Idea of the Day: Connect Disadvantaged Youth with School and Work

June 9, 2008

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We recommend that the federal government restore Youth Opportunity Grants to help the most disadvantaged communities and expand funding for effective and promising youth programs—with the goal of reaching 600,000 poor disadvantaged youth through these efforts. We propose a new Upward Pathway program to offer low-income youth opportunities to participate in service and training in fields that are in high-demand and provide needed public services.

Youth participating in the Upward Pathway program should have opportunities for reenrollment
in secondary education (including GED and charter school options), and services such as case management and career counseling. There should be seamless transitions to the young person’s next stage of employment or education, with followup support offered for up to two years after the young person completes the program.

For more information on this topic, please see:

• From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half by the Center for American Progress Task Force on Poverty
• Half in Ten: From Poverty to Prosperity