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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 12:25 pm
Time: 12:25 pm
Results for at-risk youth (dominican republic)
1 results foundAuthor: Education Development Center, Inc. Title: USAID/Dominican Republic Cross-Sectoral At-Risk Youth Assessment Summary: The Report (a) analyzes the structure and characteristics of the youth cohort in the Dominican Republic (DR); (b) reviews the issues facing youth and the resources available to address them in four sectors – education, economic growth, health, and democracy and governance; (c) presents the results of 40 youth focus groups that were implemented by the assessment team as a way of articulating what youth themselves see as their needs, aspirations and challenges; (d) reviews a first generation of 9 youth projects that have been funded by USAID/DR; and (e) provides recommendations for a new generation of USAID/DR sponsored youth programming. Youth ages 10‐24 constitute just over 30 percent of the roughly ten million people who live in the Dominican Republic.1 Important stakeholders with whom the EDC assessment team met (youth themselves, the staffs of youth‐serving organizations, policy‐makers and community leaders across the country) agreed that a sizable percentage of Dominican youth are highly vulnerable and lack access to needed resources. In the education sector, such vulnerability is most acute in the 22,000 youth ages 10‐14 who are out of school, and the 25,000 youth ages 15‐19 and 44,000 youth ages 20‐24 who characterize themselves as being unable to read and write.2 Those who are in school participate in an educational system characterized by poor learning outcomes and high rates of repetition. In the economic growth sector, in 2008 youth ages 10‐24 represented a quarter of the total labor force in the DR and 43 percent of the total unemployed population. 3 Job creation for young people primarily takes place in the informal sector where wages are reported to be 44 percent lower than in the formal economy.4 Those youth seeking to start their own enterprises are faced with challenges in obtaining access to credit and micro‐finance. The vast majority of Dominican young people do not own assets and financial systems rarely make loans without collateral. In the health sector, reproductive and sexual health are the two priority issues for young people. Risky behaviors, such as multiple sex partners, unsafe sexual practices, and/or the use of drugs and alcohol play a significant role in the health profile of Dominican youth. There is a high incidence of teen pregnancy (26% in rural areas and 18% in urban areas), and a negative relationship has been observed between teenage pregnancy and education and socio‐economic status.5 Health service programs tend to be costly, not focused on the needs of young people, and located in areas that are not always easily accessible to youth. In the area of civic participation, youth face numerous challenges to participating fully and positively in society. At a fundamental level, many youth lack birth certificates or identity cards, often for reasons of poverty or their own parents’ lack of documentation. Not only do youth consequently lack official recognition as individuals, but they also are impeded in their access to services. This lack of connectivity to society may help to explain the growing participation of Dominican youth in gang related activity. Despite the formidable challenges facing youth in the DR the assessment team identified a variety of policies and programs that are making a difference in youths’ lives. The EDC team made a special effort to assess USAID/DR‐funded youth projects, interviewing staff and visiting field sites of programs such as the DREAM Project, Hay Poder en Aprender, Consorcio NINA and Aprendiendo Juntos, the La Romana—Bayahibe Tourism and Youth Training Project, Reinserción Escolar y Fomento a la Incorporación Productiva, the Habilidades para la Vida (Life Skills) Project, the Young Political Leaders Training Program, the Civic Action for Justice and Transparency, and the Batey Community Development Project. In addition, the EDC Team conducted a comprehensive review of the youth policies and programs of government, NGOs, and other donor agencies in each of the four sectors targeted by the assessment. Recommendations for future USAID/DR youth programming are provided at the conclusion of this Report. It is recommended that USAID/DR establish a single youth program that provides a social safety net for vulnerable out‐of‐school youth within targeted geographic areas. The core target population for this program would be youth ages 10‐13 who are out of school and youth 14‐17 who are out of school and unemployed. USAID/DR funding would help enable a single institution or a network of institutions to provide services that enable targeted youth to return to school, connect with economic opportunities, improve their health and well‐being, and engage more fully with their communities. Details: Newton, MA: Education Development Center, 2010. 96p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 22, 2013 at: http://www.equip123.net/docs/e3-DRAssessment.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Dominican Republic URL: http://www.equip123.net/docs/e3-DRAssessment.pdf Shelf Number: 129130 Keywords: At-Risk Youth (Dominican Republic)Delinquency Prevention |