CLASP's youth policy work aims to advance policy and practice that will dramatically improve the education, employment, and life outcomes for youth in communities of high youth distress.
Pathways to Reconnection for Disconnected Youth
We advocate for federal policies that meet the education and training needs of the millions of young people ages 16 to 24 who are disconnected from school and employment. Read more>>
Building the Capacity of Communities
We work with communities to identify and highlight effective cross-system approaches that can provide opportunities for youth to complete their education, enter the labor market and improve their life outcomes. Read more>>
Supports and Strategies for Youth of Color
We highlight the depth of the disadvantaged and disconnected youth problem for young people of color in some of the nation's most challenged communities and propose strategic solutions. Read more>>
46 Year Later, the Nation Can't Ignore the Urgency of the Moment
On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said "It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment." These words have profound meaning in 2011.
The sobering reality is that 43 years after Dr. King's assassination, gross disparities persist for African Americans in nearly every aspect of American life. On Jan. 12, community leaders from across the nation met in Washington D.C. to discuss how to make addressing disproportionately high unemployment and incarceration rates and gaps in earnings and education for black men and boys a top national and state policy priority. CLASP hosted the meeting along with the 2025 Campaign for Black Men and Boys, as part of CLASP's 40th anniversary policy series, Policy and Promise for Low-Income People in America.
"Every day we're losing a generation of young people," said keynote speaker Dr. James L. Moore, III. "But do we have the will to change?"
Hundreds of stakeholders from the social, political and advocacy arenas attended the meeting to discuss advancing an ambitious national agenda presented in the new report, We Dream a World: The 2025 Vision for Black Men and Boys. The report identifies concrete policy solutions to ensure workforce success, raise educational achievement, reduce health disparities, improve conditions for low-income fathers and improve the overall well being of black men, their families and communities.
Currently, less than half of black male students graduate from high school on time and only 11 percent complete a bachelor's degree. According to the latest Bureau of Labor statistics, the unemployment rate for black men is 16.5 percent, nearly double the 8.5 percent rate for their white counterparts. And among black males with a bachelor's degree, only 43 percent have a job that pays at least $14.51 per hour, or enough to put them significantly above the federal poverty level if they have to support a family of four.
Policies targeted at improving outcomes for black youth are especially critical. Young males of color need supports that are both robust and culturally relevant, including pathways to education and the labor market for youth who have disconnected from the mainstream. Coordinating resources and systems to support all aspects of youth development will put more young people on a path to solid education, meaningful careers, and eventual self-sufficiency.
As we reflect on the life and legacy of Dr. King this Monday, it is appropriate to consider how far the nation has moved toward a more equitable and just society. At the same time, we have miles to go. Black men and boys continue to face drastically worse life outcomes. They are valuable human capital that we are losing. The nation simply cannot afford to write off another generation.
Learn more about the We Dream a World report and CLASP's youth of color work.
In Their Own Words
CLASP surveyed nearly 200 youth from across 13 communities to gain better insight into the unique experiences of young people who have dropped out of high school and reconnected to career and education supports. What we learned was truly inspiring. READ MORE »- Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt | Mar 29, 2010 Reauthorizing ESEA: Considerations for Dropout Prevention and Recovery
- Sara Hastings, Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt, and Linda Harris | Mar 09, 2010 Building a Comprehensive Youth Employment Delivery System: Examples of Effective Practice
- Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt, Linda Harris, and Kisha Bird | Mar 09, 2010 Follow the Money: Funding and Legislative Opportunities on the Horizon for Communities to Serve Disconnected Youth
- Linda Harris | Aug 17, 2010 Recommendations for WIA Reauthorization Title I Youth Provisions
- Linda Harris and Evelyn Ganzglass | Oct 29, 2008 Creating Postsecondary Pathways to Good Jobs for Young High School Dropouts
- Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt | Dec 09, 2010 We Dream A World: The 2025 Vision for Black Men and Boys
- Linda Harris & Amy Ellen Duke-Benfiled | Nov 30, 2010 Building Pathways to Postsecondary Success for Low-Income Young Men of Color
- Linda Harris | Aug 17, 2010 Recommendations for WIA Reauthorization: Title I Youth Provisions
- National Youth Employment Coalition | Jun 09, 2010 Congressional Opportunities to Address Our Nation's Youth Unemployment Crisis
- Kisha Bird | Jun 09, 2010 If Not Now, Then When? Congressional Opportunities to Address Our Nation's Youth Unemployment Crisis