http://www.clasp.org/issues/topic_in_focus.xml?type=youth&id=0007 In Focus articles from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) en-us Fri, 24 May 2013 20:58:50 -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, 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, 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 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 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 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 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0036 In his State of the Union address, President Obama challenged governors to raise the compulsory school attendance age to 18 years. Currently, only 20 states have such a requirement and another eleven states mandate school attendance until age 17. The remaining states require attendance until 1,6 but many, such as Kentucky and Delaware, are now debating a change and have introduced legislation to raise the age. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0036 Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0028 More than 50 years ago, Eddie Cochran captured the frustration of American teenagers with his hit single AinaEUR(TM)t No Cure for the Summer Time Blues. He sang about a young man lamenting that he has to work all summer long, doesnaEUR(TM)t get time to spend with his girlfriend, and canaEUR(TM)t borrow the family car if he doesnaEUR(TM)t have money. TodayaEUR(TM)s teens would sing a much different and far worse song. They canaEUR(TM)t get jobs in the first place. For the last four summers, AmericaaEUR(TM)s teens have been employed in record low numbers, and this summer is gearing up to be no different. The number of teens working has declined precipitously over the last decade, falling from 45 percent in 2000 to 26 percent in 2010, a major employment crisis for youth. This summer, the Center for Labor Market Studies anticipates that only one in four teens between 16 and 19 will have employment. This means about 12 million of the nationaEUR(TM)s young people will be idle. Without work, many of these teens will waste three months being non-productive or, worse, involved in dangerous or criminal activities. Low-income youth and minority youth of all income levels are far less likely to obtain employment than whites. In June 2010, black teens of all socioeconomic levels had an employment rate of only 15.2 percent, making them 53 percent less likely to work than white teens. Low income black teens fared far worse, with only 9 percent of them employed. Although Hispanic youth were the most likely minority group to work, they still lagged behind whites. Black male teenagers living in urban communities are the least likely to obtain summer employment. They are also the ones most at risk for engaging in perilous activities due to lack of connection to positive summer opportunities. The teens who need employment and stand to gain the most from the experience are the least likely to get it. Teens who cannot obtain employment are at a disadvantage. Summer employment is known to reap several benefits for youth, particularly low-income youth, including academic gains in mathematics and reading, greater attachment to the labor market, higher earnings in early adulthood, and decreased involvement in violent or criminal activities. Many low-income youth also use the earnings from summer jobs to supplement family income, to purchase necessary clothing and school supplies for the upcoming school year, and to support their recreational activities that parents could not otherwise afford. In last ten years, the nation has experienced two economic recessions. The recession of 2001 was marked by a significant decrease in teen employment. As the nation recovered and employment rolls began to increase, employment rates for the teen population did not bounce back. It appears that the same is true for this most recent recession. Despite increasing overall employment, the number of teens in jobs is continuing to fall. There is a cure for teensaEUR(TM) summer time employment woes, however. While there has been serious divestment in resources to support teen employment in the last decade, the federal funding of summer jobs through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was a good sign and offered a glimmer of hope. Local communities, with relatively short lead time, put more than 312,000 youth to work during the summer of 2009. However, despite rising youth unemployment, little has been done since then. Federal policymakers should focus on a more intentional, thoughtful, and sustained approach to youth employment that seriously weighs the value of investing in the future of AmericaaEUR(TM)s workforce. They can put in place policies and resources to promote a comprehensive youth employment strategy that includes the reinstatement of federal funding for summer jobs and other paid work experience opportunities such as service and youth corps, transitional jobs, internships , and on-the-job-training. This critical first step will ensure greater labor market outcomes for youth. The federal government, states and communities also should invest in year-round employment opportunities for youth, particularly for older youth and those who are currently disconnected from the labor market and do not have a high school credential. Their future success depends on a strategy that reengages them in learning and training to put them on a pathway to successful and sustainable employment. Finally, resources must be targeted to low-income and minority communities where the need is greatest. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0028 Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0020 Linda Harris, director of youth policy, and Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield, senior policy analyst, co-authored a chapter in the recently published book Changing Places: How Communities Will Improve the Health of Boys of Color. The book aEURoedraws attention to the urgent needaEUR"both economic and moralaEUR"to better understand the policy and community-based factors that serve as opportunities or barriers for young men and boys of color as they make critical life decisions.aEUR? Ms. Harris and Ms. Duke-BenfieldaEUR(TM)s chapter examines why it is essential to invest in access to postsecondary education opportunities for young men of color and to ensure their success. Following is an excerpt from the chapter introduction. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0020 Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0014 It is widely understood that adult outcomes are tied to childhood life experiences and family economic circumstances. Improving adult outcomes and ensuring more adults lead productive lives requires addressing childhood poverty, particularly among black children who are more likely than their counterparts to grow up poor. Yet this country, among the world's richest, has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the world. For black children, the rate is exponentially worse. As a result, black children and youth are less likely to graduate high school, finish college, land good jobs or raise children who aren't poor. Sound public policies can, and should, address this. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0014 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0006 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0006 Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0005 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0005 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0004 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=youth&id=0004