All Featured Highlights: Youth of Color
- 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. Download PDF
- Feb 19, 2013 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant, Linda Harris, Kisha Bird Investing in Boys and Young Men of Color: The Promise and Opportunity Boys and young men of color in the United States face challenges in the areas of education, employment, and health. In the last several years, there has been greater focus on understanding these challenges and identifying potential solutions. While we know more about effective programmatic solutions, we still have much to learn about the systemic barriers that impede the success of males of color. Effecting policy changes in these areas will produce sustainable gains for boys and young men of color. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation commissioned CLASP to conduct a scan of these policy opportunities to inform the development of their Forward Promise Initiative. Download PDF
- Oct 16, 2012 | CLASP Youth Policy Team New "Keeping Connected" Update Keeping Connected is a periodic update designed to keep advocates and practitioners informed on policy happenings in education, training, and youth development that can impact black male achievement. Read Online
- Oct 16, 2012 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant Commentary on Children, Families and Poverty: Definitions, Trends, Emerging Science and Implications for Policy The latest issue of Social Policy Report, “Children, Families and Poverty: Definitions, Trends, Emerging Science and Implications for Policy” features commentary from Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant. The Social Policy Report is a quarterly publication that provides a forum for scholarly reviews and discussions of developmental research and its implications for the policies affecting children published by the Society for Research in Child Development. Download PDF
- May 24, 2012 | Rhonda Bryant Connecting to Jobs: Local Strategies & Policy Approaches to Employ Black Men We are all painfully aware of the employment situation for Black males in the United States. The problem is not a new one. It has, however, been exacerbated by the economic crisis of the last several years. As in times past, black males have been slow to bounce back from this most recent setback in the economy. Young black men in particular face major challenges because their lack of attachment to the labor market is generally a predictor of future attachment and future earning potential. There are solutions to this employment problem – but it requires significant advocacy, the public will to be intentional about solutions for black males specifically, and adequate resources to address the scale of the problem. Read Online
- Dec 09, 2010 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt We Dream A World: The 2025 Vision for Black Men and Boys There is a gross disparity in outcomes for Black people, particularly men and youth, in all major areas of American life, including education, employment and health. The reasons for these disparities are myriad, such as generational poverty, lack of access to opportunities and structural racism. As a nation, we simply cannot afford to write off generations of Black men who have so much potential. We urgently need action in the Black community and political will at all levels to drastically alter the status quo. The 2025 Campaign for Black Men and Boys was formed to ensure that by the time black boys born in 2007 turn 18 (in 2025), the nation's policies and social mores will have changed drastically enough that collectively they will fare far better than today's young black men. We Dream A World sets forth a strategy to raise awareness, create local impact, and advance better policies to achieve this goal. Read Online
- Nov 30, 2010 | Linda Harris, Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield Building Pathways to Postsecondary Success for Low-Income Young Men of Color Download PDF
- Jul 08, 2010 | Kisha Bird If Not Now, Then When? Congressional Opportunities to Address Our Nation’s Youth Unemployment Crisis This presentation outlines the state of the youth unemployment crisis. Read Online
- Mar 05, 2010 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Reauthorizing ESEA: Considerations for Dropout Prevention and Recovery American school districts are losing the battle to successfully educate a large number of the nation's youth. The reauthorization of ESEA is a prime opportunity to rethink how we can strengthen our commitment to reconnect with youth who have left school without receiving their diploma. These comments, submitted to the US House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor, focus on how to amend ESEA to ensure that struggling students and high school dropouts have access to systems, support, and funding to remain in school or re-enter the educational system and attain a viable education that prepares them for post secondary opportunities and success in careers. Download PDF
- May 21, 2009 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Provisions Which Can Support Programming to Improve Outcomes for Black Men & Boys Download PDF
- Jul 12, 2010 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Understanding Youth Distress - "Keeping Youth Connected" Series 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 ongoing project will highlight the data in communities where some of the nation's largest school districts are located, and which have high rates of child poverty and/or large minority populations. These data profiles seek to document the major school, community, family and peer factors that 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 positive outcomes as a result of preventive services and interventions. Read Online
- Apr 14, 2009 | Linda Harris Considerations for WIA Reauthorization: Title I Youth Provisions WIA reauthorization provides the opportunity to re-think and strengthen the youth delivery system across the country. CLASP recommendations focus on increase targeting to high risk youth and more strategic alliances among youth serving systems. Download PDF
- Mar 09, 2010 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt, Linda Harris, and Kisha Bird Follow the Money: Funding and Legislative Opportunities on the Horizon for Communities to Serve Disconnected Youth Several pieces of legislation have been proposed or passed that present opportunities to fund programs in communities to keep young people connected to school and recapture those who have fallen by the wayside. Most of these resources, however, are from competitive funding streams which will require communities to demonstrate innovative practice in planning and implementation. Communities need to be aware of these potential opportunities very early in the process in order to plan strategically and create partnerships to program at-scale and meet the needs of their disconnected youth. Download PDF
- May 01, 2008 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt A Collective Responsibility, A Collective Work: Supporting the Path to Positive Life Outcomes for Youth in Economically Distressed Communities Download PDF
- Jul 08, 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
- Feb 25, 2009 | CLASP & NYEC Recommendations to USDOL on Guidance to States on Implementing Youth Activities in the Recovery Act Download PDF
- Jul 08, 2010 | OSI Campaign for Black Male Achievement VIDEO: "Our Highest Hopes for Transformational Leadership" In December 2009, the Open Society Institute convened over 60 leaders from across the nation to participate in the first annual Campaign for Black Male Achievement Transformational Leadership Retreat. The retreat was designed to raise the bar for participants' personal and organizational leadership in 2010. During the retreat, participants were asked to talk about their collective missions to improve the life outcomes of black men and boys. This film shares some of their insights into creating bolder and brighter visions of what is possible for black men and boys in America. Read Online