[LM_NET] Gen: report on at-risk youth

[Beth Yoke <byoke@ALA.ORG>]

taken from the May 29th PEN weekly newsblast:

Report on at-risk youth

In a policy brief prepared for the new Obama administration and
Congress, MDRC requests better programs for disaffected youth. "Too many
young people are disconnected from the worlds of school and work," it
states, "putting them at serious risk for getting into trouble today and
not succeeding in the future." The brief reports that 30 percent of high
school freshmen nationally do not graduate in four years; in the 50
largest U.S. cities, the dropout rate is closer to 50 percent. Also
nationwide, nearly 14 percent of 18- and 19-year-olds have not graduated
from high school, are not attending school, and are not working. For
African-Americans in this cohort, the rate is closer to 23 percent.
Teenage employment has sunk to its lowest level in 60 years, and
employment for those 18 to 29 has spiraled downward. Among 18- to
29-year-olds not in school, nearly one in four is currently not working,
and one in six did not work in the previous year. What to do? "The first
policy option should be to prevent young people from dropping out of
school." But once youth are disconnected, states and localities need
assistance from the federal government via funding, compilation of best
practices, and research. Evidence-building in the youth field is
critical because self-selection issues are severe: Only the most
motivated voluntarily participate in "second chance" programs, the same
young people more likely to succeed on their own.
Read more: http://www.mdrc.org/area_issue_36.html
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102594269542&s=25920&e=001XsmE20xQuzaBwglI_X3
jmHs9sMFyAN7UQ9X1hEySQZCGkZDbXzrFd3yJVG49jdSUCnuos6CLaLkQKYH8JTKAdjd66Vo
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Beth Yoke, Executive Director

Young Adult Library Services Association

fastest growing division of ALA

50 E. Huron St. Chicago, IL 60611

1.800.545.2433 x4391

fax: 312.280.5276

Register for the SummerSlam Reading Jam!

www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/summerslam.cfm   

byoke@ala.org <mailto:byoke@ala.org> 

 


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