Youth and Work-Restoring Teen and Young Adult Connections to Opportunity

The waste of talent and earnings potential in “disconnected youth” had profound consequences for not only these “disconnected” young people, but also for the United States economy and nation as a whole. “This policy report described the scale of the challenges we face in connecting young people, ages 16 to 24, to jobs and opportunity. More importantly, [it] also set forth the steps needed to ensure that young people have the academic know-how, the technical skills and the essential ‘soft skills’ to hold a job and launch a career. The best way to build these critical skills is to help young people find jobs or work-like activities. We must expand interventions that are putting youth to work and align them with public investment” (p.4). (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• “Young people need multiple and flexible pathways to success that meet their varied needs—combining education, training and supportive services, plus strong relationships with adults” (p.9). • Successfully engaging young people to guide decision makers about their families and the needs in their communities will allow young people to design what works for them and give them a voice determining what works most effectively. (p.11) • Most “disconnected youth” are comprised of black, Hispanic, male and low-income youth, so closing racial and economic disparities needs to become a central focus in order to build youth economic success. Therefore, it is important that programs are tailored to diverse youth populations and connected to the systems and institutions that have impeded their success. (p.11) • Using the best information, data, and evaluation to build evidence on what works will be essential. The report recommends demonstration programs that follow youth from high school through college and into the job market to improve results and justify expanded investments in the most effective strategies. (p.11) (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2012
• Author(s): No individual author identified.
• Organizational Author(s): Kids Count, The Annie E. Case Foundation
• Funding Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
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• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies