Resources & Publications: Pathways to Reconnection
- 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
- Dec 21, 2012 Keeping Connected Youth Newsletter - December 2012 This periodic update for the field is a part of CLASP's ongoing work to advance policy and practice that will dramatically improve the education, employment, and life outcomes for youth in communities of high youth distress. It highlights policy happenings in education, training and youth development that impact black male achievement.
- Jul 31, 2012 | Linda Harris and Kisha Bird CLASP Comments to U.S. Department of Education Request for Information on Strategies for Improving Outcomes for Disconnected Youth Our comments here draw upon CLASP's decade of policy work at the national, state, and local levels related to disconnected youth. We believe our comments in response to the U.S. Department of Education Request for Information on Strategies for Improving Outcomes for Disconnected Youth will serve to inform the development of the Performance Partnership Pilots as well as federal cross-agency policy development and funding decisions that can address our current challenges, develop the human capital needed to fuel our economy, and unleash the untapped potential and talent of the millions of young people who have fallen through the cracks. Read Online | Download PDF
- Jun 27, 2011 | CLASP Youth Policy Team Reconnecting The Disconnected: Leveraging Federal Policy & Local Practice To Expand Education & Labor Market Opportunity For Youth CLASP's youth policy work aims to advance policy and practice that will dramatically improve the education, employment, and life outcomes for youth in communities of high youth distress. Download PDF
- Jan 24, 2011 | Kisha Bird (Campaign for Youth) Input for a Strategic Plan for Federal Youth Policy: Comments to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services The Campaign for Youth believe's a Strategic Plan for Federal Youth Policy must effectively support the outcomes of youth living in communities of high youth distress, youth of color, and those disconnected from the mainstream. Our comments and recommendations relate specifically to ensuring the needs of disconnected and high needs youth are adequately addressed. Download PDF
- Nov 30, 2010 | Linda Harris Building Pathways to Postsecondary Success for Low Income Young Men of Color: A Community Intervention Strategy Building postsecondary pathways to good jobs for low-income young men of color will require stretching the paradigms of our secondary, postsecondary, workforce, and adult education systems, as well as greater collaboration among these systems. Aligning systems and programming across funding streams, building partnerships, and creating new pathways are complex endeavors. But there are many innovative approaches that have shown promise and can be implemented and taken to scale. Download PDF
- Nov 30, 2010 | Linda Harris & Amy Ellen Duke-Benfiled Building Pathways to Postsecondary Success for Low-Income Young Men of Color 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 "draws attention to the urgent need--both economic and moral--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." Ms. Harris and Ms. Duke-Benfield's chapter examines why it is essential to invest access to postsecondary education opportunities for young men of color. Download PDF
- Mar 31, 2010 | Campaign for Youth, Linda Harris Co-Chair Letter to House and Senate Budget Committee Members on the FY 2011 Budget We have an opportunity deficit in our nation. An estimated 5.2 million youth ages 16-24 are out of school and out of work. Without purposeful efforts to connect unemployed youth to jobs, paid work experience, education, and training to prepare them for openings in the new economy, those youth will most likely spend the better part of a decade with few opportunities to work, gain skills, or earn family sustaining wages. The Campaign for Youth urges Congress to increase opportunities for low-income and disconnected youth and young adults with limited labor market to access training, education supports, and good jobs that will help spur economic development in local communities across the nation. Download PDF
- Mar 25, 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
- 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
- Mar 05, 2010 | Kisha Bird (CFY) and CCRY Network Building on the Legacy of Youth Opportunity: Implications for Federal Policy For young people who live in communities plagued by high dropout rates, high youth unemployment rates, greater incidence of juvenile crime, violence, and gang activity, the prospects are bleak and there are few pathways to education, work and responsible citizenship for those disconnected from work and school. Fortunately, we have a roadmap for reaching out to, reconnecting and providing opportunities to disconnected youth. Agencies and organizations that serve youth who are disconnected from school and employment are increasingly working together using a systems approach that improves outcomes and reduces the gaps in services and supports that can occur in more fragmented systems. In the first half of last decade nearly 100,000 disadvantaged and disconnected youth nationwide were able to continue or complete their education and enter the workforce thanks to Youth Opportunity Programming. Unfortunately, funding was discontinued in 2005, and in the ensuing years federal funding for comprehensive youth programming continued to decline despite this being the most difficult economic environment since pre-World War II for the nation's youth. This paper outlines the key lessons of the Youth Opportunity Experience and building on existing strength, experience, and capacity describes its implications for current federal policy, including the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Download PDF
- Mar 05, 2010 | Kisha Bird and Chris Scott Youth Opportunity Community Profile: Baltimore By implementing a service delivery philosophy that relied on highly skilled youth service professionals and neighborhood-based youth centers, YO! Baltimore not only became a hub for training and education but also for relationship and community building among residents young and old. YO! Sites were safe havens where caring adults gave young people the resources, skills and opportunities they needed to stay on track and to get back on track to achieve their goals. Download PDF
- Mar 05, 2010 | Kisha Bird and Chris Scott Youth Opportunity Community Profile: California Indian Manpower Consortium In 2000, the California Indian Manpower Consortium, Inc. (CIMC) was awarded a $15.9 million Youth Opportunity Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. The YO! CIMC Project was a collaborative effort of 23 Indian Tribes and CIMC aimed at providing comprehensive development activities and support for youth, ages 14- 21. The YO! CIMC experience afforded disadvantaged youth (many of whom attended schools in rural and isolated areas, which lacked qualified teachers or adequate curricula and serious health, social, and economic disparities) the opportunity to gain educational and occupational skills through Internships and Subsidized Employment, Life Skills Training, Job Readiness Training, and College SAT Prep programs. Download PDF
- Mar 05, 2010 | Kisha Bird and Chris Scott Youth Opportunity Community Profile: Hartford In 2000, Hartford was awarded a $28 million Youth Opportunity (YO) Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, YO! Hartford. This fact sheet outlines the lessons, legacy and impact YO had on community practice in the city of Hartford. The Hartford site served as an example of how collaborations and partnerships can increase educational options for under-credited, over-aged students and for those who have dropped out of school. Download PDF
- Mar 05, 2010 | Kisha Bird and Chris Scott Youth Opportunity Community Profile: Southeast Arkansas In 2000, Rural Arkansas was awarded a $19.8 million Youth Opportunity Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. This fact sheet outlines the lessons, legacy and impact YO had on community practice in rural Southeast Arkansas. Much was accomplished in a relatively short period of time in this community. The YO Arkansas experience gave Phoenix Youth and Family Services (PYFS) a unique opportunity to address the needs of young people and help the community move toward its goal of reversing the economic decline of the area and the consequent departure of its young people. Download PDF
- Dec 18, 2009 | Campaign for Youth Putting Youth To Work: A Jobs Strategy Linking Youth to Our Economic Recovery The number of unemployed youth and young adults in the United States is reaching record highs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly four million people under the age of 25 are considered officially unemployed. This paper outlines recommendations to ensure youth, especially those in high poverty communities, are a part of the nation's short and long-term economic recovery and job creation efforts. Download PDF
- Nov 09, 2009 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt (CLASP) & Kisha Bird (CFY) Comments to United States Department of Education: Notice of Policy Priorities for Investing in Innovation Fund The Investing in Innovation (I3) Fund offers local education agencies (LEAs) and nonprofit organizations an opportunity to rethink how they educate children and youth and to use school reform efforts as a foundational vehicle to work across sectors and explore new and innovative ways to support student learning from birth through postsecondary education. Our comments and recommendations relate specifically to ensuring the needs of struggling students and disconnected youth are adequately addressed. Download PDF
- Sep 25, 2009 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt (CLASP) & Kisha Bird (CFY) Comments to United States Department of Education: Notice of Proposed Requirements for School Improvement Grants. Docket ID ED-2009-OESE-0010 Resources through School Improvement Grants offer our nation's most challenged school districts an opportunity to utilize best practices to rethink time and learning and provide our children and youth with a first-rate education experience. The rigorous interventions included in the School Improvement Grants Notice will not only raise the bar for the nation's lowest performing schools but it will provide state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) with the tools, strategies, and resources to effectively turn schools around and support our most disadvantaged students. Our comments and recommendations relate specifically to giving increased attention to struggling students and disconnected youth. Download PDF
- Sep 03, 2009 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt & Linda Harris Community-wide Systems That Promote High School Completion Youth develop across multiple domains that are relevant to academic success. While schools focus primarily on cognitive development, many of the supports young people receive in other developmental areas come from community-based out-of-school programming. Stimulation of development in these additional key areas builds skills that support connections to school and achievement. This article explores the need for a community-wide approach to support dropout prevention for struggling youth and re-engagement of disconnected youth. Read Online
- Aug 25, 2009 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt (CLASP) & Kisha Bird (CFY) Comments/Recommendations in response to Department of Education Proposed Race to the Top Fund Rules in Federal Register Document ED-2009-OESE-0006 The Race to The Top Fund will pave the way for sustainable reforms that transform the educational experience for American students. Our comments are centered around increasing the focus on students who have dropped out through targeting investments for dropout recovery and providing state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) with strategic direction to implement innovative models to reengage youth who have dropped out. Download PDF
- Aug 25, 2009 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Comments/Recommendations to United States Department of Education on Proposed State Fiscal Stabilization Fund Rules. Docket ID ED-2009-OESE-0007 State Fiscal Stabilization Funds, made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), will pave the way for sustainable reforms that can drastically improve the educational experience and outcomes for all of America's students. Our comments on the proposed rules derive from our concern for the nation's high school dropouts. We seek necessary reforms to prevent youth disengagement from school or to re-engage them in educational options that meet their needs. A national emphasis on this population will drive state and local education agencies to think more critically about and reach out more intentionally to serve the educational needs of these young people. 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 Prior to the economic downturn, Black males already faced disproportionately negative outcomes in so many areas, including education, health, justice, and employment. The recession has only exacerbated the problems faced by this population. There is a case to be made for targeting American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) resources to this population and for using these one-time resources to begin to put in place programs and efforts which will have lasting effects for Black males. This document highlights the funding streams in the ARRA which may provide such opportunities. Download PDF
- Apr 28, 2009 | Linda Harris WIA Reauthorization: Opportunity to Rethink the Nation's Youth Delivery System Presentation to the Working for Change Forum sponsored by Community Services Society of New York and Coalition for Human Needs. Download PDF
- Apr 15, 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
- Apr 14, 2009 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Identifying Opportunities in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Improve Outcomes for Black Men and Boys Black men and boys face disproportionately negative life outcomes in many domains, particularly education, employment and justice. This audio conference will identify opportunities in the ARRA to provide education, training, and supportive services in a targeted manner to black men and boys. Download Audio | Additional PDF
- Mar 25, 2009 | Linda Harris Making the Connection: Opportunities in ARRA to Serve Older Youth Even before the economic downturn, youth in our economically distressed urban and rural communities were hurting. This audio conference will identify opportunities in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to serve older youth and will outline approaches states and local communities should consider to improve youth outcomes. Download Audio
- Feb 25, 2009 | Linda Harris Recommendations to USDOL on Guidance to States on Implementing Youth Activities in the Recovery Act The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $1.2 billion dollars for youth activities under the Workforce Investment Act. Much attention has been focused on summer jobs. The Center for Law and Social Policy and The National Youth Employment Coalition, based on input from administrators and providers in local workforce systems and from organizations at the national level, advanced a set of recommendations to the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration in an effort to assure that ARRA funds are also used in an effective and innovative way to engage out of school youth in jobs, training, and education support activities related to the economic recovery. Download PDF
- Nov 12, 2008 | CLASP Recover, Renew, Rebuild: Workforce Policies for a Strong and Fair Economy Education and training are major contributors to economic prosperity. They are drivers of economic mobility and opportunity. Workforce policies to help individuals who are struggling in the labor market also are a critical component of a recovery package to get America working again. This report contains CLASP workforce policy recommendations for Congress and the Administration to address the immediate economic crisis and to make a down payment on the longer-term agenda of building a stronger and more equitable economy. It includes actions they can take to: help workers and families recover from the current recession; renew the nation's commitment to good jobs and upward mobility for all and rebuild middle class jobs. Read Online | Download PDF
- Nov 07, 2008 | CLASP Beyond Stimulus: Shoring Up the Safety Net, Securing the American Dream The United States is entering into a recession which many will be longer and more severe than any we have faced in recent decades. As Congress and the new President consider what actions to take, CLASP calls for a package that goes beyond stimulus aimed at temporarily boosting consumer demand. This paper outlines actions that Congress should take immediately to strengthen safety net programs that provide critical assistance to vulnerable workers and families and to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to share in the benefits of recovery. Download PDF
- Oct 29, 2008 | Linda Harris and Evelyn Ganzglass Creating Postsecondary Pathways to Good Jobs for Young High School Dropouts This paper advocates expansion and better integration of efforts to connect high school dropouts between the ages of 16 and 24 to pathways to postsecondary credentials that have value in the labor market. The paper highlights examples of innovations in policy, program delivery, pedagogy in adult education, youth development and dropout recovery, and postsecondary education that should be built upon in developing more robust and successful dropout recovery and postsecondary education policies and practices to open the door to higher wages and career opportunities for this population. The authors urge federal officials, governors, school administrators, college officials, workforce leaders and employers to provide leadership in building the supports and pathways at scale to bring dropout youth back into the education and labor market mainstream. The paper was prepared for the Center for American Progress. Download PDF
- Oct 28, 2008 | Campaign for Youth Our Youth, Our Economy, Our Future: A National Investment Strategy for Reconnecting America's Youth The Campaign for Youth has developed a national strategy outlining opportunities for federal investment in disconnected youth. These two documents--the full strategy document and its accompanying executive summary--have been circulated to all 2008 presidential candidates. Download PDF
- Jul 02, 2008 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt and Jonathan Larsen (National Youth Employment Coalition) Comments/Recommendations in response to Department of Education Proposed NCLB Rules in Federal Register Document E8-8700 Adaptations to No Child Left Behind provide an opportunity to strengthen our nation's educational structure and system of services to better educate struggling students and to re-engage youth who have dropped out. Our comments relate specifically to giving increased attention to struggling students and disconnected youth. Local education agencies can be incentivized to pay closer attention to these populations through increasing the graduation rate requirements, and Supplemental Education Services and public school choice are potential vehicles for providing these students with the educational environments and supports to increase their academic success. Download PDF
- Jan 26, 2008 | Linda Harris Mayor's Innovation Project: Realizing the Promise of Cities CLASP engaged in a discussion with Mayors from across the country on strategies for reconnecting youth to education and jobs. Download PDF
- Sep 11, 2007 | Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt, Linda Harris, Mala Thakur, and Jonathan Larsen Recommendations to Improve No Child Left Behind for Struggling Students and Disconnected Youth Every day, an estimated 2,500 students across the nation drop out of high school. While the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has succeeded in bringing to light the disparities that exist in our education system, it has failed to shine a light and provide solutions to the pressing problem of high school dropouts. These recommendations--by CLASP and the National Youth Employment Coalition--focus on how the resources in NCLB can be used to ensure that these youth have access to systems, support, and funding to attain a viable education that prepares them for future learning opportunities and the world of work. Download PDF
- Jul 24, 2007 | Linda Harris and Sally Prouty Testimony Submitted for the Record to the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support Hearing on Disconnected and Disadvantaged Youth The Campaign for Youth (CFY), a coalition of national organizations in the youth field, was established in 2002 in an effort to build a united voice for vulnerable and disconnected youth in the United States. This testimony from CFY lays out a 10-point national investment strategy for reconnecting the nation's youth. Download PDF
- Jul 20, 2007 | Linda Harris and Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Recommended Changes to the No Child Left Behind Act to Address Workforce Issues CLASP recommendations submitted to the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness of the Committee on Education and Labor. Download PDF
- Jul 20, 2007 | Linda Harris The Tragic Loss of the Summer Jobs Program: Why it is Time to Reinstate! For more than three decades, the federal summer jobs program provided early work exposure for youth, including more than half a million low-income youth each year in the late 1990s--until the program came to an end with the implementation of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. In light of the peril and the disparities in education and labor market outcomes facing youth in high-poverty communities, there are compelling reasons for re-instituting the federal investment in summer jobs. This article originally appeared in Focus magazine, a publication of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Download PDF
- Jul 19, 2007 | Linda Harris Recommendations for WIA Reauthorization Legislation: Title I Youth Provisions Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is happening at a particularly important time for state and local youth delivery systems. During the past few years, increased attention has been given to the unacceptably high dropout rates in districts across the country. As local communities seek to put interventions in place, WIA can and should play a pivotal role. It is important that the reauthorization incorporate the past five years' experiences and lessons learned related to youth delivery, especially in economically distressed areas. Download PDF
- Jul 03, 2007 | Evelyn Ganzglass Workforce Investment Act: Recommendations to Improve the Effectiveness of Job Training Testimony by Evelyn Ganzglass, CLASP's Director of Workforce Development, before the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness on June 28, 2007. Download PDF
- May 17, 2007 Recommendations for Reauthorization of Title I of the Workforce Investment Act Adult and Youth Programs The United States economy is undergoing a major transformation. This requires a new vision for workforce policy--one that promotes a \"high-road\" path to U.S. competitiveness and greater economic opportunity for all workers. These recommendations for reauthorization of Title I of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) focus on both the supply and demand sides of the labor market, in order to address the long-term needs of workers and employers in the new competitive economy. (Updated July 3, 2007.) Download PDF
- Nov 13, 2006 | Linda Harris with Charles Modiano, consultant Making the Juvenile Justice - Workforce System Connection for Re-entering Young Offenders: A Guide for Local Practice This guidebook is designed to provide advice from the field to communities who are interested in pursuing more formal connections--or strengthening existing connections--between the workforce and justice systems. It draws on experiences in eight communities and focuses on on-the-ground challenges and solutions related to blending the cultures, adapting programming, engaging employers, and meeting performance. Download PDF
- Feb 27, 2006 | Linda Harris Learning from the Youth Opportunity Experience: Executive Summary This brief summary accompanies the 50-page full report detailing the experiences of 22 communities that received U.S. Department of Labor Youth Opportunity Grants to support education, work exposure, and youth development for under-served young people. 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
- Aug 19, 2005 | Linda Harris What's a Youngster to Do? The Education and Labor Market Plight of Youth in High-Poverty Communities Statistics show that many young adults in economically distressed communities are being left behind in educational systems and in the job market. This article highlights the magnitude of distress in selected communities and outlines a set of considerations for policy-making and action at the national and community level. Pub No. 05-40. 9 pages. August 2005. Download PDF
- Aug 06, 2005 | Linda Harris Memo on Reconnecting Our Youth Memo on Reconnecting Our Youth From a Coalition of Voices Contact person: Linda Harris, Senior Policy Analyst, CLASP As increased attention is being focused on the graduation rate crisis in this country, this memo draws attention to the 32% of youth who are being left behind. The memo which was sent to President Bush offers a set of recommendations endorsed by over 250 organizations. This site features the memo, the signatories, links to related issue briefs and research and advocacy tools. An effort continues, coordinated by The Campaign for Youth, to advance these recommendations with the Administration, Congress, Governors and federal agencies. Download PDF
- May 06, 2005 Audio Conference 05/06/2005 - Connecting Disconnected Youth and Disconnected Systems: Innovative Community Approaches Download Audio | Additional PDF
- May 02, 2005 | Linda Harris Recommendations for Senate WIA Reauthorization: Title I Provisions Affecting Youth Congress is currently considering Workforce Investment Act (WIA) reauthorization proposals. In March, the House passed its WIA reauthorization bill, H.R. 27. In January, Senator Enzi introduced S. 9, which contains several improvements over current law with regard to service to youth. This document contains CLASP's key recommendations for further improvements to Title I youth provisions in S. 9. Download PDF
- Aug 04, 2004 CLASP Audio Conference Transcript: Disconnected Youth: Educational Pathways to Reconnection (July 9, 2004) CLASP Senior Policy Analyst Linda Harris moderates a discussion about innovative ideas for reconnecting at-risk youth to education with Rob Ivry, Senior Vice President at MDRC; Laurel Dukehart, Manager of the Gateway to College Replication Project at Portland Community College; and Jack Wuest, Director of the Chicago Alternative Schools Network. Download PDF
- Aug 28, 2003 | Linda Harris WIA Reauthorization Recommendations on Title I Youth Provisions The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 redirected the focus of youth programming from short-term programs to longer comprehensive interventions. Congress is scheduled to reauthorize the WIA legislation by September 30, 2003. The reauthorization of WIA provides the opportunity to define and refine the parameters of this country's youth development system and set the stage for increasing appropriations to a level commensurate with the need. It also provides the opportunity to strengthen the ability of states and local areas to implement comprehensive programs and systems as mandated by the legislation with a priority focus on youth who are disconnected, or most at risk of disconnecting, from the system and supports they need to be productive, self-sufficient, and responsible adults. This paper provides a short summary of reauthorization recommendations related to the youth provisions and includes a separate document that discusses the rationale for each recommendation. Download PDF
- Jul 01, 2003 | Jodie Levin-Epstein and Mark H. Greenberg, Editors Leave No Youth Behind: Opportunities for Congress to Reach Disconnected Youth Too many young people are not on the path toward successful adulthood, and the U.S. has no coherent policy to help these disconnected youth become productive members of society. Estimates of the number of youth who are disconnected or at risk of becoming disconnected range from nearly 3 million to more than 7 million. This report offers recommendations to help disconnected youth in six programs being considered by the 108th Congress for reauthorization: the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, the Higher Education Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and the Workforce Investment Act. It encourages federal policymakers to look across legislative initiatives to develop an integrated set of policies to address the needs of this population. The report concludes that the nation should commit itself to increase the proportion of young people who at age 25 (1) have a high school diploma and postsecondary degree or credential, (2) are employed in jobs with career advancement possibilities, and (3) are not engaged in adverse risk-taking behaviors. Download PDF