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## Other Youth Topics

## Breadcrumb

            -  Youth Topics 
            -  Opportunity Youth 
            -           Employment      

# Employment

A significant way that opportunity youth can be engaged in their communities is through the workforce. Engagement in the workforce, including apprenticeships, not only benefits the youth individually but also their community. Youth disconnect from the workforce is a complex issue, however there are several practical strategies that can be taken to support opportunity youth:
                      - Listen to youth.  Opportunity youth are the experts on their own experiences. Therefore, it is important that they are engaged in the process of working towards reconnection. For example, a program,  Leaders-Up , hosted an opportunity youth-led conference that yielded the need to develop trust and transparency between youth and potential employers.  Youth voices  on this topic can be found on Youth Engaged 4 Change.
                      - Provide training.  For many opportunity youth, employment is a new experience. It is important that appropriate training be available to address issues throughout the process of applying for and maintaining employment.
                      - Work collaboratively to create and maintain supportive policies and opportunities.  For employers and programs it is important that they work together to create  opportunities for youth to engage with the workforce . Additionally, data collection and evaluation across agencies and employers can be vital to maintaining support. [1]
                      - Develop careers, not jobs.  Helping opportunity youth discover career pathways and preparing them for meaningful, lucrative careers is crucial to long-term success for that individual and potentially future generations of their family and community. For example, the  WIOA Youth Formal Program  focuses primarily on out-of-school youth and includes 14 program elements that are required to be made available to youth participants.
                      - Address practical barriers.  These could include transportation costs, providing access to technology so they can participate in virtual opportunities, making sure they have an interview and work appropriate outfit(s), providing meals, printing hard copies of their resume, and setting up job fairs so that youth can conveniently explore work options in one place. [2]

## Resources

**Strategic Use of Resources, Funding, and Partnerships to Support Disconnected Youth**This case study describes how federally-funded technical assistance helped the Children's Services Council (CSC) parlay lessons learned from past programs serving disconnected youth into a more expansive effort to align funding for this population across all county systems and services. This case study describes how the CSC in South Florida did just this, leveraging and pooling multiple funding streams to maximize impact for disconnected youth.

**Supportive Services**Supportive services, one of the 14 program elements for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA) youth program, are services that enable an individual to participate in WIOA activities. These services enable an individual to participate in WIOA activities (such as, but not limited to, assistance with transportation, child care, housing, health care, educational testing, and work-related tools). Access Part 1 here. Access Part 2 here.

**WIOA Youth Program Fact Sheet (July 2020)**This factsheet provides information on the Youth Program of WIOA.

**How to be an Opportunity Employer**This webpage from Grads of Life provides employers helpful information on employer principles for working with opportunity youth.

**Opportunity Employment**This document from Grads of Life outlines the six principles of Opportunity Employment and their associated talent practices.

**Youth Programs**This is a collection of resources related to youth employment from the U.S. Department of Labor. These resources include information and programs designed to help youth gain and maintain connections with the workforce, and successfully make the transition to adulthood and careers.

**Education and Career Toolkit**This toolkit from engage.youth.gov is a collection of resources focused on education and careers. These resources are from reputable organizations, offered free of charge, and tailored to a youth audience. The resources are also grouped by theme to make it easier for youth to find what they need in as few clicks as possible.

**Get My Future**Get My Future is a mobile-friendly web application that helps youth plan their careers, explore education and training options, and search and apply for jobs.

**Employability Skills**This initiative, supported by the U.S. Department of Education, includes interactive resources with helpful information for educators, trainers, employers, and policymakers on how to support opportunity youth to be successful in their first job. This information is also provided in a fact sheet (PDF, 1 page).

**Opportunity Youth Playbook**This guide from the Forum for Youth Investment works to help boys and young men of color, who are disproportionately represented among opportunity youth, to reconnect with education and/or employment.

**Two Futures: The Economic Case for Keeping Youth on Track****(PDF, 25 pages)**This publication details the issues surrounding employment of youth. The document is based off a longitudinal research study that investigated the economic differences in youth that stay “on track” and those who do not.

**Resources for Youth Employment Programs**This website from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau provides resources for youth, and those who work with them, that can help work towards building a solid foundation for their financial futures. Resources regarding information about policies and best financial practices as well as educational aids to develop financial skills and knowledge can be found on this site.

**Bridge to Reconnection****(PDF, 28 pages)**Produced by Civic Enterprises, this report offers comprehensive data and a roadmap for reconnecting one million opportunity youth each year through federal funding streams. It outlines the federally funded pathways through the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Defense that currently reconnect approximately 360,000 young people each year and could scale up to engage more young people.

## References

[1] Lewis & Gluskin, 2018; Uvin, 2016

[2] Lewis, 2019

## Other Resources on this Topic

### Announcements 

                          - Building Staff Co-Regulation to Support Healthy Relationships in Youth: A Guide for Practitioners
                          - Measuring Co-Regulation: A Draft Tool for Observing Educators in Youth-Serving Programs
                          - Report: Building Co-Regulation Capacity to Support Positive Development for Youth with Foster Care Experience
                          - Resource: 2016 National Foster Care Month Microsite
                          - Resource: Broadband Access Landscape
                          - Resource: Co-Regulation in Human Services
                          - Resource: Co-Regulation in Practice Series -- Strategies for Practitioners Who Serve Youth Aged 14-24
                          - Resource: Co-regulation: What It Is and Why it Matters Video
                          - Resource: Guides for How to Incorporate Coregulation with Older Youth in Foster Care
                          - Resource: Health Care Coverage for Homeless and At-Risk Youth
                          - Resource: National Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Dashboard
                          - Resource: National Training and Development Curriculum (NTDC)
                          - Resource: Newly-Redesigned YE4C
                          - Resource: Reconnecting Youth Project
                          - Resource: Youth Development Across the Federal Government: A Thought Leader Conversation with Cheri Hoffman
                          - Resources for Professionals and Others Supporting Young People During Times of Uncertainty
                          - Resources: Supportive Services
                          - Share with Youth: Youth Speak Out: Shared Experiences Help Rural Youth Leaders Connect
                          - Webinar Recording: Don’t Leave Us Out: Tapping ARPA for Older Youth
                          - Youth Voices Have Moved to YE4C

### Collaboration Profiles 

                          - Youth M.O.V.E. National: Making a Difference through Youth-Adult Partnerships
                          - Youth M.O.V.E. National: Making a Difference through Youth-Adult Partnerships

### Feature Articles 

                          - Department of Education Opportunity: Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth
                          - Just Launched! Redesigned YE4C
                          - Pathways for Youth: Strategic Plan for Federal Collaboration
                          - Reconnecting Youth
                          - Reports and Recommendations for Core Components

### Publications 

                          - Supporting Community College Delivery of Apprenticeships

### Resources 

                          - Comprehensive Services for Opportunity Youth Resource List
                          - Resource: Youth Workforce Development

### Webinars & Presentations 

                          - Archived Webinar: Performance Partnership Pilots (P3) Round 2 Bidders Conference

### Youth Topics 

                          - Opportunity Youth
                          - P3 Round 2 Bidders Conference
                          - Update: Performance Partnership Pilots (P3) Notice of Proposed Priorities

## Youth Briefs

How Individualized Education Program (IEP) Transition Planning Makes a Difference for Youth with Disabilities
Youth who receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) and especially young adults of transition age, should be involved in planning for life after high school as early as possible and no later than age 16. Transition services should stem from the individual youth’s needs and strengths, ensuring that planning takes into account his or her interests, preferences, and desires for the future.

Youth Transitioning to Adulthood: How Holding Early Leadership Positions Can Make a Difference
Research links early leadership with increased self-efficacy and suggests that leadership can help youth to develop decision making and interpersonal skills that support successes in the workforce and adulthood. In addition, young leaders tend to be more involved in their communities, and have lower dropout rates than their peers. Youth leaders also show considerable benefits for their communities, providing valuable insight into the needs and interests of young people

How Trained Service Professionals and Self-Advocacy Makes a Difference for Youth with Mental Health, Substance Abuse, or Co-occurring Issues
Statistics reflecting the number of youth suffering from mental health, substance abuse, and co-occurring disorders highlight the necessity for schools, families, support staff, and communities to work together to develop targeted, coordinated, and comprehensive transition plans for young people with a history of mental health needs and/or substance abuse.

Young Adults Formerly in Foster Care: Challenges and Solutions
Nearly 30,000 youth aged out of foster care in Fiscal Year 2009, which represents nine percent of the young people involved in the foster care system that year. This transition can be challenging for youth, especially youth who have grown up in the child welfare system.

Coordinating Systems to Support Transition Age Youth with Mental Health Needs
Research has demonstrated that as many as one in five children/youth have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Read about how coordination between public service agencies can improve treatment for these youth.

Civic Engagement Strategies for Transition Age Youth
Civic engagement has the potential to empower young adults, increase their self-determination, and give them the skills and self-confidence they need to enter the workforce. Read about one youth’s experience in AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).

## Main navigation

- Opportunity Youth
- Prevalence
- Risk and Protective Factors
- Education
- Employment
- Engaging Opportunity Youth as Leaders
- Reconnecting Youth
- Programs and Initiatives Working to Reconnect Youth and Prevent Disconnection
- Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3)
- References

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## Latest Resources

### Announcements

Resource: Co-regulation: What It Is and Why it Matters Video

Resource: Co-Regulation in Human Services

Youth Voices Have Moved to YE4C

### Collaboration Profiles

Youth M.O.V.E. National: Making a Difference through Youth-Adult Partnerships

Youth M.O.V.E. National: Making a Difference through Youth-Adult Partnerships

### Feature Articles

Reports and Recommendations for Core Components

Just Launched! Redesigned YE4C

Pathways for Youth: Strategic Plan for Federal Collaboration

### Publications

Supporting Community College Delivery of Apprenticeships

### Resources

Comprehensive Services for Opportunity Youth Resource List

Resource: Youth Workforce Development

### Youth Topics

P3 Round 2 Bidders Conference

Update: Performance Partnership Pilots (P3) Notice of Proposed Priorities

Opportunity Youth