and stable lives. The vast majority are left to their own demise. Often, the media paints gun violence in black communities as some isolated black-on-black issue that has little relevance for the rest of America. Nothing could be further from the truth. Gun violence, and the ensuing death of young black men, is the ugly byproduct of concentrated poverty and lack of opportunity. Failure to address the issues of concentrated poverty in our communities has implications for the nation as a whole. Lost lives equals lost human capital, lost earning power, and lost innovation. So, when debating gun violence, the biggest issue to be tackled is not how much we control access to automatic weapons or how long of a waiting period we need when someone applies for a license. The biggest issue we face is transforming our most crime-riddled cities into safe, thriving communities where black men and boys have real opportunities to be educated and employed, have the ability to support themselves and their families, and are able to contribute substantially to the growth of their communities and the nation. Read more>> http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0058 Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0057 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0057 Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0059 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0059 Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0056 Recently, I was on Huff Post Live (a live-streaming program on Huffington Post) with an interesting panel of people discussing whether class defines segregation and poverty in our nation and whether race has lost its relevance. This discussion was based on a blog by Janita Poe on AI.com which asserts that class, not race, is what separates society today. If race were no longer a factor, then the experiences of the poor would not vary along racial lines. In fact, black and white families experience poverty very differently. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0056 Fri, 04 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0055 At a convening in December held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., Patrick McCarthy, President and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, asked a national audience of policymakers to reflect on their first job aEUR" their first pay check -- and to remember the confidence and pride those early work experiences instilled; the lessons learned on surviving in the real world; and the job and social skills, values, and expectations that were imparted. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0055 Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0054 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0054 Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0053 Los Angeles city officials, police, and school officials entered into a new partnership for dealing with troubled youth. Rather than punishment and issuing of citations for those with minor infractions, students will be offered counseling, support, and referral to appropriate services. These changes are a result of the continuous pressure from advocates, community organizers, parents, and civil rights organizations directed at changing the disciplinary practices which had roots in the zero tolerance policies of the nineties and resulted in early involvement of far too many students at an early age in the criminal justice system. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0053 Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0051 Today, the Supreme Court is set to hear the high profile Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (UT) case that will have major implications not just on racial preferences in admissions to public colleges and universities but also on the legacy of affirmative action. The challenge was brought by a white student, Fisher, who claims she was denied admission to UT due to an admissions policy that considers race. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0051 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0050 These are brutal times for youth in the labor market with employment rates at the lowest level in more than 60 years. For youth from high-poverty households in low-income communities these times may unfortunately set the trajectory for a future of struggle and economic peril. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0050 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0048 Transportation in America -- it represents our highways and our roads, our trains and our railroads, buses and trucks. Transportation -- it's how we get from point A to point B - to work, school, doctors' appointments and weekend baseball and football games. Transportation in America is public transit, too - it's SEPTA in Philadelphia, BART in the San Francisco Bay Area, MTA in New York City and WMATA in Washington, DC. It is as American as apple pie and essential to the connectivity of communities and the nation. I am reminded of this everyday as I commute to and from work on the X2 bus in Washington, DC. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0048 Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0052 Sequestration is a quintessential aEURoeinside the BeltwayaEUR? term with huge potential to affect people who live far beyond the Beltway aEUR" and inside it, as well. Here is a primer from CLASP describing what sequestration is and what it means. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0052 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0049 This week, the Campaign for Youth, along with United Way, First Focus, Forum for Youth Investment, and the National Collaboration for Youth partnered to host the Congressional briefing "Reclaiming our Nation's Disconnected Youth." The briefing featured a cross-section of community leaders discussing their efforts to employ integrated dropout prevention and recovery approaches that support young people in achieving successful life outcomes. Participants also heard real-life experiences from three young people who at one point were disconnected from both education and work. With the country facing not just an upcoming election, but tough budget battles and changing priorities, the event was an opportunity for pointed questions and real discussion of racial inequality, education, and improving youth outcomes. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0049 Fri, 03 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0046 In American communities aEUR" large, small, urban, rural, and suburban -- millions of young people are isolated from opportunities to realize their potential and participate fully in our society. An astounding 6.7 million youth ages 16 to 24 are disconnected from education, the labor market, and opportunity. AmericaaEUR(TM)s youth are experiencing depression-era levels of unemployment, and we are losing significant ground with segments of our minority youth population. In particular, low-income young men of color are disproportionately affected by the current labor market, with fewer than one in five African-American and Latino young men having a job last month. The Obama Administration has shown considerable leadership in this arena through the White House Council for Community Solutions and the Interagency Work Group on Disconnected Youth. The Department of EducationaEUR(TM)s recent Request for Information on Strategies for Improving Outcomes for Disconnected Youth is also timely and necessary. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0046 Fri, 03 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0047 Last week, the President issued an Executive Order to establish the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, consisting of a Presidential Advisory Commission and Federal Interagency Working Group to Enhance Educational Outcomes for African American Students. Housed within the U.S. Department of Education, the Initiative is charged with working across federal agencies to identify best practices that will improve educational outcomes for African Americans at all age levels, from early care and education to the successful completion of post-secondary credentials. To support this effort, the Department of Education will develop a national network of partners -- business and philanthropic leaders, practitioners and educators, and non-profits -- to share and implement best practices as well as to support the overall objective outlined in the order. This objective is to ensure African American students aEURoereceive an education that fully prepares them for high school graduation, college completion, and productive careers.aEUR? http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0047 Fri, 15 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0045 The unfortunate reality, especially after the Great Recession, is that many men in the black community are stymied in their ability to contribute their full potential. Much has been said and written on why disparities exist, and we could discuss at length how generational poverty, stereotypes and outright racism contribute to a lack of opportunity for black men as workers and providers for their families. These facts get played out time and again in new data, including the monthly unemployment numbers, which in May showed that the unemployment rate of black men was twice that of white men. ItaEUR(TM)s worth taking a moment this FatheraEUR(TM)s Day to reflect on the reality of so many black menaEUR(TM)s experience. More importantly, though, we should look forward to a new vision for young men and the fathers they are and will become. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0045 Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0044 On June 7, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a mark-up for the Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 (H.R. 4297), which would reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. This was the most significant movement around WIA reauthorization in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2003. Last month, the Campaign for Youth, a national coalition co-chaired by CLASP and the National Youth Employment Coalition, issued a sign-on letter with nearly 300 organizations nationwide in opposition to H.R. 4297, citing its detrimental effects to youth education and training programs if enacted. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0044 Wed, 06 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0043 On Monday, the White House Council for Community Solutions held its final summit to culminate an eighteen-month process of bringing together myriad stakeholders in and outside the beltway to better understand the challenges facing youth ages 16 to 24 that are out of school and out of work. Across the country, there are 6.7 million "opportunity youth." The Council's aim has been to raise solutions to help reconnect these youth to education and jobs and the opportunity to realize their potential. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0043 Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0040 On March 29, 2012, Rep. Virginia Foxx, Rep. Joseph J. Heck and Rep. Howard P. McKeon introduced the Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 (H.R. 4297), which among other things, consolidates 27 federal programs into a single workforce investment fund, devolves more power and decision making to state and local boards, eliminates many of the requirements and mandates that governed the consolidated streams, and increased the role of employers on state and local boards. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0040