New Book: Reconnecting Disadvantaged Young Men

Posted by on March 24, 2006

[posted from Public Education Network newsblast]

GETTING ALIENATED YOUNG MEN BACK TO SCHOOL OR JOBS

Because the United States “can ill afford to have so many of its young people and adults be unskilled, unemployed, and thus unproductive,” a new book tackles the thorny challenge of getting “disconnected” young men back in school or the workforce. By several recent counts, the United States is home to 2 to 3 million youth age 16 through 24 who are out of school and out of work. Much has been written on disadvantaged youth, and government policy has gone through many incarnations, yet questions remain unanswered. Why are so many young people “disconnected,” and what can public policy do about it? And why has disconnection become more common for young men–particularly African-American men and low-income men–than for young women? In “Reconnecting Disadvantaged Young Men,” Peter Edelman, Harry J. Holzer, and the late Paul Offner offer analysis and policy prescriptions to solve this growing crisis. They carefully examine field programs and research studies and recommend specific strategies to enhance education, training, and employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth; to improve the incentives of less-skilled young workers to accept employment; and to address the severe barriers and disincentives faced by some youth, such as ex-offenders and noncustodial fathers. The authors suggest that initiatives to improve educational attainment should be accompanied by efforts boosting occupational skills, early work experience, and labor market contacts among high school students who are unlikely to attend college.

http://www.urban.org/pubs/reconnecting/chapter1.html