Campaign for Youth Memo

President George W. Bush
Executive Office of the White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We commend you for your commitment to reform the nation?s secondary schools to ensure that every
high school student graduates with proficiencies that will enable them to succeed.
Enclosed with this cover letter is a set of recommendations endorsed by over 200 organizations concerned
about the future of struggling students ? those who are at risk of dropping out as well as those who
already have. Those signed on represent youth serving organizations, policy makers, educators,
advocates, and community and faith-based institutions. These organizations are either working directly
with the millions of challenged youth or are addressing issues that impact on young people who have
fallen outside of the education and labor market mainstream.
As you said on January 12, ?out of a hundred 9th graders in our public schools, only 68 will complete
high school on time.? In some school districts and among some ethnic groups, the odds of graduating are
even worse -- only fifty-fifty. We applaud you for elevating this unacceptable situation to national
attention.
Reconnecting these young people to opportunities to learn and develop the necessary skills for adult
success is essential for their productive participation in our communities and in our economy. As you
have so rightly noted in your attention to high school reform, we cannot afford to let any young person
slip through the cracks. This is a high priority for all who have signed.
As a group we have come together to articulate a set of priorities and recommendations from the field that
dovetails with your administration?s mission to make sure that every student graduates from high school,
with the skills he or she needs to become a productive, responsible adult. We also make
recommendations on how we can reach out and re-connect those who have fallen behind.
This effort is being coordinated by the Campaign for Youth. We would appreciate the opportunity to
meet with the appropriate person from your Office to share our voices and the recommendations from the
field. Linda Harris of the Center for Law and Social Policy (202-906-8015), who is a member of the
Campaign for Youth steering committee, can be contacted to follow up on this request.
We stand willing to work with you, your administration, and the Congress to advance an agenda that will
restore hope and promise to these youth.
Sincerely,
Sally Prouty Linda Harris
National Association of Service and Conservation Corps Center for Law and Social Policy
Co-chair, Campaign for Youth Steering Committee, Campaign for Youth
cc: Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
Coordinated by the Campaign for Youth
campaignforyouth.org
The undersigned organizations represent youth practitioners, policy makers, educators, advocates,
community and faith-based institutions, and others who are concerned about the future for the
millions of young people who have fallen outside of the education and labor market mainstreams
with little opportunity to reconnect. As a coalition we elevate this situation to the President?s
attention and advance a set of recommendations. We stand willing to work with the President, his
administration, and the Congress to advance an agenda that will restore hope and promise to
these youth.
NATIONAL AND REGIONAL
Academy for Educational Development: Center for Youth Development and Policy Research
Alliance for Children and Families
American Youth Policy Forum
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Camp Fire USA
Center for Law and Social Policy
Chesapeake Center for Youth Development
Child Welfare League of America
Coalition for Juvenile Justice
Coalition of Community Foundations for Youth
Connect for Kids
Education Works
Forum for Youth Investment
Friends of the Children
Jobs for the Future
Justice Policy Institute
Kids Project
National Association of Service and Conservation Corps
National Association of Street Schools
National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere
National Association of Youth Service Consultants
National Collaboration for Youth
National Council on Employment Policy
National Education Association
National Institute on Out of School Time
National Mental Health Association
National Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention
National Partnership for Careers in Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security
National Youth Advocate Program
National Youth Employment Coalition
National Youth Leadership Council
New England Network for Child, Youth & Family Services
New Ways to Work
Northwest Youth Corps
Pacific News Service/New California Media
Puerto Rican Youth Development and Resource Center, Inc.
Sar Levitan Center for Social Policy Studies
Coordinated by the Campaign for Youth
campaignforyouth.org
School Social Work Association of America
Search Institute
Society for Research in Child Development
SOS Children's Villages-UAS
The Council for Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc.
The First Place Fund for Youth
US Conference of Mayors
Western States Youth Services Network
Youth Build USA
Youth Development Institute
Youth Law Center
Youth Service America
STATE, TRIBE, AND LOCAL
Alaska
Alaska Youth Corps
Southeast Alaska Guidance Associations/Serve
Arizona
Children's Action Alliance
Coconino County Juvenile Court Services
Run Drugs Out of Town Run, Inc.
Youth Corps of Southern Arizona
California
Bridge of Faith
California Youth Connection
Diogenes Youth Services, Inc.
Fresno County Economic Opportunities
Commission
Los Angeles Youth Network
Orange County Conservation Corps and
YouthBuild Program
Reality House West, Inc.
Riverside County Economic Development
Agency
Southwest Youth Corps
Thomas Jefferson Youth Organizers
Workforce Development Board of Riverside
County
Youth Justice Coalition
Colorado
Urban Peak
Connecticut
Connecticut Association of Nonprofits
Lighthouse After School Program
Pride Cultural Center
Southend Community Services, Inc.
United Services, Inc.
District of Columbia
Washington Partners, LLC
Florida
Centro Campesino Farmworker Center Inc.
Eckerd Youth Alternatives
Florida's Children First
Kids@Home, Inc.
National Independent Living Association
The Children's Services Council of Broward
County
The Children's Trust
Westcoast School for Human Development
Georgia
Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic
Communities in Schools of Colquitt County, Inc.
Fulton Atlanta Community Action Authority, Inc.
Southern Juvenile Defender Center
United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta
Hawaii
Hale 'Opio Kaua'I
Illinois
Cabrini Connections
Comprehensive Community Solutions, Inc.
Emerson Park Development Corporation
Futures Unlimited, Inc.
Prologue Westside Youth Build
Uhlich Children's Advantage Network
Youth Conservation Corps, Inc.
Indiana
Crisis Center, Inc
Indiana Juvenile Justice State Advisory Group
Indiana Juvenile Justice Task Force, Inc.
The Incorporated Concord School
Kansas
Children and Family Services
Coordinated by the Campaign for Youth
campaignforyouth.org
Louisiana
NZBC Urban Corporation
Maine
Maine Children's Alliance
Maryland
Advocates for Children and Youth
Community Coalition for Education Options
Mental Health Association of Montgomery County
Public Justice Center
Massachusetts
Cambridge Housing Authority
Center for Youth Development and Education
Youth Voice Collaborative, YWCA Boston
YWCA of Western Massachusetts
Michigan
Albion Community Foundation
Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency
Michigan's Children
Sault Ste. Marie Area Public Schools
Sault Tribe Youth Education & Activities
Minnesota
Achieve! Minneapolis
Hearthstone of Minnesota
McLeod Treatment Programs, Inc.
Minnesota Council on Child Caring Agencies
Workforce Development, Inc.
Youth and Adult Programs, Orono Community
Education
Mississippi
AIRS
Missouri
Accion Social Comunitaria
Citizens for Missouri's Children
Operation Weed & Seed
Youth Education and Health in Soulard
Montana
Discovery House
Nebraska
Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska
Panhandle Community Service
Nevada
Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board
New Hampshire
Kearsarge Assets Network, Inc.
Odyssey House Executive Offices
Odyssey Youth Rebuild
New Jersey
Gloucester County Economic Development
Workforce Investment Board
The Work Group
Volunteer Center of Monmouth County
New Mexico
Education and Workforce Consultants
Pueblo of Acoma
New York
Advocates for Children of New York, Inc.
Buckeye Community Hope Foundation
Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and
Improvement Corporation
Community of Unity
EAC, Inc.
Empire State Coalition of Youth and Family
Services
Family Recovery Center
Good Shepherd Services
Neighborhood Family Services Coalition
Niagara County Workforce Investment ActYouth
Council
Niagara County Youth Bureau
Schenectady County Center for Juvenile Justice
Lighthouse Youth Services
West Seneca Youth Bureau
WSOS Community Action Commission, Inc.
Youth Communication/New York
Youth Resource Development Corporation
North Carolina
Haven House
Ohio
Juvenile Justice Coalition of Ohio
Ohio Youth Advocate Program
Oregon
Juvenile Rights Project
Pennsylvania
Episcopal Community Services
Pathways
Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth
Philadelphia Youth Network
South Carolina
Communities in Schools of Lancaster
Sumter County YouthBuild
Coordinated by the Campaign for Youth
campaignforyouth.org
Tennessee
Jackson State Community College
Memphis Shelby Crime Commission
Memphis Ten Point Coalition
Texas
Communities in Schools--Central Texas Inc.
Houston Metropolitan Federation of Families for
Children's Mental Health
Montgomery County Youth Services
St. Jude's Ranch for Children
Texas Network of Youth Services
Youth Works! Goodwill Industries of Central East
Texas
Vermont
Brattleboro Area Affordable Housing Corporation
High 5 Adventure Learning Center
Leland & Gray Union High School
Recycle North
Vermont Coalition of Runaway and Homeless
Youth Program
Windham Child Care Associate
Youth Initiative Coordinator
Virginia
Petersburg Urban Ministries
Prince &Princess, Inc.
Virginia Council of Churches
Youth Works!
Wyoming
Wyoming Children's Action Alliance, WY
Washington
Chase Youth Commission
Civic Works, Inc
Clarion County Children and Youth Services
Community Programs, Shoreline Community
College
Friends of Youth
Native Village Publications
Neighborhood House
Northwest Youth Services
O 2 Designs, Inc.
United Way of Kitsap County
Workforce Development Council (WDC) of
Seattle-King County
INDIVIDUALS
Jerry Bennet
Ana Castaneda
Robert Dobmeier
Audrey Corder
Sarah Edwards
Lori Greenberg
Annie Guyton
Joe Higgins
Curt McDermitt
Molly Shephard
Pat Stephens
Julie Stevermer
Dr. Sue Tenorio
Memo to White House on Reconnecting Our Youth
from
A Coalition of Voices from the Field
As President Bush prepares for his second term, he has indicated a strong interest in reforming the nation?s secondary
schools to ensure that every high school student graduates with proficiencies that will enable them to succeed. The
undersigned organizations support the President?s vision, and ask that he also commit to reforms that will improve the
well-being of America?s youth, in particular those who are the most vulnerable and disconnected.
This memo outlines a series of recommendations, many of which can be implemented within existing statutory and
budget authority, to help the nation?s most valuable resource?our youth?develop into successful, self-sufficient
adults. Nevertheless, we also recognize that many of the federal programs that support the transition of disadvantaged
youth to productive adulthood are inadequately funded, leaving many eligible and needy youth unable to access the
services, education, and supports requisite to successful transition.
According to the White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth (April 2003), the National Academy of Sciences
estimates that one-quarter of the adolescents in this country are at serious risk of not achieving productive adulthood.
Nationally, 3 out of 10 young people who enter public high school do not graduate four years later. The graduation rate
is only 50% for Hispanic, African American, and Native American youth. This situation is especially devastating in
poorer urban and rural communities.
Far too many young people are in danger of being left behind. Many of these young people are already in the
public?s care?in the foster care and/or the juvenile justice systems.
Over time, secondary school reform and innovation should transform the landscape of education delivery. Until then,
each year more than a half-million youth will leave school without a high school diploma, the necessary skills to
compete in the labor market, or the community supports they need to constructively engage with mainstream America.
They will join the approximately 3.8 million youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who have already dropped out and are
faring poorly in the labor market and in their communities.
Contrary to public perception, most of these youth desperately want to be productive, and aspire to a better life.
As a country we have the knowledge and the technology to close the skills gap and racial disparities that have persisted
for far too long. It takes political leadership, effective policies, and smart investments in our young people to harness
their energy and empower them with the competencies to contribute to our economic engine.
Our country cannot afford to allow so many youth to linger outside the mainstream economy, without the skills and
supports they need to succeed. Effective reform must include expanding the boundaries of the traditional education
system to engage communities, parents, employers, and other sectors in developing effective pathways and supports to
help students remain in school and, just as important, reconnect those who have dropped out but need a second chance.
The President has made clear his commitment to leave no child behind. As he turns his attention to our high schools, he
can send a powerful message that he has high expectations for every student. He can command attention from all levels
of government and from American families, faith- and community-based organizations, and employers to extend their
stewardship to find effective community-based solutions to this most pressing problem.
Our coalition of organizations stands ready, willing, and able to work with the President to help all young people reach
their full potential. We ask for the President?s consideration and support for the following recommendations.
Use the Presidential ?bully pulpit? to set a national goal to Reach Out and Reconnect our youth
Establish an interagency National Youth Development Council, as recommended by the White House Task Force
Report for Disadvantaged Youth
Improve youth services through better outcomes evaluation and accountability
Establish flexibility in public education funds for disadvantaged youth, to enable enrollment in the most appropriate
educational environments
Use the reauthorization of key federal programs to strengthen supports for youth transitioning to adulthood.
Expand opportunities for youth to engage in community service and work experience
Provide incentives and technical support to increase employer participation in developing internships, pipelines and
intermediaries
2
Use the presidential ?bully pulpit? to establish a goal to Reach Out and Reconnect our youth
By setting goals for reforming the American high schools, President Bush can send a clear message that our nation is
committed to providing opportunity and support for all young people who want to constructively engage in their
communities, better their academic skills, and be part of a skilled workforce. The President can ask for the active
participation of governors, municipal leaders, business leaders, community and faith-based-organizations, and citizens
in making sure our high schools are equipped to serve struggling students and our communities stand ready to re-engage
students who need another chance to get on track.
Establish a National Youth Development Council
The White House Task Force Report on Disadvantaged Youth found fragmentation among the various federal youth
funding streams and in service delivery for disadvantaged youth. Lack of coordination among the Departments of
Labor, Education, Health and Human Services and the Justice Department?all of which have programs and policies
that serve disadvantaged youth?makes it difficult for state and local programs to blend funding streams and organize
service delivery at the community level. There are built-in disincentives for local coordination in the regulations and
policies set by the federal departments, and the work of sorting them out at the state and local level is difficult. A
National Youth Development Council, that brings together the agency Secretaries, representatives from the youth
services field, employers, representatives from local government, and youth can serve to:
Keep attention focused on the issues of disadvantaged and disconnected youth, set national priorities, measure
progress on key indicators, and make policy recommendations to the White House
Establish specific task forces or advisory committees, which include meaningful youth representation, to focus on
the most pressing issues (in particular, systemic issues and policies that contribute to disparate outcomes for youth
in certain subgroups) and foster cross-sector participation in advancing solutions
Facilitate ongoing federal inter-departmental collaboration and inter-agency responses to relax the federal
bureaucracy and promote the flexibility needed for more responsive solutions
Provide interagency support for state and local government efforts to assess youth-related policies, programs,
funding streams, indicators, and data in order to create and implement strategic plans for coordinated investment of
federal, state, and local dollars to improve outcomes for youth
The Federal Youth Coordination Act (H.R. 4703)?bipartisan legislation to implement this and other recommendations
of the White House Task Force Report?was introduced by Representatives Tom Osborne (R-NE), Pete Hoekstra (RMI)
and Harold Ford (D-TN) in the 108th Congress and will be reintroduced early in the 109th. White House support for
this bill would bring about greater coordination and accountability among the federal agencies serving youth.
Improve youth services through better evaluation and accountability
Requiring high schools, foster care and juvenile justice agencies, and other federally funded agencies serving
disadvantaged youth to publicly report their demographics, service levels, expenditures and outcomes would enable
local communities to assess the magnitude of the problem, system performance and who is?and is not?effectively
served, and monitor improvement over time. We recommend the following:
Develop a uniform definition for measuring graduation and drop-out rates for local high schools, alternative
schools, charter schools, school districts, and states. Establish accountability measures under the No Child Left
Behind Act related to graduation rates and hold states and local systems accountable for making progress towards
those benchmarks for all youth.
Require states to monitor policies and practice that result in youth being ?pushed out? or disproportionately tracked
to inappropriate educational alternatives
Require HHS to implement the National Youth in Transition Data System (the accountability system for the John
H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program as mandated by the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999)
Provide both incentives and sanctions to state and local child welfare and juvenile justice systems to ensure
effective transitional services, including the requirement that at key risk points and before a youth is discharged,
there are explicit transition plans to connect youth to key education, training, housing, and support services
Continue to support the Runaway, Homeless, and Missing Children Protection Act of 2003, ensuring
implementation of the provision requiring HHS to coordinate with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
to develop a Report on Strategies to End Youth Homelessness
3
Establish flexibility in federal public education funds for disadvantaged youth, to enable
enrollment in the most appropriate education environments
High schools must be reconfigured to inspire and retain students, support those who are struggling , remove the barriers
to re-enrollment for youth who have dropped out, and create non-traditional alternatives for youth who can benefit from
and choose to enroll in smaller, more supportive environments. Students who drop out can often be re-engaged and
better served in alternative settings, like community-based academic and experiential learning programs with a
demonstrated ability to achieve high school certification for these youth. Introducing accountability and flexibility in
financing alternative education opportunities for older youth can allow more communities to work with their local
districts to develop alternate pathways to labor market success for out-of-school youth.
Provide incentives and technical assistance to enable public education funds (federal, state, and local) to be directed
to bona fide education programs operated by qualified community-based organizations, community colleges and
other entities that are better suited to serve the complex education, training, and support needs of youth seeking to
reattach at the secondary level
Strengthen the capacity of the Department of Labor (in conjunction with the Department of Education) to focus on
community-based alternative education strategies with special attention to effective instructional technologies,
delivery methods, workforce connections, and performance accountability
Invest in a knowledge development effort to identify the type of instructional technologies and interventions that
work for youth with low literacy levels, and facilitate the expansion of such programs
Synchronize the performance expectations for youth served by the adult education system and the Workforce
Investment Act system to remove the disincentives to blending funding in the service of youth with extremely low
literacy levels
Use the reauthorization process to strengthen systems to support youth, especially those at
risk, in successfully transitioning to productive adulthood
There are many key federal programs that support the transition of youth to productive adulthood. Several of these
programs will be up for reauthorization in the next Congress. The recommendations offered below would improve these
programs, and better enable the productive engagement of our nation?s youth and a skilled workforce for employers.
Higher Education Act. Strengthen the ability of the community college system to serve as a bridge for out-of-school
youth seeking to gain marketable skills and academic skills for success in post-secondary education. There are
promising community college-based models that allow drop-outs to accrue credits towards high school and post
secondary credentialing, sometimes concurrently.
Strengthen the ability of the TRIO programs to provide college preparatory assistance to disadvantaged high school
students and out-of-school youth enrolled in alternative community-based programs
Open access to higher education funding for high school drop-outs who can demonstrate the ability to benefit from
post-secondary education and training; expand the definition of ?ability to benefit,? as proposed by the National
Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, to include individuals without a high school diploma who
have successfully completed six units of college courses
Adopt alternative measures for determining institutional eligibility for student aid that do not discourage the
enrollment of disadvantaged or higher-risk youth, rather than relying solely on student loan default rates
Increase the amount of the maximum Pell Grant and direct the Department of Education to maintain the current
formula for calculating eligibility so that hundreds of thousands of low-income young people will not be denied
access to a higher education
Workforce Investment Act. Reauthorize the WIA youth title to serve as an effective transition support system for outof-
school and extremely vulnerable youth. The WIA youth title already requires the provision of case management and
follow-up for enrolled youth. Requiring an increased focus on youth who are out of school, homeless, or transitioning
from foster care and the justice system can provide the necessary community infrastructure to facilitate their transition.
Several other adjustments must be made to accommodate the complex needs of these youth:
Retain the requirement for Youth Councils under WIA and encourage and enable the participation of the education
and child welfare systems, runaway and homeless youth grantees, and the justice system in structuring the
transition supports for vulnerable youth.
Adjust the factors of the funding formula to ensure that the resources target communities with the greatest level of
youth distress and promote increased expenditures per youth to reflect the need for more comprehensive education,
training, and transition support
4
Implement policies that facilitate the sharing of information on individual youth to enable better case management
and outcomes tracking across systems
Build on the capacity developed in communities that were part of the Youth Opportunities and the Young Offender
demonstrations; use discretionary funding to sustain efforts in communities where successful systems innovation
has occurred, which can serve as learning laboratories for the rest of the system
Recalibrate performance measures to take into account the increased risk factors so that they don't serve as a
disincentive to engaging the youth with greatest needs
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Reauthorization provides the opportunity to refocus policy related to
youth in TANF households, young parents on TANF, and TANF?s role in positive youth development. Specific
recommendations include:
Make explicit to states that expenditures of TANF funds on programs that reconnect out-of-school youth to high
quality education and training alternatives is in keeping with national priorities
Encourage the connection of young parents to post-secondary vocational training and remove the disincentives
inherent in the definitions of work activity and the start of the TANF time clock
For youth in TANF households who are drop-outs or at imminent risk of dropping out, require that the Individual
Responsibility Plans identify specific steps to reconnecting them to education and training support
Serious and Violent Offenders Reentry Initiative. The Second Chance Act of 2004: Community Safety through
Recidivism Prevention (H.R. 4676) will be reintroduced in the 109th Congress and would reauthorize the Serious
Violent and Offenders Reentry Initiative. We encourage the Administration to support the following provisions already
included in the Second Chance Act:
Support the provision to reauthorize the juvenile offender reentry demonstration grant. With 100,000 youth exiting
juvenile corrections facilities each year, it is critical to aid their successful reintegration into society through an
array of services
Support the provision that requires HHS to review the role of child protective services after arrest and establish
services to preserve families
Support the provisions authorizing mentoring grants to community-based organizations and the Federal Resource
Center for Children of Prisoners
The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act. In reauthorizing the Perkins Act, the Administration
can urge Congress to maintain the federal commitment to strengthening secondary career and technical education
opportunities. We recommend the following:
Make career preparation and technical education available to all secondary school students, including those in
alternative school environments
Improve the integration of learning for academic excellence through the context of careers
Expand strategies, such as work-based learning, experiential learning, internships, career exploration, etc. for youth
going to postsecondary education or training or the workforce after high school
Improve the rigor and quality of career and technical education by ensuring a link to academic standards
Align career and technical education curriculum to post-secondary entrance requirements
Expand youth opportunities to engage in community service and work experience
Teen employment is at its lowest rate since 1948. Economically distressed communities face serious challenges in their
ability to offer young people the opportunities for gainful employment or civic engagement that are key to preparing
them for a productive adulthood. The White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth (October 2003) recommended
a youth service initiative that would allow older youth to ?display leadership by providing opportunities for them to
serve children living in high poverty areas of the United States.? Such experiences enable youth to give back to their
communities and develop civic pride and leadership skills. They also provide an avenue for communities to engage
youth in the community building process. We applaud the Administration?s expansion of AmeriCorps (administered by
the Corporation for National and Community Service), and ask that the Administration increase its efforts to identify
and support programs through AmeriCorps?such as Service and Conservation Corps and YouthBuild?that enroll
youth who are low-income and/or out of school. In addition, much can be achieved by focusing the investment in Learn
and Serve America on successful and innovative programs and promoting systemic change that leads to the infusion of
service-learning throughout our nation?s schools, colleges, and community-and faith-based organizations.