Did you know that in Wisconsin there are an estimated 55,000 young adults, age 20-24, who are neither employed nor enrolled in school?  These “disconnected youth” are part of 6.5 million US teens and young adults who are not finding their way into the workforce in ways that we once took for granted.  Today, the Annie C. Casey Foundation released a report, “Youth and Work: Restoring Teen and Young Adult Connections to Opportunity.” The report highlights the increasing challenges young adults face finding employment in an economy where some of the pathways we took for granted in the past (manufacturing, housing construction, small businesses) are less likely to lead to success.

The good news is that Wisconsin is doing better than most states, with the fifth lowest percentage of disconnected youth; but the bad news is that like other states, that percentage has increased from a decade ago.  

And, while not covered extensively in this report, the statistics for youth of color are much worse.  Young adults who get started on a path of steady employment are more likely to be able to support a family in later years, are less likely to engage in a range of risky behaviors, and ultimately contribute more to our overall economic stability.

What does this mean we need to do?  It always sounds easier than it is, but we should:

·         Align and support both public and private resources in our communities to build initiatives and community collaboratives that engage young adults in meaningful work that contributes to our community.

·         Invest more (government, foundations, and businesses) to promote effective and accountable education and employment strategies, including reaching out to youth who have dropped out of school.

·         Utilize proven program strategies, such as mentoring, internships and apprenticeships, and community service projects to strengthen youth connections to work and earn a modest income.

“Youth and Work” includes the latest youth employment data for every state, the District of Columbia, and the nation. Additional information on disconnected youth and young adults is available in the KIDSCOUNT Data Center, which also contains the most recent national, state, and local data on hundreds of indicators of child well-being. The Data Center allows users to create rankings, maps and graphs for use in publications and on websites, and to view real-time information on mobile devices.                         by Jim Moeser