Feb 08, 2016

JobsFirstNYC; The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program;

The new report from JobsFirstNYC and the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program, highlights national examples of effective sectoral employment programs for youth. It lays out strategies for developing and maintaining strong partnerships among industry experts and youth development practitioners, to boost employment rates among young adults and improve business outcomes. Finally, it details lessons learned from JobsFirstNYC's Young Adult Sectoral Employment Project (YASEP), a successful, first-of-its-kind pilot to test whether sector strategies could be specifically effective for young adults who are out of school and unemployed.Drawing on the promising results of several sector-based employment programs for young people throughout the nation, this report explores how:By expanding and deepening access for young people to sectoral employment initiatives, policymakers and funders can help young people find alternative pathways to jobs, job stability, and advancement;Community-based and young-adult-serving organizations can play a critical role in connecting young people to employment;Collaboration across organizations is essential, and financial incentives to support partnerships must be built into future efforts; andSectoral strategies can yield even greater gains when they go beyond strategies focused on job placement to partnering with employers to identify ways to improve workers' conditions while also supporting business success.

Mar 06, 2016

National Guild for Community Arts Education; Urban Institute;

For youth involved in the criminal justice system, a better future depends on improving their social and emotional learning skills -- skills like conflict resolution, career readiness and preparation for the future. An assessment by the Urban Institute shows how the Arts Infusion Initiative helped achieve just that for young people detained in the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC), and for high-risk youth in the Lawndale, Little Village, Back of the Yards and South Shore communities. From 2010 to 2015, this catalytic approach to restoring the peace for Chicago's youth supported 14 nonprofits providing teens with rigorous arts instruction, infused with social and emotional learning goals. Funded by The Chicago Community Trust, the $2.5 million Initiative built collaborations with the Chicago Police Department, Chicago Public Schools, and Northwestern and Loyola Universities. The Urban Institute's mixed-method evaluation (2.9MB), commissioned by the National Guild for Community Arts Education with funding from the Trust, concluded that "the fields of education, juvenile justice and family and youth services can benefit tremendously from the emergent approaches embodied in the Arts Infusion Initiative." Among the successes their research revealed:Participants showed substantial improvements in social and emotional learning skills, as measured by conflict resolution, future orientation, critical response and career readiness. Improvements ranged from 27% in conflict resolution and career readiness, to 29% for critical response and 36% for future orientation.The initiative helped foster collaboration between program directors, public schools, community policing and the detention center. Examples include the Trust and the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy program working together to open a high-tech digital music lab at JTDC. Chicago Public Schools' plan for a new Digital Arts Career Academy for at-risk and court-involved high school youth is a direct result of the positive effects Arts Infusion had on youth, and of the relationship forged between CPS and the Trust.The program exposed at-risk youth to new skills and technologies that opened their minds to a positive future. Arts Infusion grants enabled many participating programs to purchase -- often for the first time -- modern, professional-grade equipment to which many youth had never been exposed. Better Boys Foundation used its funding to purchase enough modern film lab equipment to serve a full 17-student class -- previous classes had only one camera to share among all students.

Jan 11, 2016

Youth Transition Funders Group (YTFG);

Each year, hundreds of thousands of vulnerable young people, primarily youth of color, are funneled into the justice system -- a system ill-equipped to meet their needs or foster their development. Study after study has proven that reliance on punishment and incarceration is harmful to young people and is associated with increased rates of reoffending, strained family relationships, lower educational and vocational attainment, and incarceration later in life. This updated report draws upon new research to provide concrete policy recommendations aimed at improving the well-being and life outcomes for young people up to age 25 who are involved in or at risk of entering our nation's juvenile and criminal justice systems.The Blueprint is a call to action to funders, policymakers, community leaders, system stakeholders, advocates, youth and families.

Sep 19, 2016

National League of Cities;

This action kit highlights steps city officials can take to help young people who are not connected to school, work, or caring adults. The kit recommends steps that cities can take to promote educational achievement, develop stronger workforce connections, support youth in transition from the foster care and juvenile reentrys, and build a citywide system of support.

Feb 16, 2016

Institutional Repositories & Services;

This document represents the Strategic Plan for the TAY Authority, covering the period 2010-2015. The TAY Authority serves transition age youth (ages 16-24) in Los Angeles County. Many of the youth we serve are aging out of the foster care system, some have been involved with the juvenile justice system, and all will have faced some sort of challenge in moving toward a productive adulthood. All youth we serve are low or very low- income. The purpose of the TAY authority is to assist youth to transition to adulthood successfully. There are over 1.5 million transition age youth in Los Angeles County. Of these, 11,000 16-22 year olds have active Department of Children & Family Services cases, 5000 are homeless, and over 10,000 of the minors have active probation cases (LA County, 2010). Team TAY believes that providing youth with the tools they need to integrate themselves into society will help them to lead successful and healthy adult lives. By encouraging them to envision a promising future and equipping them with practical life training and support, we will help them to tap their unlimited potential. In order to meet this goal, it is important for us as an organization to strive to better accomplish our mission through managing strategically and in a fair, accessible, transparent manner. So, with the help of our Strategic Management team, we present to you our Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2010 to 2015. The purpose of this paper is to communicate Team TAY's Strategic Plan, which includes a re-clarification of our stakeholders, vision, mission, and values; assessing TAY's internal and external environments; identifying the strategic issues we are facing; formulating and adopting goals to manage these issues; and developing an implementation plan and evaluation process.

Feb 01, 2016

MDRC;

The purpose was to conduct a scan of the current state of the evidence regarding what works in helping disconnected young people, defined as the population of young people ages 16 to 24 who are not connected to work or school. To prepare the paper, MDRC conducted a literature review of relevant policies and programs. The literature reviewed included writing on impact, quasiexperimental, and implementation studies. MDRC also conducted reviews of numerous websites to learn about current policy trends and evaluations in process. To supplement what was learned from written materials, MDRC interviewed a number of practitioners in the field, including representatives from foundations, coalitions, and research organizations.

Mar 29, 2000

Public Education Network (PEN);

Our research reports numerous accomplishments and successes of active young people engaged in community organizations. Of greatest importance for society is the compelling evidence from the experiences of these youth that community-based organizations (CBOs) can play a critical role in meeting the needs of today's young people. They can fill the gap left by families and schools that are stretched to capacity to provide supports to young people. One of the most appealing aspects of these CBOs is that they give young people the opportunity to engage in positive activities, to develop close and caring relationships, and to find value in themselves -- even in the face of personal disruption, poor schools, and neighborhoods generally devoid of supports.The impressive accomplishments of these young people from diverse communities around the country warrant community action. Community-based organizations offer a means for reaching youth and they can have a significant impact on the skills, attitudes, and experiences youth need to take their places as confident, contributing adults.

Sep 20, 2012

FSG;

This report was designed to highlight the underlying challenges facing Opportunity Youth (i.e., youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither enrolled in school nor participating in the labor market) and offers a framework to help communities come together to address these challenges.

Apr 16, 2013

Youth Transition Funders Group (YTFG);

YTFG set out to document the attributes of successful youth transition grantmaking at small foundations by interviewing their members, fellow grantmakers, philanthropic advisors, and key partners. They researched and reviewed publications, articles, and case studies, analyzing the grantmaking strategies of small private, community, and family philanthropies with limited to no staff.This guide shares what the Youth Transition Funders Group, along with those in their network, have learned about how small foundations can make the most impact on improving the odds for our most vulnerable youth.

May 28, 2014

My Brother's Keeper Task Force;

This is the first progress report on My Brother's Keeper -- a national initiative to help boys and young men of color -- to President Obama. In the first 90 days of the initiative, the Task Force has reviewed statistics, research and government programs and policies, and heard the perspectives of thousands of community members and leaders through listening sessions. It has identified initial recommendations and areas of opportunity at each of six key life stages, as well as several cross-cutting recommendations that span all focus areas.

Jun 18, 2014

Migration Policy Institute;

California's success in integrating immigrant youth is critical, not just to the state but the nation. Sheer numbers demonstrate this significance. The state is home to one-quarter of the nation's immigrants, and as of 2012, more than half of young adults in California ages 16 to 26 were first- or second-generation immigrants (compared to one-quarter of youth nationwide). California educates more than one-third of U.S. students designated as English Language Learners (ELLs). This report examines the educational experiences and outcomes of first- and second-generation immigrant youth ages 16 to 26 across California's educational institutions, encompassing secondary schools, adult education, and postsecondary education. ELLs are a central focus of the analysis at all levels, as this group has unique educational needs. The findings draw from qualitative fieldwork -- including interviews with educators and community leaders in California -- and quantitative analyses of the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau and state education agencies.

Jun 25, 2014

MDRC;

In light of the momentum building to improve the fortunes of young men of color, this review examines what is known about this population -- particularly related to their struggles in the labor market -- and highlights programs that are shown by randomized controlled trials to be making a difference.

Apr 01, 2013

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP);

In the current national debate over gun control, the aspect that is not receiving enough attention is what may be the root cause of gun violence in most black communities -- concentrated poverty. Opportunities for vocational, educational, and emotional development need to be expanded to enable black males in concentrated poverty to thrive.

Oct 23, 2013

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP);

This report reflects on the current labor market situation of young black men and on policies and practices that can be leveraged to improve their labor market status.

Oct 11, 2013

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP);

The nation's education system currently does an uneven job of preparing students for college and careers. High-poverty and high-minority high schools in particular lack the rigorous education and support elements necessary to prepare their students. This report examines the inequities faced by African-American male students and makes policy recommendations that address these inequities.

Oct 03, 2013

The DC Alliance of Youth Advocates (DCAYA);

Educational attainment defines workforce success, and a robust workforce drives economic stability and growth. Therefore, everyone has a stake in developing systems that promote strong education outcomes and successful transitions to the labor market: businesses and employers that aim to simultaneously build up the next generation of consumers and strengthen the future workforce; elected officials who wish to sustain the city's current prosperity and growth; parents and concerned community members who want a vibrant, healthy community; and youth themselves, who by and large want to lead stable, productive lives.Momentum has been building -- now is the time for the District of Columbia to develop such a system. Recent studies suggest thousands of youth between the ages of 16 -- 24 are disconnected, which is commonly understood to mean young people who are neither in school nor working. High dropout and unemployment rates and low post-secondary education attainment rates among District youth have led to a series of thoughtful and focused examinations of how the District of Columbia can reconnect youth to opportunity. Raise DC, the District's public/private partnership dedicated to establishing cradle to career alignment, is leading the charge with its focus on youth reconnection. This -- combined with the engagement of the foundation sector on the needs of disconnected youth and the recognition of other government and community working groups on this emerging and high-need sector of the youth population -- has opened the window of opportunity to combat youth disconnection through cohesive, evidence-driven, and cross-sector systems change.

Apr 01, 2013

Youth Transition Funders Group (YTFG);

Eduployment: The bifurcation of school and work, education and employment, college and career is out of date and meaningless. We need to use a both/and rather than an either/or framework in going forward. We call this eduployment.

Dec 04, 2013

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP);

Many boys and young men of color live in communities where violence occurs too often and has a significant impact on their lives. This report examines the problem, offers strategies for various youth systems, and provides examples of approaches with strong outcomes for working with males of color who have witnessed or experienced violence.

Oct 17, 2014

Community Connections for Youth;

South Bronx Community Connections is a three-year pilot project implemented by Community Connections for Youth (CCFY), a Bronx-based non-profit organization dedicated to building community capacity for juvenile justice reform. Through the SBCC project, CCFY demonstrated that a collaborative grassroots approach could successfully divert neighborhood youth from further juvenile justice system involvement by engaging them in positive youth development programming built on the strengths of local grassroots faith and neighborhood organizations.

Oct 11, 2013

Movement Strategy Center;

What Works is a guide to best practices and movement-building lessons learned from the surge of efforts to improve life conditions and health outcomes for boys and men of color in California. The report lifts up effective on-the-ground efforts to place the practices in a broader context in a way that can be applicable not only to work in California, but across the nation.