Youth Employment Programs Do Work

Why are unemployed young people, especially out-of school young adults and minority youth, so undervalued in our society? Why are the Republican Congress and the Democratic White House in agreement that tax dollars should not be invested in preparing out-of-school youth for jobs and careers?

In 1995, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration released a study by ABT Associates of the Job Training Partnership Act, which found that participants in youth employment programs funded by JTPA did the same as or worse than youth who received no JTPA services. The response was (and still is), if it’s not working, don’t fund it. By that logic, we would have abandoned research to cure cancer or heart disease. Peace in the Middle East and Northern Ireland would have been labeled impossible, and scrapped.

Common sense says we should find a way to better prepare young people who are not connected to school or work for employment. At a time when unemployment is below 4 percent, employers are desperate for workers and young people are a resource to be developed. In 1998, Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act, which includes Youth Opportunity Grants (YOG) and a year-round Youth Employment Program to invest in the development and training of youth. The $250 million initiative is being launched in 36 communities and is the first significant investment in youth employment in more than a decade.

In 1995, The National Youth Employment Coalition assembled a group of practitioners, researchers, advocates and youth workers to identify criteria for effective youth employment programs. NYEC established PEPNet, the Promising and Effective Practices Network, to identify and learn from programs that made a difference.

In four years PEPNet has identified 51 effective programs, from the Stanley Isaacs Neighborhood Center in New York City to the Gulf Coast Trade Center in New Waverly, Tex. PEPNet has demonstrated that there is no single way to prepare youth for decent jobs. Each young person is at a different stage of development, and they bring different challenges and live in unique economic communities.

Effective programs employ different approaches but share many common traits: developing workforce competencies and attitudes, incorporating sound youth development practices, effective management and inspirational leadership. Successful youth-serving agencies understand that youth are a resource to be developed, and that young people are the central force in their own development. They create relationships between youth and caring and competent adults who support, guide, counsel and assist the youth along the often rocky path to a career. They expect youth to meet high standards and provide them with the support needed to achieve those standards.

A job that leads to a career is both a long-term goal and a critical tool in the development of all young people. The job is not an end, but an important step in the process of becoming a good and productive citizen.

Effective programs use data to track progress, assess the impact of services, and measure improvement in the lives of young people. To build their capacity and competence, young people need information to assess their progress and the programs that serve them. Effective programs invest heavily in the development of staff capacity through training, paying salaries that recognize the value of youth workers, and providing career advancement opportunities.

The key to effective programs is doing the right things and doing them well. Information is more than a report that is sent to the funders to keep them happy and get the next grant. It is the mirror that youth programs and young people use to answer the question, “How am I doing?” The answer must be, “I know where I want to be and I have a plan to get there.” Too bad neither the Congress nor the White House have a comprehensive plan for transforming the lives of disadvantaged youth.

Zuckerman, Alan. "Youth Employment Programs Do Work." Youth Today, July/August 2000, p. 52.

©2000 Youth Today. Reprinted with permission from Youth Today. All rights reserved.