Policies and Strategies:
Framing Options and Opportunities through Education for Vulnerable Youth

A Forum — February 12, 2002

The purpose of the American Youth Policy Forum breakfast briefing for Congressional aides with interests in education, career preparation and social services for youth, and representatives from the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Justice was to:

1. Initiate a dialogue on the educational needs of “vulnerable youth”;
2. Explore current and potential opportunities—in policy, legislation and practice—to reduce barriers and address the needs of these youth;
3. Review promising and comprehensive strategies for vulnerable youth—in education, employment/training and juvenile justice—and challenges in aligning systems of academic preparation and ongoing supports.

The conversation was based on the issues and concerns presented in a paper developed by the Youth Transition Funders Group (YTF), Powerful Pathways: Framing Options and Opportunities for Vulnerable Youth, presented by Chris Sturgis, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation project officer, and Talmira Hill, of the T. L. Hill Group (formerly project officer with the Annie E. Casey Foundation). The YTFG includes advocates and policymakers whose focus is on expanding high quality educational opportunities for vulnerable youth (both in-school and those re-enrolling through alternative education and workforce development) and integrating youth development principles into the systems that interact with youth.

According to Sturgis, in 1999 approximately 4.9 million young people ages 14-24 in the United States were “vulnerable” representing roughly 10.8% of the 41.7 million young people of that age in the U.S. “Vulnerable” youth include young people who are out-of-school and work, those leaving foster care, prison, jail or reformation, young welfare recipients, and children with incarcerated parents. Their lives may have complicating factors associated with homelessness, physical or mental challenges and disabilities, immigrant or refugee status, or issues of gender identity and equity (including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender young adults). They are generally the focus of our multiple but uncoordinated systems of intervention—compensatory education, special education, welfare, juvenile justice, foster care—and may be young people with families and responsibilities.

Through an interactive dialogue, Sturgis and Hill described “transformational imperatives” that must be in place to support these youth, including elements of (1) positive relationships and networks; (2) high expectations and clear standards; (3) opportunities for meaningful participation and contribution; (4) challenging experiences; and (5) high-quality instruction and training. They provided examples of programs that implement these imperatives successfully and practices that decidedly are not transformational, such as forcing youth to dropout before then can enroll in alternative education programs, expelling young people from foster care to the streets, refusing Pell grants to young people who have been in prison, and closing down the second chance system.

A number of recommendations with policy implications were offered, including:

• Providing accelerated learning opportunities, such as parental/student choice for alternative education programs, computer aided instruction, the right mix of programs in a community (e.g., small high schools, Diploma Plus, community-based organization schools, YouthBuild);
• Breaking the boundaries between systems and communities by promoting opportunities for public agencies to partner with families and communities;
• Providing incentives for cross-sector strategies;
• Dismantling the pipeline to prison and building better routes to college and careers; and
• Including an appreciation of ethnicity, language and culture in strategies and solutions.

Questions put to the participants centered on several policy issues—

• How can current legislation and future reauthorizations of federal programs (e.g., ESEA, welfare reform, adult basic education, vocational and technical education, workforce investment) support what “works” for these young people?
• How can policies be aligned to move away from a patchwork of programs and systems to comprehensiveness, continuity and connection?
• How can public and political will be developed on behalf of vulnerable youth?

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