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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for disadvantaged youth
26 results foundAuthor: Jacobson, Jessica Title: Punishing Disadvantage: A Profile of Children in Custody Summary: This report shines a light on the level of disadvantage experienced by many of the thousands of children who end up in custody every year in the UK. Involving a census of nearly 6,000 children who entered custody in the last six months of 2008, the report found that the majority of those sentenced to custody in this period were convicted of crimes that would normally result in community sentences, with around half imprisoned for non-violent crimes. Detailed analyisis of the backgrounds of a sample of 200 sentenced children demonstrated the high levels of disadvantage they had experienced. Key findings included that: Three quarters had had an absent father and a third an absent mother; 48% had been excluded from school; One in eight had experienced the loss of a parent and/or sibling(s); 39% had been on the Child Protection Register and/or had experienced abuse of neglect; More than a quarter had been in care at some point; and More than 1 in ten had attempted suicide. Details: London: Prison Reform Trust, 2010. 107p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 6, 2010 at: http://www.outoftrouble.org.uk/sites/default/files/Punishing_Disadvantage_0.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.outoftrouble.org.uk/sites/default/files/Punishing_Disadvantage_0.pdf Shelf Number: 119867 Keywords: Disadvantaged YouthJuvenile CorrectionsJuvenile JusticeJuvenile Offenders |
Author: Davidson, Neil Title: An Evaluation of the ‘Positive Futures Programme’ Summary: This research was commissioned by Inverclyde Council to evaluate their Positive Futures Programme (PFP). Within Inverclyde, youth unemployment, anti-social behaviour, vandalism, youth disorder and underage drinking were identified as being a concern within specific local community areas1. Inverclyde is also identified as being one of the most deprived areas in Scotland. The 2009 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) shows that 45% of datazones in Inverclyde are in the 20% most deprived quintiles and there are increasing numbers of datazones in the 5%, 10% and 15% most deprived. According to the SIMD Inverclyde has the second highest percentage of employment deprived people in Scotland. Furthermore, the Scottish indicates that 21% of the population of Inverclyde are income deprived compared to the national average of 16%. It is in this context that the PFP has emerged. The programme was developed by Inverclyde Council’s youth workers to provide a range of early intervention and diversionary programmes and activities for young people – aged 15 to 17 years of age – who are at risk of becoming or are disengaged from the education system and other youth orientated services. The programme is part of Inverclyde Council’s Safer and Inclusive Communities project and has evolved from, and in conjunction with, other similar programmes, including Guardian Angels and New Horizons. The aim of the PFP is to work with disengaged young people who have chaotic lifestyles and to provide them with alternative forms of education and opportunities. A range of ‘taster’2 workshops, fitness sessions, and personal development classes are provided to develop self-esteem, team building and communication skills, and physical and mental well-being. The programme is tailored to each young person involved in the programme and to accommodate their individual needs. The programme runs for 16 weeks twice a year. Young people are referred to the programme predominately via the education system as part of a Flexible Learning Package (FLPs) but can also be referred through social services. Once referred, young people attend anything from one day a week to five days a week, according to their specific needs. Many of them are known to the staff and have already been in contact with other agencies in the area. The desired outcomes for the young people are a return to the education system, a reduction in offending and anti-social behaviour, and the promotion of good citizenship. As well as these, the young people are encouraged to participate in workshops and activities that will provide them with a level of accreditation that may assist them in securing future employment or signpost them to other agencies to continue their development and improve their life chances. This programme is consistent with the current Scottish Government’s strategies More Choices, More Chances (MCMC) (2006) and Get It Right for Every Child (GIRfEC) (2008). MCMC’s overall objective is to “eradicate the problem of NEET [not in education, employment or training]” amongst young people and in order to do so “demands action from a range of agencies in every local authority area in the country”). GIRfEC is a guide relevant to all those involved or working with children and young people who need to be aware how the approach can “have a positive impact for all children and young people” so that they can be “successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens”. This evaluation has sought to critically assess the following: The impact of the programme on the young people; Examples of effective/good practice; What, if anything, could be improved, added to or removed from the programme in the future; Next steps and recommendations. Details: Glasgow: Glasgow Caledonian University and Scottish Institute for Policing Research, 2012. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 7, 2012 at: http://www.sipr.ac.uk/downloads/PFP_Report.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.sipr.ac.uk/downloads/PFP_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 125875 Keywords: Delinquency Prevention (Scotland)Disadvantaged YouthJuveniles |
Author: Johnston, Les Title: Snakes & Ladders: Young People, Transitions and Social Exclusion Summary: The research project (Young people, transitions and social exclusion) on which this report is based aimed to: • explore the causes, extent and consequences of socioeconomic exclusion for a diverse sample of young people in one particularly disadvantaged locality; • examine and understand the range of ‘mainstream’ and ‘diverse’ careers that young people develop in this context; • suggest what policy and practice interventions might ‘work’ in terms of securing ‘inclusive’ careers for disadvantaged youth and to explore the extent to which these can be extended further to other groups of young people. The project, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation under their Young People Programme, began in October 1999 and concluded in March 2000. The first chapter discusses the research site and the rationale for its selection, outlines the theoretical and policy context of the study and describes the project’s design and methodology. Chapter 2 looks at six cameos of individuals drawn from the larger sample. The stories revealed in these cameos exemplify the events, problems and processes typically experienced by young people as they grow up in Willowdene. In Chapter 3 we draw on these cameos – and, where appropriate, on data from interviews with other young people – to identify the key analytical themes which aid the understanding of youth transitions in a context of social exclusion. Finally, in Chapter 4 we summarise the main findings of the research and consider some of its policy implications. Details: York, UK: The Policy Press and the Joseph Rountree Foundation, 2000. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 27, 2012 at: http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/jr090-young-people-exclusion.pdf Year: 2000 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/jr090-young-people-exclusion.pdf Shelf Number: 126112 Keywords: Delinquency Prevention (U.K.)Disadvantaged YouthSocial Exclusion |
Author: Crimmens, David Title: Reaching Socially Excluded Young People: A National Study of Street-Based Youth Work Summary: This study explores the contribution of detached and outreach youth work to the involvement of socially excluded young people in relevant and accessible education, training and employment in England and Wales. In particular it considers how detached and outreach youth work might articulate with the Connexions initiative. The research sought to: • explore the nature, range and geographical spread of street-based youth work with socially excluded young people in England and Wales; • identify the effectiveness of agency strategies and practice interventions in developing significant and sustainable educational, training and vocational opportunities; and • establish how street-based youth work can best contribute to and articulate with the Connexions Service and the ‘key agencies’ that constitute Connexions Partnerships. Details: Durham, UK: Durham University, 2004. 47p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 27, 2012 at: http://dro.dur.ac.uk/6409/1/6409.pdf Year: 2004 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://dro.dur.ac.uk/6409/1/6409.pdf Shelf Number: 126116 Keywords: Delinquency PreventionDisadvantaged YouthRehabilitation ProgramsYoung Adult Offenders (U.K.) |
Author: Great Britain. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Social Exclusion Unit Title: Transitions: Young Adults with Complex Needs: A Social Exclusion Unit Final Report Summary: Transitions is the Social Exclusion Unit's final report looking at 16 - 25 year-olds with complex needs. It examines the problems faced by young people as they move from adolescence to adulthood; it explores the areas of thinking and behaviour, age boundaries and holistic services and the trusted adult and sets out the principles of effective service delivery for young adults. The report ends by outlining the actions the Government will take to address the problems of service delivery to young adults with complex needs. Details: London: ODPM, 2005. 110p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 1, 2012 at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/cabinetoffice/social_exclusion_task_force/assets/publications_1997_to_2006/transitions_young_adults.pdf Year: 2005 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/cabinetoffice/social_exclusion_task_force/assets/publications_1997_to_2006/transitions_young_adults.pdf Shelf Number: 126220 Keywords: At-Risk Youth (U.K.)Crime PreventionDelinquency PreventionDisadvantaged YouthYoung Adults |
Author: Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L. Title: Vulnerable Youth: Background and Policies Summary: The majority of young people in the United States grow up healthy and safe in their communities. Most of those of school age live with parents who provide for their well-being, and they attend schools that prepare them for advanced education or vocational training and, ultimately, selfsufficiency. Many youth also receive assistance from their families during the transition to adulthood. During this period, young adults cycle between attending school, living independently, and staying with their families. Approximately 60% of parents today provide financial support to their adult children who are no longer in school. This support comes in the form of housing (50% of parents provide this support to their adult children), living expenses (48%), cost of transportation (41%), health insurance (35%), spending money (29%), and medical bills (28%). Even with this assistance, the current move from adolescence to adulthood has become longer and increasingly complex. For vulnerable (or “at-risk”) youth populations, the transition to adulthood is further complicated by a number of challenges, including family conflict or abandonment and obstacles to securing employment that provides adequate wages and health insurance. These youth may be prone to outcomes that have negative consequences for their future development as responsible, selfsufficient adults. Risk outcomes include teenage parenthood; homelessness; drug abuse; delinquency; physical and sexual abuse; and school dropout. Detachment from the labor market and school—or disconnectedness—may be the single strongest indicator that the transition to adulthood has not been made successfully. The federal government has not adopted a single overarching federal policy or legislative vehicle that addresses the challenges vulnerable youth experience in adolescence or while making the transition to adulthood. Rather, federal youth policy today has evolved from multiple programs established in the early 20th century and expanded in the years following the 1964 announcement of the War on Poverty. These programs are concentrated in six areas: workforce development, education, juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, social services, public health, and national and community service. They are intended to provide vulnerable youth with opportunities to develop skills to assist them in adulthood. Despite the range of federal services and activities to assist disadvantaged youth, many of these programs have not developed into a coherent system of support. This is due in part to the administration of programs within several agencies and the lack of mechanisms to coordinate their activities. In response to concerns about the complex federal structure developed to assist vulnerable youth, Congress passed the Tom Osborne Federal Youth Coordination Act (P.L. 109- 365) in 2006. Though activities under the act were never funded, the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs was formed in 2008 under Executive Order 13459 to carry out coordinating activities across multiple agencies that oversee youth programs. Separately, Congress has considered other legislation (the Younger Americans Act of 2000 and the Youth Community Development Block Grant of 1995) to improve the delivery of services to vulnerable youth and provide opportunities to these youth through policies with a “positive youth development” focus. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2012. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: RL33975: Accessed September 12, 2012 at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33975.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33975.pdf Shelf Number: 126306 Keywords: At-Risk Youth (U.S.)Delinquency PreventionDisadvantaged YouthInterventions |
Author: Pleasence, Pascoe Title: Civil Legal Problems: Young People, Social Exclusion and Crime Summary: This briefing presents findings from the 2010 wave of the Civil and Social Justice Panel Survey (CSJPS), alongside supplementary findings from the earlier (but larger) 2006-9 Civil and Social Justice Survey (CSJS). The 2010 survey indicates that young people (aged 16 to 24) experience civil legal problems at a rate similar to that of the population as a whole, although problems are most common for those between their mid-twenties and mid-forties. Young people report high levels of certain types of problems, including those concerning rented housing, welfare benefits and debt. Young people ranked civil legal problems concerning education as the most severe, followed closely by family problems. Young people pointed to lack of money being a cause of problems more often than others, with loss of income and employment problems also commonly mentioned. Young people also indicated violence to be a cause of problems more frequently than others. Stress-related illness was commonly mentioned as being both a cause and consequence of problems. In all, 24% of problems faced by young people led to illness of some description, with knock on demand on health services. Loss of income and loss of confidence were also common consequences of problems for young people, and they were much more likely than others to point to negative impact on their education. Some problems experienced by young people were interlinked. One visible problem cluster involved problems concerning rented housing, crime victimisation, anti-social neighbours and consumer issues, further linked to money, debt and employment problems. Reported levels of crime victimisation were similar for all people under the age of retirement, though the youngest respondents to the 2010 CSJPS more often reported having been victims of robbery and assault. Within young people as a whole, lone parents, victims of crime, those who had recently had contact with the police, those with mental health problems, those who admitted drug use, those who were socially isolated and those not in education, employment or training reported civil legal problems more often. In all, 80% of all young people reporting civil legal problems fell in one category of vulnerability. Young people falling into multiple categories of vulnerability became increasingly more likely to report problems. Vulnerable young people also tended to report problems of greater severity. The types of problems reported by vulnerable young people were different to those reported by other young people. For example, those not in education, employment or training reported high levels of housing problems and relatively high levels of debt and family related problems. Those recently arrested reported high levels of homelessness and problems concerning money and rented housing. Young people more often did nothing to resolve problems and less often obtained formal advice. This was despite young people reporting many benefits of advice. In all, 62% of young respondents to the CSJPS reported that formal advice from another person or organisation led to improvements in their life circumstances, compared to 43% in the case of older respondents. Details: London: The Law Centres Federation and Youth Access, 2011. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 14, 2012 at http://youthaccess.org.uk/uploads/documents/Advice%20Publications/Civil_Legal_Problems_Social_Exclusion_and_Crime_FINAL.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://youthaccess.org.uk/uploads/documents/Advice%20Publications/Civil_Legal_Problems_Social_Exclusion_and_Crime_FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 126703 Keywords: Anti-Social BehaviorCrime StatisticsCrime VictimizationDisadvantaged YouthYoung Adults |
Author: Barrett, Anna Title: Building Relationships for Better Outcomes: Peninsula Youth Connections Evaluation Stage 2 Report Summary: This research constitutes the second part of a three-stage evaluation of the Peninsula Youth Connections (PYC) program. PYC is the local expression of a program funded by the Australian Government to assist young people at risk of disengaging from education and training. Operating in the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula region south-east of Melbourne, PYC includes intensive case management, outreach and re-engagement activities for young people, and seeks to build the capacity of local youth services. Key points • Overall, young people’s needs were addressed effectively through the intensive case management approach. The majority of participants—84.5 per cent—achieved at least one kind of outcome, and at follow-up, 72.5 per cent were engaged in education. The program approach was particularly beneficial for young people facing mental health issues/stressors, interpersonal issues and learning issues. Young people with unstable family and financial contexts and risky behaviours also benefited, but faced greater ongoing challenges. The difficulties faced by young people from unstable contexts were echoed at a broader level by the finding that young people living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods were more severely disengaged from education, and achieved fewer outcomes. • Complex and intersecting relationships exist between young people’s characteristics, backgrounds, barriers to education, and the outcomes they achieve. The findings from this research demonstrated the complexity and diversity of issues faced by young people disengaging from education and training. Relationships were found between demographic characteristics (such as age, gender and area socioeconomic disadvantage), barriers faced, and outcomes achieved, illustrating the necessity for programs to provide integrated and holistic services which can be adapted and individualised to fit the needs of young people negotiating varied pathways through education and service structures. • Young people particularly valued the relational aspects of the PYC program. The young people interviewed and surveyed were positive in their assessment of the program and the benefits they derived from participation (Figure 1). They identified the following as strengths of the program: friendliness, personal support, encouragement, informality, flexibility, persistence and enjoyment. By far the most prominent message from young people was that the individualised and personal support they received through the relationship with their case manager was a vital factor in their successful engagement with the program. • Gains made from PYC participation appeared to be sustained, in the face of ongoing challenges. Most of the young people followed up after exit were engaged in work or study. However, they faced ongoing challenges around housing and finances, as well as mental health and self-esteem. • Disengagement from school left a powerfully negative impression on young people, and was an experience which in itself formed a barrier to future engagement. Although PYC had largely positive impacts on participants, a re-engagement program cannot fully mitigate the negative impact of these earlier experiences on young people’s self-esteem and confidence. The systemic issues underlying these experiences will be considered in Stage 3 of the PYC evaluation. Details: Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia: Brotherhood of St Laurence, 2012. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 9, 2012 at: http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/Barrett_Building_relationships_for_better_outcomes_PYC_Stage_2_evaluation_report_2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/Barrett_Building_relationships_for_better_outcomes_PYC_Stage_2_evaluation_report_2012.pdf Shelf Number: 126902 Keywords: At-Risk Youth (Australia)Disadvantaged YouthJuvenile Delinquency Prevention |
Author: Barrow Cadbury Trust Title: Coping with Kidulthood: The Hidden Truth Behind Britain’s Abandoned Adolescents Summary: The T2A Alliance is a coalition of organisations and individuals working to improve the life chances of young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 who are at risk of falling into the criminal justice system. This report will feed into our work over the coming year and provides the first building block in the creation of a campaign manifesto planned for 2009. The report is based on two pieces of new empirical research commissioned exclusively for the T2A Alliance: • The first, by the public opinion research company Populus, consists of focus group research comparing the life experiences of a group of male young offenders with a group of male university students. • The second, by the market research company Com Res, is the result of opinion polling carried out among 1001 young people to test their attitudes towards a broad set of policy initiatives related to youth justice. • Of the 1001 young people polled 83% say that getting work experience and having good job opportunities is a key factor in helping young people move away from crime. • 76% also believe that ensuring access to youth clubs and community centres for young people so that they can socialise and interact was important in countering youth crime. • 82% believe that it is important going to a school that does not tolerate bad behaviour and instils discipline and personal responsibility in its pupils. • For young people who have drug or alcohol problems 78% think that immediate and regular support by social services is an important way of tackling the problem. Details: London: The Transition to Adulthood (T2A) Alliance, 2009. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 28, 2012 at: http://www.bctrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/T2A-Kidulthood_Report-Barrow_Cadbury_Trust-2009.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.bctrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/T2A-Kidulthood_Report-Barrow_Cadbury_Trust-2009.pdf Shelf Number: 127015 Keywords: At-risk YouthDisadvantaged YouthYoung Adult Offenders (U.K.) |
Author: Livingstone, Sonia Title: Disadvantaged Children and Online Risk Summary: Educational/economic disadvantage -- 27% of children have parents with lower secondary education or less. These children report fewer online risks than average, but are more upset by risk, less skilled and less helped by parents to cope with risk. 25% of children have parents who do not use the internet. They report fewer online risks but are more upset and have few skills to cope. Their parents lack confidence, lack support from friends and family, and wish the school would guide them. 7% of children use the internet less than once per week. Again reporting fewer risks but more upsetting experiences than the average, these children‟s digital skills are lowest of all, and though their parents do not think their children well prepared to cope with the internet, they do not plan to do more than others. Psychological disadvantage -- 41% of children have parents who say they are very worried about their safety online. These children have not encountered or been upset by more risks than average. Nonetheless, their parents lack confidence, think they should do more. Children and parents have and want more safety information. 34% of children - the top third in terms of psychological difficulties report more online risks and more harm. Their parents lack confidence but are likely to have adjusted their approach after something upset their child online. 12% of children have experienced something upsetting on the internet. These children report many more risk and upsetting experiences. Their skills are above average, suggesting a readiness to learn. Their parents too have changed their approach after an upsetting experience, and wish for more safety information from all sources. Social disadvantage -- 6% of children have a mental, physical or other disability. These children report raised risk levels, and find meeting new online contacts offline more upsetting than average. Their parents are less confident that their child can cope, and they wish to receive more from ISPs and websites. 4% of children belong to a discriminated-against group. These children report more online risk. Their parents lack confidence in themselves and their children in terms of coping, receive less support from friends and family, and wish for safety information from the government. 4% of children speak a minority language at home. These children are more upset by bullying and „sexting‟. Their parents lack confidence in their and their child‟s ability to cope, they think they should do more to support their child online, and they receive less safety information from all sources than average – they prefer to get this from the child's school, from TV or friends and family. Details: London: EU Kinds Online Network, London School of Economics and Political Science, 2011. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 1, 2013 at: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/EU%20Kids%20II%20(2009-11)/ShortReportDisadvantaged.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/EU%20Kids%20II%20(2009-11)/ShortReportDisadvantaged.pdf Shelf Number: 128599 Keywords: Computer CrimesDisadvantaged YouthInternet Safety (U.K.) |
Author: Cook, Philip J. Title: The (Surprising) Efficacy of Academic and Behavioral Intervention with Disadvantaged Youth: Results from a Randomized Experiment in Chicago Summary: There is growing concern that improving the academic skills of disadvantaged youth is too difficult and costly, so policymakers should instead focus either on vocationally oriented instruction for teens or else on early childhood education. Yet this conclusion may be premature given that so few previous interventions have targeted a potential fundamental barrier to school success: "mismatch" between what schools deliver and the needs of disadvantaged youth who have fallen behind in their academic or non-academic development. This paper reports on a randomized controlled trial of a two-pronged intervention that provides disadvantaged youth with non-academic supports that try to teach youth social-cognitive skills based on the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and intensive individualized academic remediation. The study sample consists of 106 male 9th and 10th graders in a public high school on the south side of Chicago, of whom 95% are black and 99% are free or reduced price lunch eligible. Participation increased math test scores by 0.65 of a control group standard deviation (SD) and 0.48 SD in the national distribution, increased math grades by 0.67 SD, and seems to have increased expected graduation rates by 14 percentage points (46%). While some questions remain about the intervention, given these effects and a cost per participant of around $4,400 (with a range of $3,000 to $6,000), this intervention seems to yield larger gains in adolescent outcomes per dollar spent than many other intervention strategies. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2014. 59p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper Series; Working Paper 19862: Accessed January 27, 2014 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w19862.pdf?new_window=1 Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w19862.pdf?new_window=1 Shelf Number: 131801 Keywords: Cognitive Behavioral TherapyDelinquency PreventionDisadvantaged YouthEducationIntervention ProgramsYouth-At-Risk |
Author: Suitts, Steve Title: Just Learning: The Imperative to Transform Juvenile Justice Systems Into Effective Educational Systems. A Study of Juvenile Justice Schools in the South and the Nation Summary: The most disadvantaged, troubled students in the South and the nation attend schools in the juvenile justice systems. These children, mostly teenagers, usually are behind in school, possess substantial learning disabilities, exhibit recognizable behavioral problems, and are coping with serious emotional or psychological problems. They are often further behind and hampered with more personal problems than any other identifiable group of students in the nation's elementary and secondary schools. Very often they are confined in large, overly restrictive institutional facilities that are operated without priority or focus on their education. Most juvenile justice schools have such low expectations of student academic performance that they usually report only if students gained or failed to gain basic skills during their period of custody. These reports are usually recorded only for a small fraction of the students who are in the juvenile justice systems. As a result, most students come in and out of the juvenile justice systems with little or no real regard for their education. A large majority of these students, year after year in the South and the nation, have been African American and Hispanic males. Only 37 percent of these students have been confined for some type of harm to others. Almost another one-third has been put under the custody of the juvenile justice system because of a delinquency that did not involve harm to property or persons. Their ages range annually from less than 10 years old to around 21. The majority are in their mid-teens. There is every reason to predict that today most of these students, like those who came before them in the juvenile justice systems, will never receive a high school diploma or a college degree, will be arrested and confined again as a juvenile or adult, and will rarely, if ever, become self-supporting, law-abiding citizens during most of their lives. Yet, substantial evidence shows that, if these children improve their education and start to become successful students in the juvenile justice systems, they will have a far greater chance of finding a turning point in their lives and becoming independent, contributing adults. The cost savings for states and state governments could be enormous. Unlike past era, a young person who enters and leaves the juvenile justice system in the 21st century without a trajectory for achieving more than a high school diploma will likely fail to become a successful and contributing adult. This failure will cost society far more than it should have to pay, and there will be no justice for students or the larger society from a juvenile justice system that fails to improve education for the children in its custody. The nation and its most disadvantaged, troubled youth deserve better. Details: Atlanta, GA: Southern Education Foundation, 2014. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 21, 2014 at: http://www.southerneducation.org/getattachment/b80f7aad-405d-4eed-a966-8d7a4a12f5be/Just-Learning-Executive-Summary.aspx Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.southerneducation.org/getattachment/b80f7aad-405d-4eed-a966-8d7a4a12f5be/Just-Learning-Executive-Summary.aspx Shelf Number: 132092 Keywords: Disadvantaged YouthJuvenile Correctional EducationJuvenile CorrectionsJuvenile DelinquencyJuvenile Justice SystemJuvenile Offenders |
Author: Ludwig, Jens Title: Think Before You Act: A New Approach to Preventing Youth Violence and Dropout Summary: Improving the long-term life outcomes of disadvantaged youths remains a top policy priority in the United States. Unfortunately, long-term progress in improving outcomes like high school graduation rates and reduction of violent crime has been limited, partly because finding ways to successfully improve outcomes for disadvantaged youths (particularly males) has proven to be challenging. We believe one reason so many previous strategies have failed is because they at least implicitly assume that young people are forward-looking and consider the long-term consequences of their actions before they act. But a growing body of research in psychology and behavioral economics suggests that a great deal of everyone's behavior happens intuitively and automatically, with little deliberate thought. Although it is often helpful for us to rely on automatic responses to guide our daily behavior, doing so can also get us into trouble, with consequences that are particularly severe for young people growing up in distressed urban areas where gangs, drugs, and guns are prevalent. We thus propose that the federal government aim to provide each teenager living in poverty in the United States with one year of behaviorally informed programming, intended to help youths recognize high-stakes situations when their automatic responses may be maladaptive. Such a program could teach young people to slow down and think about what they are doing, or could help them "rewire" their automatic responses. Our team has carried out several randomized controlled trials in Chicago that demonstrate that this approach, which is a version of what psychologists call cognitive behavioral therapy, can reduce arrests for violent crime by 30 to 50 percent, improve schooling outcomes, and generate benefits to society that may be up to thirty times the program costs. We suggest that the federal government scale up the program over five years, and that it combine this scale-up with rigorous evaluation to learn more about how best to implement (and, if needed, modify) the program at scale in different contexts across the country. The demonstration phase of the project would cost $50 million to $100 million per year over five years, while the at-scale cost would be $2 billion annually. The demonstration and eventual scale-up would be led by the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. If successful, this effort would improve the long-term well-being of our nation's most disadvantaged young people, reduce crime, improve schooling attainment, reduce income inequality, and enhance the nation's overall economic competitiveness. Details: Washington, DC: The Hamilton Project, 2014. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper 2014-02: Accessed May 10, 2014 at: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2014/05/01%20preventing%20youth%20violence%20and%20dropout%20ludwigj%20shaha/v10_thp_ludwigdiscpaper.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2014/05/01%20preventing%20youth%20violence%20and%20dropout%20ludwigj%20shaha/v10_thp_ludwigdiscpaper.pdf Shelf Number: 132319 Keywords: At-Risk YouthCognitive Behavioral TherapyDelinquency PreventionDisadvantaged YouthSchool Dropouts |
Author: My Brother's Keeper Task Force Title: My Brother's Keeper Task Force Report to the President Summary: For decades, opportunity has lagged behind for boys and young men of color. But across the country, communities are adopting innovative approaches, opening doors, strengthening supports, and building ladders of opportunity for young people, including boys and young men of color, to help put them on the path to success. President Obama wants to build on that success. That's why, on February 27, 2014, the President took action, joining with philanthropy and the private sector to launch an initiative to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and ensure that all young people who are willing to do the hard work to get ahead can reach their full potential - using proven tools and focusing on key moments in their lives where we can help make a difference. Over the last three months, we have had conversations with thousands of individuals and groups who care about this set of issues and share a common belief that, working together, we can help empower boys and young men of color and all youth with the tools they need to succeed. Today, the Task Force is providing a 90-day report on progress and an initial set of recommendations. This is a first step. In the coming months and years, the Task Force will build on the framework and initial recommendations offered here, and will work together with others to help ensure that all youth in America are on the path to success. Details: Washington, DC: The White House, 2014. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 2, 2014 at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/053014_mbk_report.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/053014_mbk_report.pdf Shelf Number: 132595 Keywords: African AmericansDelinquency PreventionDisadvantaged YouthMinority Youth |
Author: Gelber, Alexander Title: The Effects of Youth Employment: Evidence from New York City Summer Youth Employment Program Lotteries Summary: Programs to encourage labor market activity among youth, including public employment programs and wage subsidies like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, can be supported by three broad rationales. They may: (1) provide contemporaneous income support to participants; (2) encourage work experience that improves future employment and/or educational outcomes of participants; and/or (3) keep participants "out of trouble." We study randomized lotteries for access to New York City's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), the largest summer youth employment program in the U.S., by merging SYEP administrative data on 294,580 lottery participants to IRS data on the universe of U.S. tax records and to New York State administrative incarceration data. In assessing the three rationales, we find that: (1) SYEP participation causes average earnings and the probability of employment to increase in the year of program participation, with modest contemporaneous crowd-out of other earnings and employment; (2) SYEP participation causes a moderate decrease in average earnings for three years following the program and has no impact on college enrollment; and (3) SYEP participation decreases the probability of incarceration and decreases the probability of mortality, which has important and potentially pivotal implications for analyzing the net benefits of the program. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2014. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper 20810: Accessed April 2, 2015 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w20810 Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: . http://www.nber.org/papers/w20810 Shelf Number: 135139 Keywords: Delinquency PreventionDisadvantaged YouthEmployment ProgramsYouth Employment |
Author: Moodie, Kristina Title: I can see them being kids: an evaluation of the 'Referral Process' of Youth Advantage Outreach Summary: Youth Advantage Outreach is a collaborative venture by the Army in Scotland and Police Scotland. The purpose is to provide an adventurous and challenging course using Army experience which is targeted at youth who have come to the attention of police as a result of offending or risk-taking behaviour. Several five-day residential courses are offered each year, in different locations in Scotland for mixed-sex groups of up to 40 young people aged 14 to 17. The Centre for Youth and Criminal Justice (CYCJ) was invited by the Scottish Government to undertake a study to examine perceptions of value of the experience among a sample of referrers. Interviews were conducted with 12 individuals and one group, who work either for YAO or with YAO. This evaluation, written by Kristina Moodie (Research Associate at CYCJ), reports on the findings. Details: Glasgow: Centre for Youth & Criminal Justice, 2014. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 2, 2015 at: http://www.cycj.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/YAO-final-report-040215.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.cycj.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/YAO-final-report-040215.pdf Shelf Number: 135849 Keywords: At-Risk YouthDelinquency PreventionDisadvantaged Youth |
Author: United States. Executive Office of the President Title: Economic Costs of Youth Disadvantage and High-Return opportunities for Change Summary: The President believes that, in America, everyone should be empowered to make of their lives what they will - not limited by the circumstances of their birth. But today, millions of American youth face persistent gaps in opportunity that prevent them from reaching their potential and contributing fully to their communities and the economy. These disparities affect not only individuals, but our economy as a whole, through lost productivity and economic potential. In order for the United States to successfully compete in a 21st-century global economy, all of America's youth must have the opportunity to be safe, healthy, educated, and prepared to succeed in their careers. It's simple: to win in our new economy, America needs to field a full team. This report examines the barriers that disadvantaged youth, particularly young men of color, face and quantifies the enormous costs this poses to the U.S. economy. In particular, this report focuses on the significant disparities in education, exposure to the criminal justice system, and employment that persist between young men of color and other Americans. In addition to their vast human cost, the opportunity gaps facing youth of color hold back the U.S. economy, lowering aggregate earnings, shrinking the labor market, and slowing economic growth. This report outlines why it is important for our Nation - from business, faith and civic leaders to local law enforcement - to invest in the lives of our Nation's young people. In launching the My Brother's Keeper initiative, the President and his entire Administration are doing just that. By tackling a range of issues, from ensuring children are able to read at grade level to preparing young people for college and career readiness and to finding ways to decrease the number of young people involved with the criminal justice system, President Obama is ensuring that his Administration is meeting the needs of all youth. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Executive Office of the President, 2015. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 23, 2015 at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/mbkreport_final.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/mbkreport_final.pdf Shelf Number: 136128 Keywords: At-Risk YouthDelinquency PreventionDisadvantaged Youth |
Author: McNeil, Clare Title: Breaking Boundaries: Towards a 'Troubled Lives' programme for people facing multiple and complex needs Summary: Reviewing previous reforms to public services for socially excluded groups, this report makes the case for a locally-led and coordinated programme to support people with multiple and complex needs. While successive governments have promised to tackle the 'root causes' of social and economic disadvantage, public spending on individuals experiencing problems such as addiction, homelessness, offending and poor mental health is still largely reactive - funding expensive crisis care services rather than coordinated and preventative support. At a time when rising numbers of people are becoming socially excluded, the government is committed to finding ways to reduce the estimated $4.3 billion spent on 'troubled individuals' struggling with homelessness, addiction and mental health problem. The taxpayer is indeed meeting unnecessary costs as the result of spending that is focussed on expensive crisis care services, rather than on coordinated and preventative support that would deliver better results as well as value for money. Savings cannot be made, and outcomes cannot be improved, unless action is taken to reform the services that vulnerable and disadvantaged people rely on. Because services are set up to deal with single issues such as drug or alcohol misuse, homelessness or mental health, rather than addressing the various needs of the individual, multiple professionals are often working with the same person. The successful Troubled Families programme was developed precisely to address this problem. However, there is no framework for disadvantaged adults who do not meet the programme's criteria. In this report we examine what lessons can be learned from the successes and failures of previous attempts to reform public services for disadvantaged individuals. We review several decades' worth of reform to provide a range of insights to learn from and build on in formulating new policy approaches. Based on these lessons, we recommend that at the next spending review, the government chooses multiple and complex needs as one of a small number of priority issues for investment in local integration and service transformation. A new 'Troubled Lives' programme, based on the Troubled Families model of centrally driven but locally led reform for vulnerable groups, should be established, focussed on approximately a quarter of a million individuals who experience two or more of the following problems: homelessness, substance misuse and offending. Details: London: Institute for Public policy Research, 2015. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 30, 2015 at: http://www.ippr.org/files/publications/pdf/breaking-boundaries_Sep2015.pdf?noredirect=1 Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.ippr.org/files/publications/pdf/breaking-boundaries_Sep2015.pdf?noredirect=1 Shelf Number: 136895 Keywords: At-Risk YouthCommunity Based ProgramsDelinquency PreventionDisadvantaged Youth |
Author: Treskon, Louisa Title: What Works for Disconnected Young People: A Scan of the Evidence Summary: This paper was commissioned by the Youth Transition Funders Group in 2015. 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, quasi-experimental, 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. The main findings of this scan are: -Policies affecting disconnected young people span a range of systems, including public schools; adult basic and secondary education; and the juvenile justice, foster care, and mental health systems. As a result services, funding, and research are often uncoordinated and fragmented, though collective impact or system-level approaches are attempting to combat these challenges. -Though program impacts may be modest or short-lived, successful programs share some common features. These include: opportunities for paid work and the use of financial incentives; strong links among education, training, and the job market; the use of youth development approaches; comprehensive support services; and support after programs end. -Programs share some common implementation challenges, including: outreach and enrollment practices that may limit the populations they serve; difficulties keeping young people engaged in a program long enough to benefit from it; staff turnover; and difficulties addressing young people's barriers to participation, particularly their lack of transportation and child care. -The field's understanding of what works in serving disconnected young people could advance significantly in the coming years, as more than a dozen evaluations of programs are currently under way, including evaluations of collective impact approaches. There are gaps in the existing services available: There are not enough programs for young people who are not motivated to reconnect to education or the job market on their own, nor for young people who have weak basic skills, especially those who have aged out of the public school system. The areas where there are gaps in services also tend to be areas where there is little evidence regarding what works. Details: New York: MDRC, 2016. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: MDRC Working Paper: Accessed February 25, 2016 at: http://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/What_works_for-disconnected_young_people_WP.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/What_works_for-disconnected_young_people_WP.pdf Shelf Number: 137973 Keywords: At-Risk JuvenilesAt-Risk YouthDelinquency PreventionDisadvantaged Youth |
Author: Yahner, Jennifer Title: Arts Infusion Initiative, 2010-15: Evaluation Report Summary: In 2010, an ambitious model for social change emerged in Chicago that aimed to connect detained youth and those at risk for incarceration ("at-risk youth") to rigorous and engaging arts instruction, infused with social and emotional learning goals. Dubbed the Arts Infusion Initiative, the Chicago Community Trust ("the Trust") spearheaded and funded this five year, $2.5 million demonstration while earning cooperation from the local detention facility, public school system, community policing office, and community arts program leaders to integrate arts programming into youths' school and after school environments. Since its launch, the Arts Infusion Initiative2 has served more than 2,000 youth at an average annual cost of $700 per teen, linking them to high performing arts instruction associated with significant increases in social and emotional learning. This report marks the first large-scale evaluation of the Arts Infusion Initiative which was designed to: (1) assess the degree to which the project, as an emergent model for social change, was achieving its intended purposes and (2) generate actionable information for promoting effective Arts Infusion practices while redirecting those that have been less effective. To accomplish these objectives, from April to August 2015, the Urban Institute ("Urban"), in consultation with the National Guild for Community Arts Education ("the National Guild"), conducted a multi-method evaluation that drew on the following sources: 1. Five years of Arts Infusion documentation, including arts programs' teaching unit plans for infusing social and emotional skills instruction, proposals and final reports, assessments of youths' social and emotional progress, and knowledge sharing activities, attendance, and participant feedback; 2. Quantitative analysis of the initiative's 2014-15 social and emotional youth assessment data (n=320); 3. More than six dozen (n=73) interviews and focus groups with Arts Infusion instructors, program directors, youth participants, and community stakeholders; 4. An online survey assessing stakeholders' (n=45) perceptions of the initiative, conducted by Urban during the evaluation period; and 5. Observations of more than a dozen Arts Infusion classes, events, and performances, as well as artwork (music, poetry, dance, theatre, and visual art) produced by teen and young adult participants. Together, these data enabled Urban's researchers to investigate key questions about the initiative's evolution and impact. This report presents the evaluation's key findings and recommendations. It consists of six chapters. Following the first chapter's introduction, chapter 2 describes the importance of efforts such as the Arts Infusion Initiative as (1) an emergent model3 for social change, based on the principles of restorative justice and creative youth development and (2) as a means to help improve outcomes for detained youth and youth nationwide who live in at-risk, socioeconomically deprived environments affected by gangs, drugs, and violence. Chapter 3 defines the core components of the Arts Infusion Initiative as they evolved, including the arts activities and objectives of the 14 most recent participating programs and efforts by the Trust to link Arts Infusion practitioners to research guidance by convening knowledge sharing sessions and by funding consultations with an arts assessment expert. Chapter4 details the evaluation methods, research questions, and limitations, while chapter 5 explains the seven key evaluation findings (summarized following this paragraph), along with supportive evidence and examples. Finally, chapter 6 identifies several promising practice recommendations for the next phase of the Arts Infusion Initiative. Seven key findings that emerged from the Arts Infusion Initiative evaluation: 1. Arts Infusion youth participants showed statistically significant and substantial improvements in social and emotional learning skills, as measured by conflict resolution, future orientation, critical response, and career readiness. 2. Arts Infusion teaching artists with strong artistic knowledge and classroom management skills were 3. The Arts Infusion Initiative helped foster co-creations and collaborations between program directors, public schools, community policing, and the detention facility. 4. Arts Infusion knowledge sharing sessions and assessment consultations evolved to effectively provide professional development opportunities and increase the assessment capabilities of program directors and teaching artists. 5. Arts Infusion programs succeeded in exposing at-risk youth to new skills and technologies, providing confidence building experiences that opened their minds to a positive future. 6. Arts Infusion programs experienced challenges connecting to and engaging youth after their release from detention. 7. Arts Infusion programs served nearly 750 at-risk youth in 2014-15 at an average cost of $700 per teen; JTDC based programs cost $600 per teen, and community based programs cost $750 per teen. effective at engaging and inspiring youth. Details: Washington, DC: The Urban Institute; Chicago: Chicago Community Trust; New York: National Guild for Community Arts Education, 2015. 139p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 18, 2016 at: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/2000392-Arts-Infusion-Initiative-2010-15-Evaluation-Report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/2000392-Arts-Infusion-Initiative-2010-15-Evaluation-Report.pdf Shelf Number: 138331 Keywords: Arts in PrisonsArts ProgramsAt-Risk YouthDelinquency PreventionDisadvantaged YouthEducational Programs |
Author: Ridolfi, Laura John Title: Decriminalizing Childhood for Youth of Color Summary: From the day children are born, we dream of their bright future and imagine that their lives are ripe with opportunities to thrive. We send them off to elementary school with aspirations of one day attending their college graduation and celebrating their journey toward self-sufficiency. We envision them growing into young adults with access to opportunities to create a good life. However, for far too many, this is a dream deferred. For youth of color, the journey along the path of opportunity toward self-sufficiency is frequently derailed by criminalization, arrest, and incarceration. One reason is that the margin of error that our society grants to youth of color is razor thin. This is true for youth of color who are simply exhibiting normal childhood behavior, as well as those who commit crime. The American justice system, reflecting societal values and norms, has a long and unconscionable tradition of using policing and incarceration as a form of social control for children of color. It is imperative that we protect their right to childhood by reforming the justice system in ways that strive for structural racial equity. The racial and ethnic disparities that exist in youth justice today are symptoms of a system that, from inception, treated children of color poorly and that continues to use misguided and ineffective approaches. There are nearly 1 million young people involved in the youth justice system today. The overwhelming majority are youth of color. On an average day in 2013, nearly 55,000 young people across the United States were incarcerated - 87 percent were for nonviolent offenses. Youth of color were significantly more likely to be incarcerated; black youth were more than six times as likely to be incarcerated as white youth. The American emphasis on incarceration as a response to misbehavior and misconduct by youth of color is punitive, deficit-based, and ultimately counterproductive. This "mass incarceration" has come under public scrutiny in the United States in recent years. Across party lines, our nation agrees, the "American experiment in mass incarceration has been a moral, legal, social, and economic disaster." But mass incarceration is more accurately described as hyper-incarceration because communities of color experience excessive incarceration disproportionately. Details: Chicago: Urban America Forward, 2016. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Civil Rights Roundtable Series: Policy Brief: Accessed March 29, 2016 at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5OY2mjuvIznSDhsTkU2LVV3SkU/view?pref=2&pli=1 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5OY2mjuvIznSDhsTkU2LVV3SkU/view?pref=2&pli=1 Shelf Number: 138472 Keywords: African AmericansDisadvantaged YouthEthnic DisparitiesMass IncarcerationRacial Disparities |
Author: Mercy Corps Title: Youth and Consequences: unemployment, Injustice and Violence Summary: Every year, Western donors deploy vast sums of development assistance to dampen the appeal, among the world's youth, of militias, pirates and terrorists. But guided by little in the way of empirical evidence, it is an enterprise plagued by unclear payoffs and unintended consequences. At the heart of these efforts are economic development programs. Vocational training for youth, for instance, is a favorite of donors and NGOs alike. Such efforts are informed by a widely held assumption: that idle young people, lacking licit opportunities to make a living, are a ready pool of recruits for armed movements. There is just one problem with this narrative. It does not appear to be true. Mercy Corps' research contributes to a growing body of evidence that finds no relationship between joblessness and a young person's willingness to engage in, or support, political violence. Drawing on interviews and surveys with youth in Afghanistan, Colombia and Somalia, we find the principal drivers of political violence are rooted not in poverty, but in experiences of injustice: discrimination, corruption and abuse by security forces. For many youth, narratives of grievance are animated by the shortcomings of the state itself, which is weak, venal or violent. Or all three. Young people take up the gun not because they are poor, but because they are angry. In light of this, many prevailing development approaches are unlikely, in isolation, to make youth more peaceful. Indeed, they may make matters worse. Supply-side vocational training projects, not linked to meaningful employment in the marketplace, risk raising expectations that cannot be satisfied. And where programs fail to target the most marginalized - as many do - or have been manipulated by local elites, they may aggravate perceptions of unfairness. Empowering disenfranchised young people would seem to be the remedy. Yet, from a peace-building perspective, civic engagement programs yield unpredictable dividends. When not paired with meaningful governance reforms, such programs may simply stoke youth frustrations with exclusive, elder-dominated formal institutions. This may explain why we found civically engaged youth to be more supportive of armed opposition groups, not less. Confident, outspoken and politically conscious young people, it turns out, are not the types to sit quietly by when the society around them disappoints. Details: Portland, OR: MercyCorps,2015. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 9, 2016 at: https://www.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/MercyCorps_YouthConsequencesReport_2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: https://www.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/MercyCorps_YouthConsequencesReport_2015.pdf Shelf Number: 139348 Keywords: At-Risk YouthDelinquency PreventionDisadvantaged YouthYouth Unemployment |
Author: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Title: Vulnerable Young People: Interactions across homelessness, youth justice and child protection Summary: This report reveals that individuals who experience multiple, cross-sector services in the specialist homelessness, protection or youth justice service areas are a particularly vulnerable group. Clients experiencing 2 or more of these services were more likely than specialist homelessness services-only clients: to report having substance use issues; to report having mental health issues; to have an over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; and to receive more days of support and more support periods from specialist homelessness services agencies. Details: Canberra: AIHW, 2016. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 13, 2016 at: http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129557799 Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129557799 Shelf Number: 146102 Keywords: At-Risk YouthChild ProtectionDisadvantaged YouthHomeless YouthHomelessnessMental Health ServicesMentally Ill Persons |
Author: Chowdry, Haroon Title: Disadvantage, Behaviour and Cognitive Outcomes: Longitudinal Analysis from Age 5 to 16 Summary: The importance of children's social and emotional skills for life outcomes is well established, as is the link between these skills and family income. The combination of both of these can serve to entrench the cycle of inter-generational disadvantage. Previous work has shown that poorer children exhibit more behavioural and emotional problems on average than their wealthier peers, and that this gap appears early in childhood; less is known about the reasons why this might be and how long it persists for. There is also limited evidence on what might drive the interplay between early behaviour and later cognitive skills such as literacy and numeracy. In this report we present findings from new research on the following questions: (1) What is the relationship between economic disadvantage and child behavioural and emotional problems? Our analysis shows that there is a higher prevalence of behavioural and emotional problems among disadvantaged children. We also find that this discrepancy can be fully accounted for by differences in maternal psychological well-being and parental education. This does not mean that economic disadvantage does not matter. However, it does suggest that it is factors associated with disadvantage, rather than economic disadvantage itself, that lead to the social gradient in child behavioural and emotional problems. Poor maternal psychological well-being explains around half of the socioeconomic disparity in behavioural and emotional problems. However, its association with these problems is only present in low- medium-income families, and the effect is strongest for children in poverty. This suggests that higher family income (or factors associated with it) may act as a protective factor against the risks from poor maternal psychological well-being, or that factors associated with poverty may amplify those risks. There is a lower incidence of behavioural and emotional problems in children with highly educated parents. It is likely that parental education is capturing a range of influences, such as the quality of parenting, of the home learning environment and of parent-child interactions. All of these factors may contribute to children's socio‐ emotional development and behaviour throughout childhood. (2) How do child behavioural and emotional problems influence later cognitive skills and attainment? Children with higher levels of behavioural and emotional problems at age 5 do less well, on average, in cognitive assessments - specifically, literacy and numeracy scores - at age 10 and age 16. This correlation remains, but to a lesser extent, after taking into account other individual and family factors that may contribute to this relationship. For example, parental education and maternal psychological well-being together explain half of the correlation between age 5 behavioural and emotional problems and age 10 cognitive skills. There is a statistically significant link between behavioural and emotional problems at age 5 and cognitive scores at age 16. However, this is fully explained when we control for cognitive scores and behavioural and emotional problems at age 10. In other words, after this is taken into account, there is no independent link between behavioural and emotional problems at age 5 and cognitive skills at age 16. One potential way to interpret this is that early childhood behavioural and emotional problems need not present a risk for future educational attainment if they can be turned around by age 10. Higher parental education is associated with higher cognitive scores, even after taking into account earlier cognitive scores and behaviours. This may reflect ongoing features of the home environment or parenting style that continue to influence children's learning and ability even into adolescence. Our findings highlight the interplay between cognitive and non‐cognitive outcomes, and the family-level factors that may contribute to these outcomes. Parental education and poor maternal well-being contribute to higher behavioural and emotional problems and lower cognitive scores, especially in early childhood. Behavioural and emotional problems at age 5 then contribute to behavioural and emotional problems and lower cognitive scores at age 10, which in turn contribute to lower cognitive scores at 16. As a result these factors can cast 'long shadows' into adolescence and early adulthood, if unaddressed through interventions or additional support. Details: London: Early Prevention Foundation, 2017. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 29, 2017 at: http://www.eif.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/disadvantage-behaviour-cognitive_Mar2017.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.eif.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/disadvantage-behaviour-cognitive_Mar2017.pdf Shelf Number: 145200 Keywords: Anti-Social BehaviorAt-Risk YouthCognitive SkillsDelinquency PreventionDisadvantaged YouthEmotional DevelopmentSocioeconomic Conditions |
Author: Pierce, Barbara Title: Roca's High Risk Youth Intervention Model: Initial Implementation Evaluation Report Summary: It is estimated that 15 percent of the population between ages 16 and 24 is disconnected. While there are some variations in the definition of this concept, there appears to be some general agreement that disconnected youth are those young people between 16 and 24 who are not in school and not employed (others have added that they are also not married). The United States Government Accountability Office defines disconnected youth as "youth aged 14 to 24 who are not in school and not working, or who lack family or other support networks." A longitudinal study by MaCurdy et. al. using National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth show that 93 percent of those who disconnect for the first time reconnect within three years. This is promising except that subsequent disconnection episodes are likely, particularly among youth in disadvantaged families. More than 16 percent of males disconnect again in a year, 33 percent in 2 years, and 44 percent within three years. The figures for young women show that one in ten disconnects a second time by the one year mark, one quarter by the end of two years and a third by year three. It is clear that longer term interventions are needed for those most at risk. The greatest concern is for those young people who are disconnected for extended periods of time. It is this group which in adulthood is more likely to have lower incomes, no health insurance, difficulty obtaining and retaining employment, and to contribute to increased crime rates and a greater number of children living in poverty. In addition, young women who remain disconnected for three or more years are more likely to receive public assistance in adulthood.6 While it has been determined that young people who "participated in some sort of job training, job search, or school‐to‐work program during their high school years were less likely to experience disconnection than youth who did not participate in this type of program," we know that there are many young people who will not and do not participate in such programs even when available. In a July 2009 article published in Child Trends, Hail et. al. suggest that recruiting and holding on to this group, the group which does not participate, may "require stronger and more persistent outreach, more intensives services, and more long‐term participation." Roca, Inc., a community‐based organization in Chelsea, Massachusetts has developed a High Risk Youth Intervention Model to address the issues discussed above. It serves the areas of Chelsea, Revere, and East Boston, Massachusetts, and surrounding communities, in which the risk factors for disconnection occur in relatively high concentrations. The risk factors related to disconnection include family poverty level, single‐ parent homes or young people not living with either parent, parental unemployment, lower educational achievement of parents and welfare receipt. Three‐quarters of Roca's participants live in the cities of Chelsea and Revere. Twenty‐four percent of Chelsea residents had incomes below poverty level (compared with 10% statewide); Revere's rate is 11 percent. In the first quarter of 2009, Both Chelsea and Revere had higher unemployment rates than Massachusetts as a whole. Forty‐one percent of Chelsea's residents have less than a high school education; the figure for Revere is 23 percent (compared with 15% statewide).12 Roca purposely seeks out those young people who do not and will not participate in school or other community programs which may prevent or repair disconnection. Roca recognizes that the young people are not participating and engages them in relationships designed to work with them over the course of up to five years so that they can benefit from life skills, educational, and employment programming. They outreach to these young people multiple times per week each week not only for recruitment but to retain them and support them until they are sustaining reconnections to education and employment. In addition to targeting disconnected youth, Roca targets disengaged youth, those still in school, but who are on the verge of dropping out, and refugees, immigrants and others who are only tenuously connected to educational and social institutions. It is engagement with these institutions that assist a young person along the pathway to productive adulthood. Wald and Martinez estimate that 20 of every 100 youth are at risk before age 25, "yet, only five to seven percent will reach age 25 without connecting in a meaningful way to employment and social support systems." It is the five to seven percent with whom Roca works. This report provides a brief history of Roca and where Roca is today. Next there is an overview of the core components of the High Risk Youth Intervention Model and a description of the evaluation of the model. The initial, descriptive implementation evaluation findings follow and are organized according to the logic model. First is a description of the inputs or resources necessary for the implementation of the intervention model. Next is a description of both the organizational level and client level strategies. Lastly is a brief overview of next steps for the implementation and impact evaluation of the High Risk Youth Intervention Model. Details: Boston: Crime and Justice Institute, 2009. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October October 13, 2017 at: http://www.socialimpactexchange.org/files/Roca_Interim_Implementation_Evaluation_Rpt_Dec09.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.socialimpactexchange.org/files/Roca_Interim_Implementation_Evaluation_Rpt_Dec09.pdf Shelf Number: 147681 Keywords: At-Risk YouthDisadvantaged youthDisconnected YouthIntervention ProgramsYoung Adult Offenders |
Author: Muggah, Robert Title: Youth, Security and Peace: Brazil Revisited Summary: Brazil is not facing so much a conventional "armed conflict" as a systemic crisis of public security. Its high levels of insecurity are not due to a single cause but rather a combination of individual, household and societal factors; concentrated disadvantage and fragmented families together with limited access to quality education, employment and other opportunities all play a role. Yet there are also remarkable efforts underway to prevent and reduce violence at national, state and municipal levels. Brazil features a rich, if understudied, ecosystem of interventions to promote youth safety and security that offer lessons to the world. The following report is designed to offer insights for the Youth, Peace and Security review. It considers first the scope and scale of youth violence. It then turns to the key perpetrators. Next, it explores the underlying risks giving rise to youth insecurity. The report closes with a review of national, state, city and civil society animated measures to prevent and reduce violence. Details: Rio de Janeiro: Igarape Institute, 2018. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 2, 2018 at: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Youth-Security-and-Peace-Brazil-Revisited-Robert-Muggah.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Brazil URL: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Youth-Security-and-Peace-Brazil-Revisited-Robert-Muggah.pdf Shelf Number: 150024 Keywords: At-Risk YouthDisadvantaged YouthPreventing Youth ViolencePublic SecuritySocioeconomic Conditions and CrimeYouth Violence |