ED 200 784

AUTHOR

TITLE

INSTITUTION

PUB DATE

NOTE

AVAILABLE FROM

DOCUMENT RESUME

CE 028 579

Snedeker, Bonnie

Research on Youth Employment and Employability

Development. Youth PerspectivesThe Lives Behind the

Statistics. Youth Knowledge Development Report

2.10.

Employment and Training Administration (DOL),

Washington, D.C. Office of Youth Programs.

May 80

239p.: For related documents see CE 026 577-578.

Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing

Office, Washington, DC 20402 (Stock No.:

029-014-00133-3, $6.50).

EDRS PRICE EF01/PC10 Plus Postage.

DESCRIPTORS Adolescents; Career Education: Case Studies;

Demography; Educational Experience; Educational

Needs; Employment Potential; Employment Programs:

Family Life: Individual Characteristics; Individual

Needs; Job Skills: *Job Training; Occupational

Aspiration; Outcomes of Education; *Participant

Characteristics; *Program Effectiveness: Skill

Development: *Vocational Education: Work Attitudes:

work Experience Programs: *Youth Employment; Youth

Problems: *Youth Programs

IDENTIFIERS Comprehensive Employment and Training Act; Youth

Perspectives Project

ABSTRACT

This description and analysis of the lives of 32

young Comprehensive Employment and Training Act participants presents

youth perspectives on the nature of the employment situation and the

interacting factors which affect youth's employment chances, on the

individual developmental process, on reasons for coming to and

expectations of employment and training programs, on the experiences

within these programs, and on success in as well as the subsequent

effects of participation. It consists of eight chapters. Each chapter

contains participant case histories and information on such topics as

Labor market institutions, employment problems, and program services.

(Material presented is from the Youth Perspectives Project conducted

from November 1978 to December 1979.) Chapter 1 contains background

on the education and employment needs of participants. Chapter 2

discusses participants' family life. Community-related problems are

examined in chapter 3, and school life is covered in chapter 4. Youth

work attitudes and perceptions of the world of work are outlined in

chapter 5. Chapter 6 covers job training and employment programs, and

chapter 7 dealS with career plans, life goals, and employment

outcomes. A description of the Youth Perspectives Project and a

bibliography are appended. (MN) ********************************* *** ************* ***** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made

from the original document.

*************************************** ********* ** **********
YOUTH KNOWLE

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ANIZATiON ORIGIN -

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:ESSARILY REPREDNAL INSTITUTE OF

N OR POLICY
U.S, Department of Labor

Ray Marshall, Secretary

Employment and Training Administration

Ernest G. Green, Assistant Secretary for

Employment and Training Administration

Office of Youth Programs

Material contained in this publication is

in the public domain and may be

reproduced. fully or partially, without

perrnsslon of the Federal Government.

Source credit is requested but not

required. Permission required only

to reproduce any copyrighted material

contained herein.

For sale of Document . 11.8 Dovemment Printing ()Mee, Wnehlftton. D C 3)102
YOUTH KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2.10

YOUTH PERSPECTIVES - THE

LIVES BEHIND THE STATISTICS

Bonnie Snedeker

April 1980
OVERVIEW

This extraordinary description and analysis of the lives of

32 young CETA participants is one of several efforts aimed

at determining youth perspectives on the nature of the

employment situation and the interacting factors which affect

youths' employment chances, on the individual developmental

process, on reasons for coming to and expectations of

employment and training programs, on the experiences within

these programs, and on success in as well as the subsequent

effects of participation.

There are several alternative approaches for determining youth

perspectives on these issues. Youth can be surveyed in a

quantifiable question-and-answer response format in order

to get a sense of the incidence of viewpoints and the factors

statistically correlated with these views. There are obvious

response biases and difficulties in interpreting both

questions and answers. For instance, even a simple determination

of "program participation" is difficult for a youth who may have

gotten an in-school job with no knowledge that funding was

provided through CETA. Despite such limitations, standardized

questions and large sample sizes are the only way to get a sense

of magnitudes and statistical patterns of relationship.

Unstructured interviews can yield greater insight into

individuals and their motivations but are much more difficult

to generalize. The quality of the insights depends on the

degree of rapport, the continuity of observation and the

understanding of the observer.

It is possible to work in an interactive setting to

try to develop consensus viewpoints of youth in task groups

and discussion sessions. The success depends on the degree

to which youth can be guided in discussions without dictating

their views.

Finally, the "ethnographic" approach relies on observers of life

experiences rather than on questions about these experiences.

Obviously, it is a more intensive approach, with the danger of

involvement contaminating responses, but it is also the only

way to put certain life experiences into context.

With limitations in each approach, a balanced understanding

of the youth perspective depends on a blending of the methods

and synthesis of findings from their application. A structured

array of activities have, therefore, been initiated under the

Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act to determine

youth perspectives utilizing all these approaches.

Under the Continuous Longitudinal Manpower Survey and the

National Longitudinal Survey of Young Americans, a variety

of detailed questions have been addressed to large samples of

youth concerning their participation in employment and training

programs. An ethnographic study has been implemented to track

a smaller sample of poor youth through all their life experiences.

ouic.
ii

The National Urban Coalition and the National Urban League

have assessed the views of young people through guided

interaction. The Coalition utilized the assemply format in

several sites, while the Urban League selected and worked

with a National Youth Participant Observer Committee over an

extended period of time Personal interviews were carried

out by a number of athletes under the direction of the NFL

Players Association as part of the background work of the

Vice President's Task Force on Youth Employment. Finally,

this volume was prepared, reflecting periodic interviews

over a year with a selected sample of CETA youth participants.

Without question, this volume represents one of the most

revealing and policy significant products of the youth

knowledge development effort. Its description and analysis

of the lives of young CETA participants gives meaning to

most of the statistics and quantitatively based conclusions

developed from other activities. Because it captures so

well the diversity, complexity and dynamism which are

frequently expurgated in more "scientific" analyses, the

vol'ime is not easily summarized. But there are several

important underlying themes:

First, the cumulative effects of opportunity deficits and negative

developmental factors become clear. Each of the individuals

in this study,has by their teen, been formed by life experiences

in a way which strongly affects, if not predetermines, subsequent

experiences.

Second, there are clear sequences through which each youth

has passed or is passing, but the routes and the speed vary

dramatically.

Third, the employment and training experience is only one

stepping stone in a continuing passage. In context of all

that has happened before and is happening at each moment,

programs and outcomes appear much less consequential. For

some youths, they are the right opportunity at the right

time, but for most, they are just one step, perhaps shortening

the journey or redirecting it slightly, but not making major

changos.

Fourth, youth turn to these programs because of the lack of

more attractive options. They leave when something better

is wlailable or when participation is not fruitful. In none

of these stories, can the employment and training experience

be considered negative, even if the benefits in most cases

are expected to be temporary. The youth are clearly better

off having the opportunities.
iii

Fifth, the enormous diversity is revealed in these

individual profiles. Clearly, any conclusions about cause

and effort relationships or program impacts which depend

on characteristics which can be surveyed and quantified

cannot get very far in explaining what is occurring in

individual cases and what lies under the averages and trends.

This volume is one of the products of the "knowledge development"

effort implemented under the mandate of the Youth Employment and

Demonstration Projects Act of 1977. The knowledge development

effort consists of hundreds of separate research, evaluation and

demonstration activities which will result in literally thousands

of written products. The activities have been structured from

the outset so that each is self-standing but also interrelated

with a host of other activities. The framework is presented in

A Knowledge Development Plan for the Youth_Tpl2yment and_Demonstration projects Act of 1977, A Knowledge Develo- ment Plan for

the Youth Initiatives Piscal 1979 and Completing the You

Agenda: A Plan for Knowled e Develo nt Dissemina

PEli5A21212 Fiscal 1980.

Information is available pr will be coming available from these

various knowledge development efforts to help resolve an almost

limitless array of issues. However, policy and practical application will usually require integration and synthesis from a

wide array of products, which, in turn, depends on knowledge

and availability of these products. A major shortcoming of

past research, evaluation and demonstration activities has been

the failure to organize and disseminate the products adequately

to assure the full exploitation of the findings. The magnitude

and structure of the youth knowledge development effort puts a

premium on structured analysis and wide dissemination.

As part of its knowledge development mandate, therefore, the

Office of Youth Programs of the Department of Labor will organize,

publiSh and disseminate the written products of all major research

evaluation and demonstration activities supported directly by

or mounted in conjunction with OYP knowledge development efforts.

Some of the same products may also be published and disseminated

through other channels, but they will be included in the structured series of Youth Knowledge Development Reports in order to

facilitate access and integration.

The Youth Knowled

are divide= into

evelopment Re o ts, of which this is one,

e_ve rOa catego
iv

1. Knowled.e Development Framework: The products in this

category-are concerne w e structure of knowledge development activities, the assessment methodologies which are employe,

the measurement instruments and their validation, the translation of knowledge into policy, and the strategy for dissemination of findings.

2. Research on Youth Employment and Em loyability Development:

The produFfiili-EFIS category represent ana_yses o existing data,

presentation of findings from new data sources, special studies of

dimensions of youth labor market problems, and policy issue assessments.

3. Program Evaluations: The products in this category include impact,.process aiTdBJnefit-cost evaluations of-youth programs including the Summer Youth Employment Program, Job Corps,

the Young Adult Conservation Corps, Youth Employment and Training

Programs, Youth Community Conservation and Improvement Projects

and tie Targeted Jobs Tax Credit.

4. Service and Participant Mix: The evaluations and demonstrations summaTized in this category concern the matching of

different types of youth with different service combinations.

This involves experiments with work vs. work plus remediation

vs. straight remediation as treatment options. It also includes

attempts to mix disadvantaged and more affluent participants, as

well as youth with older workers.

5. Education and Training Approaches: The products in this

category present the findings of structured experiments to test

the impact and effectiveness of various education and vocational

training apgroaches including specific education.methodologies

form the diA4dvantagen thihative_educatiRR approaches and advanced carrr% trainin

6. Pre-Employment and Transition Services: The products in

this category present the findings of structured experiments to

test the impact and effectiveness of school-to-work transition

activities, vocational exploration, job-search assistance and

other efforts to better prepare youth for labor market success.

-7. Youth Work Experience: The products in this category

address e organization of work activities, their output, productive roles for youth and the impacts of various employment

approaches.

S. Implementation Issues: This category includes crosscutting analyses of the practical lessons concerning "hoto-doit." Issues such as learning curves, replication processes and

programmatic "batting averages" will be addressed under this

category, as well as the comparative advantages of alternative

delivery agents.

9. Design and Organizational Alternatives: The products

in this cafegory represent assessments of demonstrations of

alternative program and delivery arrangements such as consolidation, year-round preparation for.summerprograms, the use of

incentives and multi-year tracking of individuals.

8
V

10. S etialrEreds Groups: The products in this category

present findings on te special problems of and the programmatic adaptations needed for significant segments including

minorities, young mothers, troubled youth, Indochinese refugees

and the handicapped.

11. InnovatiV6 Ap roahes: The products in this category

present the findings o ose activities designed to explore new

approaches. The subjects covered include the Youth Incentive

Entitlement Pilot Projects, private sector initiatives, the

national youth service experiment, and energy initiatives in

weatherization, low-head hydroelectric dam restoration, wind- power and the like.

12. Institutional Linkages: The products in this category

include studies of institutional arrangements and linkages as

well. as assessments of demonstration activities to encourage

such linkages with education, volunteer groups4 diUg abuse

agencies and the like.

In each of these knowledge development categories, there will be

a range of discrete demonStration;resarch and -evaluation activities, focused on different policy, program and analytical

issues. In turn, each discrete knowledge development project

may have a series of written products addressed to different

dimensionsof the issue. For instance, all experimental

demonstration projects have both process and impact evaluationsfrequently undertaken by different evaluation agents. Findings

will be published as they become available- so that there will

usually be-a series of reports as evidence accumulates. To

organize these products, each. publication is classified in one of i

the twelve broad knowledge development categories, described in

terms of the more specific issue, activity or cluster of activities

to which it is addressed, with an identifier of the product and

what it represents relative to other products in the demonstrations.

Hence/. the multiple products under a knowledge development activity

are closely interrelated and the activities in each broad cluster

have significant interconnections.

The Lives Behind_the Statistics is the first of two initi

volumes on youth perspectives in the "research on youth

employment and employability development" category.

Surveys of Youth provides the products of an assortment of

survey, ethnographic and guided interaction activities to

determine youth perspectives. The Pindings_of_the National

19RgiIMgirlAlAgEITYOf Young' Americans, also in the "research"

category, present statistical survey results of critical

importance as well. This volume, however, puts flesh on this

statistical framework. it is a critically important and

exciting work.

a

ROBERT TAGGART

Administrator

Office of Youth Programs
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pale

Overview 1

WHO ARE la" 1 We're All Looking For Something. . 6

Age and Maturity 7 Education and School Status 8

Income and Employment Needs 11

Residential Setting. . . . 14

Index of Case Study Participants

- 17

FAMILY LIFE. . ... . .. 28

American Family Myths .. . . 28

Living With the Myths 31

Strong, Supportive Families. . . 36

Leaving Home . . .. . . . . . 40

Early and Abrupt Departures. ........... 43

Landing Places = 45

Adolescent Parents . . .

. 47

Role Models 54

Future Families. . . .. . . . . . . 59

III. COMMUNITY LIFE . 64

Rural Areas and Small Towns. . . 65

Big City Life 68

A Different Kind of City . . 4 . 0 73

Juvenile Crime . . . . . . . . .. . ... . . . . 74

Alcohol and Drugs 82

Welfare Dependency 91

SCHOOL LIFE 98

Historical Mandates for Education. . . . 98

The School System Under Challenge. . . . 100

The Dropout Problem 102

Who Drops Out. . . . . . .. . . . . . 105

What Dropouts Say About School . . . .. 108

Integration and Violence . . . 117

Reasons for Leaving School . . . . . . . 120

Participant Views on High School Completion- 125

Effects of Dropping Out. . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Page

LOOKING AT THE WO LD OF WORK 133

Changing Patterns 134

Pre-YEDPA Employment Experiences 136

Knowledge of the World of Work 141

What Does It Take To Succeed? 148

VI. EARNING AND LEARNING 152

Getting Started 153

Work Experience 156

Program Assignments 158

Clerical Work 161

Maintenance and Janitorial Work 163

Weatherizarlon and Construction Work . 164

Hospital Work- 165

Jobs With Career Potential 167

Non-Traditional Work For Females 169

Fitting YEDPA Workers Into Organizations 176

Supervision 179

Project Problems and Limitations 183

Learning on YEDPA Jobs 185

Motivation and Adjustment Problems 186

Earning While Learning . . . . . . . . 188

VII. WHERE DO WE GO FROI+ HERE? 192

Employment Outcomes and Job Readiness 193

Education and School Completion. . .. . 196

Personal Growth and Self-Esteem 201

Career Plans and Life Goals 202

New Ways to Look at Programs . 217

1 The Youth Per: 1 219

2 Bibliogra 226

11
1

WHO ARE WE?

Before I came here, I wasn't loin' nothin'. Stayin' out on the

street, you know. Come in late every night. Wake up late every

morning. I wasn't really interested in nothin'. I steeled weed.

Rode around in stolen cars. Gettin' money never phased me. I could always get money from people I knew. You know, doin' ce--

Cain things, you can always get money. But I got to thinkin',

it was about time for me to get my education. Get in something.

Either full-time working or going to school. I knew sooner or

later I'd have to do _something. I never really saw myself bein'

one of those dudes just hangin' out.

Bobby Jones, Age 18

I sit home with my baby. And I don't like it really. I don't.

If my boy friend don't come around, I never have nobody to be with.

I don't never 32 nowhere. I've been lookin' for a job. It's hard

to find. Since my son was born, I been living with my sister. I get some welfare, but it's no good. All my mother told me was to

finish school. Back when she was young, you could get a job easy.

But now it's getting where you need something--some education, experience--first before you can get a job. I wish I c,uld go back.

I'd be graduating this year if I'd stayed and stuck to it...if I

didn't have a baby. But having a baby...it's a change, you know.

really is. Myself, I can feel that I'm getting older. You

know, I'm out here on my own and everything. Trying to make it

the best way I can. I just want to get me a good job. Then

want to get me a deposit for an apartment. And I don't want it

to be too much longer.

Caeletta DeVries, Age 17

I've worked before, but I don't have a job now. I can't seem to

get a good one. See, I won't be 18 until next month, and they

don't want to hire you under 18. I moved out of the house two

years ago last January. That's when I got my first job. I was

livin' with a bunch of friends, all together in an apartment.

The job I got...you were supposed to be 18 to work there. Apparently, they just hired me'cause they needed somebody right

then. As soon as they got an application with somebody 18,

they laid me off. I just kept lookin' for jobs on my own. Finally

I got a dishwasher job. I thought that was great. I worked there

about five months. But, uh, I don't know. I started to want a

better job. I was makin' below minimum wage, and I was only workin'

part-time. I don't think he was payin' us fair for the work we had

Oft 13.
2

to do. It really wasn't good at all. So I looked around tryin'

to find a better job, or the same kind of job at a better place.

I didn't have much luck. So I moved back home, and I didn't do

anything till I came here.

Jack Thrush, Age 17

I want to work, but my education comes first. If you want to get

anywhere, you have to at least graduate from high school. It's

hard to earn money when you're in school. It depends on your

schedule. Most places they want you to work more hours. Most

jobs cell for 18 year olds, and they want diplomas. For younger

people, if you go to little restaurants, or like McDonalds and

that, it's pretty easy to get hired. But it's not too good. You

don't get anywhere with it. I want something better than that.

David Anderson, Age 18

I've traveled all around, but I haven't worked very much. Cuz

most the time, I was living with a foster parent or with friends,

and they were always tryin' to get me back in school. The only

job I can really say I ever had was beta' a housekeeper for eight

months for this one family. And I worked at Burgerville for about

two days. I always had it in mind to work, but I didn't have any

skills. Didn't know what I wanted to work as. I learned how to

get by out on the street. But workitla...I just plain don't know

very much about it. I don't know what I could do with myself once

I had the skills.

Sandy Bonds, Age

Bobby Jones, Carmeletta DeVries, Jack Thrush, David rlerson, and Sandy

Bonds are not their real names, but the statements are thosa of real people.

Bobby lives in a public housing project in Boston. Carmeletta and Jack live

in Kalamazoo, Michigan. David lives in a group home in rural Kitsap County,

Washington. Sandy Bonds lived in five different states before she decided

to settle down in Portland. These young people have never met, but they

have more in common than age. They all wanted to wark, but they were unable

to find satisfactory employment on their own. They are only a few of the

more than three million young Americana who were unemployed in 1978.

By 1978 youth unemployment was not a new problem in the American economy. For nearly three decades, unemployment rates for young people had

continued to rise despite private efforts and government programs. In the

1950's, unemployment rates for teenagers averaged 11.4 percent. Teenage

unemployment increased to an over 14 percent average in the 1960's, and

between 1970 and 1978, the unemployment rates of teenagers continued to
grow to a nearly 17 percent average. These increases in youth unemployment

were linked to population trends. The 1960's and 1970's saw massive growth

it, the teenage and young adult population as the post-war "boom babies"

matured. As the number of people age 16 to 24 increased by 80 percent between 1962 and 1978, the number of new job-seekers entering the labor force

also increased. During a 15 year period, employment participation for this

age group grew dramatically, particularly among part-time student workers

and young females. But the economy was unable to fully accommodate the increased demand for jobs among teenagers and young adults.

Who has borne most of the burden of youth unemployment? A small proportion--about 10 percent--of the youth population are experiencing 15 weeks

or more of unemployment each year. Between 70 and 80 percent of the total

weeks of youth unemployment are borne by this group of longer term unemployed.

Bobby, Carmeletta, Jack, David, and Sandy were all members of this group.

The concentration of youth unemployment seems to be increasing. It's victims are largely the economically disadvantaged, the non-white, and the

high school dropout. In March 1978, the unemployment rate of economically

disadvantaged white youth was 25.5 percent. Poor black youth experienced

nearly 41 percent unemployment during the same period. Such dramatically

high rates may actually understate the extent of joblessness among the poor

and non-white. Many low income and minority young people who want to work

have become discouraged from looking for jobs. The employment-population

ratio for poor youth in 1978 was 36 percent compared with 64 percent for

non-poor youth.

Reduced income and less work experience are the direct effects c youth

unemployment. Other effects are more difficult to document, but unemployment can also have a negative impact on the social behavior of youth and on

their long-term career prospects. Longitudinal studies are yielding evidence that the inability to find and maintain employment while young affects

one's employment and wages in the future. At a special disadvantage are

those discouraged job seekers who are not in school and also remain out of

the labor force altogether during their teenage years. Linked to worsening

youth employment prospects, though causality is difficult to establish, are

growing levels of adolescent parenthood, welfare dependency, criminal behavior, alcoholism, and suicide among the nation's youth populationparticularly among the poor. Teenagers who have become parents, who have committed

serious crimes, who leave school without basic skills, or who have become

dependent on drugs or alcohol must overcome special barriers to enter the

productive labor force and maintain stable employment.

The enactment of the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act

of 1977 (YEDPA) marked the beginning of a Carter Administration and Congress

supported attack on the problems of youth unemployment. YEDPA was passed as

part of the Carter Administration's economic stimulus package, and its immediate goal was to reduce the intolerably high levels of teenage unemployment, particularly among disadvantaged and minority youth.' In addition,

however, it also sought to stimulate changes in the roles of educational

and labor market institutions to promote better preparation for and entry

14
4

of youth into the working world from both the educational and economic per.

spective. YEDPA, in effect from fiscal year 1978 through fiscal year 1980,

represented the most comprehensive initiative in a succession of federal efforts to improve the employability and employment prospects of youth.

Though Bobby, Carmeletta, Jack, David, and Sandy were economically disadvantaged and lacked the skills or credentials that might make them attractive to a prospective employer, they were more fortunate than many unemployed

teenagers. During the 1978-79 school year, they were participants in new

programs authorized under the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects

Act. As YEDPA participants, they received paid job experience, educational

instruction, and career information and counseling services designed to meet

their immediate work and income needs and improve their long term employment

prospects. These services were provided to them in their own communities

under the auspices of local Comprehensive Employment and Training (CETA) systems.

This book is about Bobby, Carmeletta, Jack, David, Sandy, and other

young people trying to establish themselves in the world of work. It is

based on case studies of 32 participants in YEDPA programs. The collection

of case study material was part of the Youth Perspectives Project, which I

conducted, from November 1978 to December 1979, ender the direction of the

National Council on Employment Policy. Funds for the project were provided

by the Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.

During eight months of periodic interviews with case study participants

in four geographic locations, I spent hundreds of hours listening to young

people talk about their lives, employment experiences, problems, and plans.

They shared their views on themselves, their families, communities, schools,

and program activities. This book is their story. The messages in it are

based on their experience and, when possible, told in their words.

This book is also about programs. It is written for policy makers, administrators, and planners as well as those who intend to work directly with

youth participants in employment and training programs. In addition to descriptive case histories of participants, the book provides information and

background on labor market institutions, employment problems, and program

services, but it is not an evaluation, a policy prescription, or a blueprint

for program design and operation. It introduces the reader to participants

as people, and it examines youth employment and training issues from a participant perspective.

Why do some young people need help making an effective transition to the

labor force while others are successful in finding employment on their own?

How do young people get involved in employment and training programs? What

do they expect to gain? What happens to them after they enroll? What kinds

of things do participants learn in programs? Does participation help them

to make a better transition to the working world? These are some of the issues addressed in this book.
5

Case studies can provide substantial insights on people and processes;

they do not offer conclusive evidence or prove theories. A large body of

statistical data is being collected and analyzed on YEDPA program activities.

This book looks at some of the people and situations behind the statistics.

The scope of its findings is circumscribed by the range of experiences,

characteristics and views that are encompassed in a limited number of case

studies. The final product is also influenced by my own perspectives, re- search objectives, and limitations.

Though I did not come to this project with a professional background in

adolescent development, family relations, social psychology, or education,

as a researcher, I was concerned with the whole lives of participants and

the ways in which YEDPA participation fit into and affected their lives.

During the case study interviews, attention was focused on participants' individual development, family, community and school experiences as well as

their program activities and career prospects. As a writer, my perspective

remains that of a person who has studied youth employment problems and policies and come to the conclusion that the complex circumstances and views of

participants should be more closely examined and given more credence in the

design and delivery of employmnt and training services.

Though programs may be focused on target populations and employment

problems that are identified and confirmed by statistical data, in the

final analysis, services are provided to people. Youth program participants,

like Bobby, Carmeletta, Jack, David, and Sandy, are human beings who actively

interpret their own needs and create their own meanings rather than merely

reacting to external stimuli in a predictable fashion. Our programmatic assumptions must incorporate young people's own conceptualizations of their

world; they cannot be accurate or fully effective if they rely solely on

abstract understandings.

Any scientific understanding of human action, at whatever level of ordering or generality, must begin with

and be built upon an understanding of the everyday life

of the members performing those actions. To fail to

see this and to act in accord with it is to commit what

we might call the fallacy of abstractionism, that is,

the fallacy of believing that you can know in a more

abstract form what you do not know in a particular form.

Douglas, (1970) Understanding Everyday Life _ -
6

're Al.l Looking For Something

I wouldn't mind telling you about my experience...my

ideas about this program and everything. But what I

think and how it's been for me is probably real different from some of the other people you might talk to.

There's all different kinds of people in this program,

you know. And no two people you could talk to would

probably be quite the same. We're all lookin' for something, but it might be different things. Everybody's

got their own story. Everybody's got their own ideas.

Sandy Bonds

Like the broader population of YEDPA participants from which they were

drawn, the 32 young people who participated in the Youth Perspectives Project did not constitute a homogeneous group. All of the case study participants wanted to work or to find out more about the world of work, but they

entered YEDPA programs with different backgrounds, characteristics, and needs.

Their racial and ethnic characteristics were varied. Over half of the case

study participants were white; ten were black; two were Indo-Chinese; one

was Hispanic; and one was a Native American. They lived in different parts

of the country, and they were raised in different kinds of households.

Though most came from low income families, their personal income and employment needs varied. Some of them still lived at home and were supported by

their parents or other family members. Others had been on their own for

years; they were teenage parents, who depended on welfare, or independent

young people, who managed to support themselves with sporadic employment,

other activities, or help from friends. The case study participants came to

YEDPA programs looking for different things. Some only wanted part-time

jobs that would give them spending money while they finished high school.

Others wanted full-time jobs that would provide enough money to live on.

While many of the case study participants just wanted jobs, others were also

looking for experience, vocational training, and educational credentials

that would provide a link to a viable career future.

Sandy Bonds was right; no two participants are quite alike. And statistical breakdowns of YEDPA enrollee characteristics do not really tell us

much about the full range and extent of differences among the young people

who participated in YBDPA programs. Beyond demographic and-circumstantial

characteristics--that we can classify--lie the infinite and more subtle

variations in individual experiences, personalities, values, aspirations,

and potentials--that elude our attempts to categorize. But if the differences between individual participants are vast, so are the similarities.

Most of the young people in the case study group have the shared experience

of growing up American in the 1960's and 1970's. They are all seeking ways

to establish adult lives in American society of the 1980's and beyond. Intheir efforts to find Jobs and establish careers, they must deal with many

of the same institutions and realities. Despite their differences, they pace

similar problems and they want many of the same things from life.

17
7

The key to using, in a broader context, the case study material presented in this volume lies in an appreciation of the similarities and differences of the case study participants. This chapter describes the case

study group and compares it, to the broader youth target population in regard to age, school status, income/employment needs, and living environments.

It also provides a brief individual description of each of the 32 partici

pants.

Ate and Maturity

Wile the population eligible for YEDPA programs encompassed a ten

year age span of youth from 14 to 24, the ages of participants in the case

study group were more tightly clustered. The Youth Perspectives Project

was focused on young people who were soon approaching or had recently approached an age for full labor force participation. In this respect, the

case study group was good reflection of the actual participant mix. Though

eligibility criteria for the YETP program allowed the enrollment of those

both younger and older, nationally, the large majority of participants in

YEDPA programs were between 16 and 19 years old. The youngest participant

in the case study group was 16. The oldest case study participants were 19.

Most were 17 or 18 years old when the Youth Perspectives interviews began.

Though the age range of the case study group covered less than a four

year span, there were vast lifferences in the levels of maturation, degrees

of personal responsibility, and range of life experiences evidenced by individual case study part;cipants. In general, one expects a young adult of

19 to be more "grown up" than a 16 year old adolescent, but differences in

individual development were noticeable even among those of the same chronological age.

Clearly, some young people grow up faster than others. The range of

differences in the myriad of human capabilities and their rates of development is immense. Gesell Institute researchers report that differences in

individual development, while impressive in their scope, tend to be subtle

and elusive in infancy. But by the time of adolescence, these differences

are much more readily apparent. These researchers believe that while chronological age is useful for marking individual development, the yearly unit has

been overvalued as a criterion of growth and a basis for comparison between

individuals. Change during adolescence is greater than at any other time

of life except early childhood. Physical, psychosocial, and cognitive development is rapid, and it may also be uneven. At age 17 or 18, some young

people are very much "older" than others. And for individuals, at age 17

or 18, some aspects of development may be much more advanced than others.

Within the case study group, differences in maturity and individual development were often most striking and poignant among young women of the

same chronological age with vastly different life experiences, as illustrated

by the following two cases:
8

Tina Middleton is 18 years old. She lives with her mother, grandmother,

and two sisters in a small town in Kitsap County, Washington. In many ways,

Tina fits the popular image of a teenage girl. She's a high school senior,

has many friends, and participates in extra-curricular activities that range

from the pep squad to the Future Farmers of America. She has a steady boyfriend. Tina says she consults her mother, her grandmother, and her boyfriend

before making impIrtanc decisions. She plans to live at home after she graduates for at least a year or so, until she and her boyfriend are "ready to

live together". Tina says about herself:

Sometimes I almost break into a rash when I have to talk

to strangers. It's hard for me to go out into the world

and do adult-type things. Working's helped some, but I'm

still pretty shy. My mom's real outgoing and superindependent. I kinds tend to be a little more dependent.

One of my teachers said I was babyish. I wish I could be

more independent like my mom, but I don't want to be all

that way. I wouldn't want to be alone like she is. That's

too hard. I'm not ready to be on my own.

Genetta_ Burke is 18--the same age as Tina, but her circumstances have

given her a vastly different perspective. Genetta is a welfare mother. She

lives in Boston with her two children. Though they share an apartment with

her grandmother, Genetta is clearly the one in charge. She's been on her

own since age 16, six months after her son was born. Genetta works on a

YCCIP weatherization crew. She feels she is much more grown-up than the

young men with whom she works each day:

If I could change anything around here, I'd get some

older people workin' here. I'd rather work with older

guys. You know, the guys here, they're all like 19 or

20, and they play like kids. I can't stand bein' around

people who just play all the time They be thinkin' that

I think I'm better than them because I don't like to joke

or play around a lot. But I'm too old for that stuff.

I think it would be better with older people, more mature people. Men are just babies until they're 30.

Education and School Status

In our technological and credential oriented society, each year, there

are fewer employment opportunities for young people who drop out of high

school before graduation. During the last decade, there has been a great

deal of public concern about the "drop out problem". Nationwide television

and radio campaigns have been used to dramatize the disadvantages felt by

young people who lack a high school diploma and the education it represents.

Most of the nation's teenage population completes high school, and an increasing number of young people go on to college or post-secondary training.

1
9

In 1978, over 90 percent of 16 to 17 year old males were enrolled in

school, and over 88 percent of females in the same age group attended school.

About 80 percent of these young people remained in high school until graduation. After high school graduation, school enrollment falls considerably.

Only about 50 percent of all 18 and 19 year olds in 1978 were enrolled in

school. While the majority of young people from all income and racial groups

do complete high school, rates of high school noncompletion are substantially

greater among economically disadvantaged and non-white youth populations.

High school dropouts comprise a significant segment of the youth program target population. A 1978 survey of 6,415 youth eligible for the Youth

Incentive Entitlement Program in eight sites showed that about one-third of

the economically disadvantaged 16 to 19 year old sample were dropouts in the

1977-78 school year. The YIEPP program was designed to reduce high school

noncompletion by providing employment incentives and support services for

youth who remained in school until graduation or could be persuaded to return to school. YCCIP projects were supposed to give preference in enrollment to out of school youth experiencing difficulty finding jobs, and the

YETP program was designed to serve low income dropouts as well as high

school students. Under all three programs, alternative education services,

like GED instruction, wer made available to dropouts who were not able or

did not choose to return to high school on a regular basis.

Though high school dropouts were a major target group for YEDPA programs, they did not account for the largest proportion of program enrollments. The majority of participants were high school students at the time

they enrolled in YEDPA programs. Even YIEPP programs, which served non-high

school graduates exclusively, enrolled much higher percentages of students

than of dropouts returning to school. In February 1978, 67 percent of YETP

and 50 percent of YCCIP enrollees were high school students. Only 20 percent

of the total YETP enrollment and 40 percent of the much smaller YCCIP enrollment was made up of high school dropouts. Between 10 and 13 percent of the

participants in YET? and YCCIP programs were high school graduates.

The Youth Perspectives Project was concerned with issues of high school

completion and school experiences from both the student and the dropout perspective. The case study group was comprised of participants who had not yet

graduated from high school. When the interviews began, thirteen of the case

study participants were enrolled in regular public high schools. Of this

group, all but one were in the first half of their senior year. (One high

school participant was a junior.) Three case study participants were attending alternative or experimental high schools when they enrolled in YEDPA

programs. Sixteen of the 32 participants were out of school at the time of

program enrollment.

A tabulation of participant school status at the time of program enrollment does not provide a complete picture of the educational experience of

case study participants. Only 12 of the 32 participants had been continuous

school attenders. Each of the other 20 had dropped out of school at least

once before enrolling in YEDPA programs. Among both the continuous attenders

and the dropouts, there was considerable diversity in regard to academic
10

abilities, basic skill levels, and grade point averages. The case study

group included high school dropouts with reasonable good academic skills

as well as dropouts with serious skill deficiencies. It also included highly motivated high school students bound for college as well as students who

moved toward high school graduation with marked academic deficiencies. A

brief description of the school status and educational background of four

participants illustrates the range of differences within the case study group.

Mark Westgate was 17 and a senior at Camwell High School when he became

a case study participant. Mark lives in Caswell, Michigan with his mother

and a younger brother and sister. His parents have been divorced for several

years, and his mother receives AFDC support. He rarely sees his father, an

industrial hygenist who has moved out of the Kalamazoo area But as his

mother's oldest child and the firstborn grandson on both sides of his family,

Mark has been the object of a good deal of family attention and pride. Mark's

academic ability and musical talent have earned him recognition in the high

school and in the community. During his junior and senior years in high

school, Mark filled lead roles in a number of productions at the local civic

theatre, he maintained an "A" average in his school work, and he worked parttime, under YETP, as an aide in the high school band room. From an early

age, Mark has planned to graduate from college; and he expects to finance

his education with scholarships.

Mark Gurney lives on a farm in Rexburg, Michigan. Since his parents

divorced five years ago, he's lived with his father and two older brothers.

Mark is a senior at Rexburg High School. A continuous school attender, he

says that he's never seriously considered dropping out before graduation

although he finds school work very difficult. At 19h years old, Mark is two

full grades behind standard. Mark gets "C's" and "D's" in most of his classes. He's missed a lot of school during the past few years because of illnesses, like pneumonia and bronchitis, and he hasn't been able to make up

all the work. Though Mark is working hard to complete high school, he's

worried about what will happen to him after graduation:

From what I've heard, mostly, you have to go to college

and stuff to get a good job. But that's not always true.

My dad only went to the sixth grade. He hasn't done so

bad or anything, but he can't send me to college or anything like that, you know. ' I'll be on my own when I

graduate. So I hope I can find a good job even if I

can't go to college.

Harold Thomas had his eighteenth birthday several months after the

case study interviews began. He was living in a public housing project

in Boston with his older sister and two younger sisters. Before his mother

and father died, Harold's family lived in a small town in Virginia. Among

his family and friends in Virginia, Harold was. considered a talented young

man. He plays several musical instruments and-he is adept at sketching.

He also did well academically. Harold says: "I liked school until I moved

to Boston. I was on the honor roll for about eight years straight. Then I

moved up here and everything just dropped. I started going to South Boston
11

High, and I found out there was a whole lot of racism up here." After a

year of poor grades, sporadic attendance, and frequent fights, Harold

dropped out of South Boston High. He enlisted in the Army Reserves and did

well in both combat training and mechanic school. When he returned to Boston, Harold worked several months as a security guard before enrolling in a

YCCIP weatherization project.

Bobby Jones was 18 when the case study interviews began. He had been

a participant in a Boston YIEPP project for less than two weeks. Bobby

says that he decided not to return to high school during the summer after

his freshman year at West Roxbury. He was 161/2 years old, sad he had been

told that he would have to repeat the ninth grade the following year. "I

felt like I wasn't doin' nothin' at the school anyway," Bobby says. "Nobody cared if I made it or not." Bobby spent the next year and a half

"stayin' out on the street". He lived with his older sister in a public

housing project, but Bobby says, "I mostly went my own way...just comin'

home to sleep and all." When he started YIEPP classes, Bobby lacked the

basic skills and discipline to perform high school level work. His teacher, Mr. Morelock, said: "Bobby reads at the level of a fifth or sixth

grade student, and he's way behind in Math too. He's smart enough; he can

learn, but it's been a long time since he applied himself to anything."

and Enploypent Needs

YEDPA programs were targeted on young people whose income and employment needs were greatest. The majority of YEDPA participants were economically disadvantaged youth, who were unemployed, underemployed, or out of

the labor force at the time of enrollment. All of the youth served by the

Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects were from households with below

poverty level income. YETP income eligibility criteria were a bit more

flexible than those of YIEPP, but the large majority of YETP participants

came from households with income below 85 percent of the lower living standard set by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Though YCCIP was not an income

tested program, nationally, three-fifths of YCCIP participants were economically disadvantaged. More than a fifth of all YCCIP enrollees were from

families on AFDC.

The majority of the 32 participants in the Youth Perspectives case

study group were classified as economically disadvantaged at the time of

YEDPA program enrollment, but there were considerable differences in the

family income and employment backgrounds of case study participants. Several

participants, 18 or older, came from middle or upper-middle income families,

but they qualified as disadvantaged because they were unemployed and no longer family dependents. Several other participants lived in households where

low income was the recent result of divorce, parental job loss, or other

family crises, and was not a chronic condition. Even among participants

from historically low income families, there were substantial differences

in individual income and employment needs.

2/)
12

Within the case study group, differences in individual circumstances

played a stronger role than family economic status in determining participant

income and employment needs. While about half of the 32 case study participants received some financial support from their parents or other family

members, the others were on their own and depended on welfare or personal

earnings for support. Unemployed case study participants with no alternative sources of support obviously had the most critical income needs. Most

were seeking full-time work to support themselves. Participants who lived

at home and were full-time students were under varying levels of pressure to

earn money through part-time work.

Among both the participants whose personal income needs were critical

and those whose needs were less intense, there were considerable variations

in levels of employment experience and job readiness at the time of YEDPA

program enrollment. Several participants had never worked before and many

knew very little about the world of work. Others had been working for a

number of years. The following descriptions of four case study participants

illustrate the range of differences in family economic status, individual

income need, and employment readiness within the case study group.

Vivian Lincoln, at age 16, was the youngest case study participant.

When the interviews began, she was a junior at Marcus Garvey High School in

Portland. Vivian lives with her mother, father and older ester. During

mast of Vivian's Life, both of her parents were employed. But when Mrs.

Lincoln injured her back in a car accident two years ago, she had to leave

her job as a dental assistant; and she has been unable to work ever since.

Mr. Lincoln's income, as an orthopedic supply salesman: varies from year

to year. Mary, Vivian's sister, has worked since she graduated from high

school in 1977. Vivian had never held any kind of job before she applied

to the YETP program. Although medical bills and the loss of income resulting from her mother's accident strained the Lincoln family's lifestyle,

Vivian says that she felt no particular pressure to find part-time work:

As far as my parents are concerned, my education comes

first. They think it's neat that I'm working cuz it's

a real learning experience for me. But the most important thing is that Z get my school work done and graduate.

They left it up to me whether to take the job or not.

Lori'Wozisky is 18 years old. She lives with her parents, sister and

brother in Camwell, Michigan. When the Youth Perspectives Project began,

Lori was a senior at Camwell High School. Neither of Lori's parents have

worked outside the home since she was a small girl. Lori got her first job

at age 14, when she was hired under the summer CETA program to do clerical

work at the high school. Since then she has rarely been without a job.

Before she enrolled in the YETP program, most of Lori's part-time jobs

were in small restaurants. Lori feels that she has been under a lot of

pressure to work:
Well, my dad doesn't work. He got hurt on the job. He

gets social security and he's hove all the time. My mom

doesn't work either. She gets disability. She had an

arm that was crushed in the paint factory where she was

working when a conveyor broke. It just crushed her arm.

She hasn't been able to use it since 1963. It seems like

my parents have always been on me to work--even when I

was too young to really find a job. My mom really gets

on my back if I'm not working. I pay for my own clothes

and most of my own things.

Todd Clinton was 18 years old when he enrolled in Portland's YETP program. He was living with a friend and had been supporting himself with his

own earnings since he dropped out of the twelfth grade over a year and a

half earlier. Todd's first exposure to the working world was his experience

in a family operated business. His father owns a small fiberglass construc

tion company in Portland. While Todd was growing up, his mother worked at

home, taking care of the house and three children, and Mr. Clinton worked

to establish the business. The company eventually became quite successful.

Todd is an older son. He started working on construction projects with his

father when he was only 13 years old. Mr. Clinton demanded a lot from Todd

on the job. He wanted his son to be well-trained so that some day he could

take over the business. But Todd had other ideas; he wanted to be a hair

stylist. Todd quit his job with his father to enroll in cosmetology school.

When his father refused to lend him money for tuition and he couldn't find

a part-time job, Todd applied to the CETA youth program in Southeast Portland for support while he attended school. During our first interview, Todd

offered the following comments about his career choice:

Ever since I left high school, I've wanted to do something

creative--something in design. I always hated the construction business, but I couldn't seem to get out of it.

When I first decided to go to cosmetology school, uh, it

was very tough. See I had to quit my dad when he needed

me most. He wouldn't pay for me to go to school. He said

he didn't even want me in the house. I guess the macho

son image was blown when I picked hair design.

My dad tried to run my lifejust like his. He's a hard

worker, but he's obsessed by money. His whole life was

just surrounded by...on more or less giving me a hard

time. It's like kidding, but it doesn't seem like kidding. He expected so much out of me when I worked with

him. He rode me a lot. I just couldn't take all the

riding. All the time he was getting mad, beating me

down. Working with my dad, I was sinking. It was either

him or..,I mean, I had to get out of there--get some

training, get started on something that I wanted to do.

I couldn't do it on my own, so that's why I came to CETA.

24
14

Carmeletta DeVrie$ was a 17 year old single parent when the case study

research began. She had been living with her sister in Kalamazoo since her

son was born nine months earlier. Her sister, who is also a single parent,

was a welfare recipient. They were raised by their mother in a single parent

family. Carmeletta applied to the welfare office for aid when her son was

born, but she soon found that her small AFDC allotment was not enough to

cover living expenses. Carmeletta was looking for a full-time job when she

applied to the YETP program. Her only previous employment experience was

10 weeks of summertime work in the SPEDY program. Carmeletta wanted to

work, but she had little idea what she could do or what kind of work was

available:

I just wanted a job, you know, to earn some money and all.

Cur I wasn't doing too good on welfare. Didn't matter

what kind of job really. I mean I was willing to do

just about anything. I finally came to CETA cur I didn't

have too much luck anywhere else. Someone told my boyfriend that you could get a job here. If you were young

and didn't have too much experience and stuff, they would

find you a job and you could learn.

Residential Setting

Residential location plays an important role in the incidence of youth

employment problems. While unemployment among teenagers and young adults

is most heavily concentrated in urban and predominantly non-white neighborhoods, youth unemployment is also a problem in rural areas and largely white

suburbs. In 1978, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that a 16 to 19

year old living in an average socio-economic level suburb had a 1 in 6 chance

of being unemployed. A teenager living in a suburban or rural poverty area

had a 1 in 4 chance of being unemployed while a young person living in the

poverty area of a central city had an unemployment chance of 1 in 3. At the

same time, two out of every five non-white teenagers seeking work in the

poverty areas of central cities were unemployed.

The largest portion of the nation's 16 to 24 year old population resides

in suburban settings. Over 42 percent of unemployed white youth live in the

suburbs; about 32 percent live in non-metropolitan areas; and only about 26

percent live in urban settings. Among non-white youth, however, the patterns

are quite different. Over 60 percent of unemployed blacks 16 to 24 live in

urban areas; about 21 percent live in aural areas; and only about 18 percent

reside in the suburbs. YIEPP grants were awarded to prime sponsors in large

cities, where youth unemployment was high, and these programs enrolled heavy

percentages of non-white participants. YETP and YCCIP grants were available

to all prime sponsors, and the mix of participant characteristics for these

programs reflected those of a broader population of unemployed youth.

Participants for the Youth Perspectives Project were drawn from four

geographic areas, and a diversity of residential settings was represented

within the case study group. Nearly three-fifths, or 19, of the 32 case
15

study participants came from urban neighborhoods in Boston or Portland.

The other participants, from Kalamazoo or Kitsap County, lived in suburbs

(4), smaller cities (3), or rural environments (6).

The impact of residential setting on the lives of young people extends

well beyond employment and labor market participation effects, as we shall

see in Chapter III. Differences in actual living conditions among those in

the case study group were dramatic. Variables like the amount of physical

space, opportunities for privacy, aesthetic qualities of home and neighborhood surroundings, degree of health and safety hazard, and likelihood of

personal assault clearly affected the daily lives and well-being of case

study participants. The most striking contrasts in living conditions were

found between young people in inner city neighborhoods and those in rural

settings, as shown in the following examples.

Adam SledgA lives in a public housing project in Boston. At 18, he

is still at home with his mother, four sisters and two brothers. Two older

brothers have moved away from home. The eight Sledges share a three bedroom apartment in Victoria Point. The Victoria Point housing project was

built in the 1950's and now stands half deserted on a promontory cutoff

from the rest of the community by the highway and the sea. A nearby shopping malt, built to accommodate project residents, was closed in the 1960's,

reportedly due to vandalism and the decline in the project's population.

With its relative isolation from major transportation routes and community

services, Victoria Point attracts few new residents. The high-rise buildings in Victoria Point have been boarded up--condemned because it was impossible to keep the elevators in operation. The disaffection and frustration of the young people who live there are apparent in the broken windows

and charred hallways of most of the project's buildings. This is what Adam

says about life at Victoria Point:

Around here everything's busted up. You know, it looks

pretty bad. But I lived here a long time so I guess I'm

used to it. The main thing is there's nothing much to

do. Not too much for kids to get into, you know? Not

too many people come in the projectespecially not too

many white people. Not because it's so bad or nothin',

but mainly just because it's a project. I mean, why

come here if you don't have to? But that's one thing

about it--if anybody from the outside was to come in,

then everybody sticks together. Sometimes people from

in town come into here and cause trouble, and we get

the blame. When stuff like that comes down, people here

stick together. But otherwise, everybody's fighting

each other. You know, quarreling and yellin' at each

other, rippin' stuff off each other.

On the other side of the country, over 3,000 miles from victoria Point,

Lynn gazelton lives on 15 wooded acres, five miles outside of Port Orchard,

the Kitsap County Seat. She shares a three room cabin with her boyfriend.

Situated in a grassy clearing surrounded by tall firs, the cabin is tiny
16

but snug. A huge pile of split logs is stacked outside the door, and smoke

curls up from the chimney. Lynn was 18 when the case study research began.

She'd left her parents' home in Arizona two years before and had been living

with her boyfriend in the cabin for just over a year. Her enthusiasm for

her new environment was apparent:

I really love it here. Like I can walk about 20 acres

from where I Live before I come to another house. It's

a feeling like, "Here I am! My own little corner of the

world." I've got my trees and animals. I like being

around nature. And the people here are great. They're

real friendly, but they know when to leave you alone.

I wouldn't want to live in a city. I was raised out in

the country, and I don't think I could live without animals around. All those people so close Logether and

everything...I'd miss some things in the city.

Though the case study group is not a perfect microcosm of the YEDPA

participant universe, it encompasses many of the characteristics, circumstances and employment problems found within the broader population of

participants. In the preceding sections of this chapter, fifteen case study participants have been introduced by name. We have learned something

about their individual historien and circumstances and about the range of

differences and similarities within the case study group. The index which

follows provides a more complete orientation to the full case study group.

It lists each of the 32 participants by name and gives his or her age,

race (or ethnic background), geographic location, school status, and program

affiliation. The index listings also include a brief summary description

of each participant at the time the Youth Perspectives interviews began.

Some readers may want to digest more information on individual case study

participants before we follow them into their homes, in Chapter II, and

learn more about. their family lives and aspirations. But the index is also

intended to serve as a reference for the cast of case study character.., to

which the reader can return for details that augment and provide background

for the case study material and anecdotes in Later chapters.
1.7

Index of Case Study Par icipanta*

David Anderson: Age 18 White Kitsap County 12th Grade, continuous

school enrollment * YEP Program

David is tall and well- groomed, with blue eyes and an unassuming, direct manner. He lives in a group home, in which he was placed by the juvenile court, at his mother's request, for uncontrollable behavior at home.

His mother and step-father make monthly payments for David's support, but

all group home members are encouraged to work part-time to earn their own

spending money. When our interviews began, David had been working five

months as an automotive maintenance aide at the high school bus garage.

He began working there, full-time, as a summer program participant and

continued working part-time in the fall under the YETI' program.

an Ansel Age 17 White Portland 10th Grade Dropout YETP

Jean is a slender and strong looking young woman. She has straight

brown hair and wears no make-up. Her skeptical and pane-rating gaze is

disconcerting at first, but she talks about her experiences in a nondefensive, straightforward way. Jean is a former heroin addict, and she

has been on her own since she was age 15. When she applied to the YETP

program, Jean had been "clean" for over a year, and she was receiving

temporary income support from the Children's Services Division. When our

interviews began, Jean had been working full-time for 9 months as a YETP

aide in a school for handicapped children.

Sandy Bonds: Age 18 White Portland 11th Grade Dropout YETP

Sandy is a petite young woman, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a

fiercely independent personality. She wears heavy boots and baggy work

clothes even when she's not involved in construction work at the home repair project. Sandy's parents divorced when she was young, and she has

been on the move since she was 14 years old. She's lived in five differe t

states, with her mother, her father, foster families, friends, or on her

own. She dropped out of school several times before finally leaving the

eleventh grade at age 16. Her juvenile offense record includes vagrancy,

drug dealing, truancy, and disorderly conduct. Sandy had only been in

Portland a few weeks when she applied to the YETP program. She and her

girlfriend were living on the street and looking for work. When our interviews began, Sandy and her girlfriend had an apartment, and she had been

working full-time for two months as a YETP construction trainee.

*The characteristics data and descriptions in this index portray each case

study participant at the time the Youth Perspectives Project interviews began, November/December, 1978.
18

Peggy Brumfield: Age 18 6 White a Portland 9th Grade Dropout YETP

Peggy is alert and outgoing. She has curly brown hair and is very

pretty despite her slightly jagged teeth, about which she is noticeably

self-conscious. There is still an air of adolescence about Peggy, and it

is difficult at first to believe that she is the mother of two children.

She was raised in a middle income, two parent family and married at age

15, shortly after becoming pregnant for the first time. She was pregnant

with her second child when she and her husband divorced the following year.

When our interviews began, Peggy was living alone with her children and

supporting her family with a combination of AFDC payments and YETP earnings.

She had been enrolled full -time in a medical careers exploration project

for about two months.

Genetta Burke: Age 18 Black Boston 11th Grade Dropout YCCIP

Genetta has the appearance and self-confidence of an attractive woman

in her prime. She dresses stylishly and converses easily, even with strangers. Genetta has two children. She has received AFDC payments since her

first child was born when she was 15 years old. Genetta has worked for

short periods at several different jobs, but she was unemployed when she

applied for a YCCIP weatherization project position. She had been working

full-time at the project for seven weeks when our interviews began.

Heidi Clerk: Age 18 White Portland 12th Grade, continuous school

enrollment YETP

Heidi is a tiny young woman with sharp features and a high, clear voice.

She has lived with her brother, his wife, and daughter since her parents

divorced, when she was 16. Before coming to Portland, Heidi lived in Southern California. She likes Portland and prefers living with her brother's

family to life with either of her parents, but she misses her friends and

says she doesn't like her new school as well as the old one in California.

Heidi's brother is a graduate student, who teaches part-time. Her father,

who is a pharmacist, pays for some of Heidi's support. She is a good student but has never planned to go on to college after graduation. Heidi

secured a part-time YET? job at the U.S. Forest Service during the spring

of her junior year.

uanne_Clawson: Age 17 Black Boston 11th Grade Dropout, transfer to

GED fnstruction component YIEPP

Luanne is a soft spoken young woman with clear skin and large eyes.

She has a malformed palate, which causes her to speak with a slight lisp.

Luanne has lived with her mother since her parents separated when she was

7 years old. Mrs. Clawson supports herself, Luanne, and a younger daught

on AFDC payments. Luanne dropped out of high school to enroll in a YIEPP

program. She had been taking business courses and was interested in
19

secretarial work. But she says she had a hard time learning in high school

and decided that she could do better in the smaller GED classes at a YIEPP

project that walr operating out of a community center near her home. When

our interviews began, Luanne had been a YIEPP participant for several weeks.

She was attending classes in the morning and working at the center in the

afternoon as a clerical aide.

Todd_Clinton: Age 19 White Portland 12th Grade Dropout YETP

Todd is an engaging person. Though he was still in cosmetology school

and a YETP participant when our interviews began, his cordial manner and new

wave haircut and clothes conveyed the image of a professional hair stylist.

Todd was only 17 when he left home to join the National Guard. He had been

having violent arguments with his father and finally decided that he needed

to get away -- though it meant leaving high school only three months short of

graduation. After he returned from his training with the National Guard,

Todd began working for his father full-time. Though their fights resumed,

they worked together for over a year before Todd quit to enroll in the Belle

Vista Hair Design Academy. When I met Todd, he had been attending school

there, as a YETP participant, for 10 months.

CarmelettaDeVries: Age 17 Black Kalamazoo County 11th Grade Dropout

YETP

Carmeletta's hair is braided in elaborate corn rows. She speaks very

slowly in a deep, melodious voice. Though she has an air of natural reserve,

Carmeletta can also be very candid and direct. When she left high school,

at age 16, she was six months pregnant. Though she never liked school much,

Carmeletta says she is sorry now that she didn't graduate. After her baby

was born, Carmeletta wanted to work, and her sister agreed to babysit for

her. But Carmeletta was not able to find an unsubsidized job. When our interviews began, Carmeletta's son was 9 months old and she had been working

full -time for less than a month as a YETP food service aide at a state operated hospital. She was also receiving a small AFDC allotment.

Douglas Giscard: Age 18 Native American Portland 10th Grade Dropout

YETP

Douglas is a particularly articulate young man. He is small and well

built, with light brown skin and long, jet black hair. Douglas is not a

full-blooded Native American. His mother is from a Northwest American Indian tribe, and his father is a French Canadian. The Giscards are a middle

income family. As devout Catholics, Mr. and Mrs. Giscard set very strict

standards for their children. But Douglas, their oldest son, had ideas of

hia own that conflicted with his parents' views. By mutual agreement, Douglas left his parents' home at age 15. Though he received some support from

them, he has essentially been on his own since then. He was referred to the
20

YETP program by his juvenile probation officer, following his arrest for

burglary. When our interviews began, Douglas had been working full-time,

for I month, as a staff support aide at a community based youth service

agency.

Carrie Green: Age 18 White Kalamazoo County 10th Grade Dropout

YCCIP

Carrie has long blond hair and a lanky, girlish figure. Her face is

pretty but devoid of much expression. She is slow to answer and sometimes

has difficulty expressing ideas. Though she appears at first to be listless, she has definite opinions and, when challenged, will defend her point

of view. Since her parents divorced when she was 10, Carrie's family has

consisted of her father and two older sisters. Mr. Green is a factory line

manager. Carrie's sisters both graduated from high school. They live at

home and are employed as retail clerks. Carrie says she is very different

from her sisters and does not get along well with either of them. Carrie

is not a good student. She dropped out of school at age 16 in order to

start working, earn money, and move out on her own. Since then, Carrie has

had a number of different low-paying jobs. She has lived with friends and

moved in and out of her father's house several times, as her employment

status fluctuated. When our interviews began, Carrie was living at home and

She had been working full-time for four months as a clerical aide on a university based YCCIP project.

Mark Gurney: Age 19 Kalamazoo County 12th Grade, continuous school

rollment YETP

Mark is a friendly and cooperative person. Chronic bouts of bronchitis

and other illnesses have left him with a permanent pallor, and his teeth are

discolored by a medication that he took for childhood ailments. His rambling

and somewhat disconnected way of speaking, and his tendency to slur words,

make it difficult to understand Mark at first. Mark has had to repeat two

grades in school, and he will be 20 years old when he graduates in June, 1979.

Since his parents divorced when he was 14, Mark has lived with his father and

two brothers on a farm in the small community of Rexburg, Michigan. His father is disabled and receives social security. Mark got his first SPRY job

the summer after the ninth grade. He became a YETP participant during the

spring of his junior year in high school. When our interviews began, Mark

was working as a day care aide for the head start program.

Lynn Hazel on: Age 18 White Kitsap County 12th Grade, Re- enrolled

Former Dropout YETP

fm Lynn is a heavy set young woman with short brown hair and pleasant

ores. Though not shy, Lynn is quiet and slow to speak. When we first

Lynn was still in a state of shock and depression over the death of

31
21

her 18 month old son several months earlier. Lynn was pregnant with her

son when she dropped out of school and left her parents' home to come to

Washington with her boyfriend. When her boyfriend had trouble finding work,

Lynn applied for welfare to cover the expenses of childbirth. She received

AFDC support until her son was drowned in a neighbor's swimming pool during

a summertime visit with her parents in Arizona. Following her son's death,

her boyfriend, who was then working construction, insisted that Lynn return

to school. Though Lynn had Little interest at that time, she says she enrolled in a local public high school to please her boyfriend. One manta

after she returned to school, Lynn applied to the YETP program. She had

been working less than three weeks as a part -time health care aide when our

interviews began.

Lui Heuyen: Age 17 6 Vietnamese Portland 12th Grade YETP

Lui is a bright and lively young woman. Her English, though far from

perfect, is fluent, and she is outgoing and lommunicative. When Lui immigrated to the U.S. with her family in 1975, she spoke no English. Under

the sponsorship of a church organization, the Hueyens settled first in a

small town on the Oregon coast, where Lui started high school and rapidly

developed her speaking and writing skills. After two years, Mr. Hueyen,

who is a tailor, decided to move his family to the larger city of Portland,

where there would be a better market for his services. Lui's father and

three older brothers have worked steadily since they came to Oregon--starting out in low-paying, unskilled jobs and moving gradually to better positions. Lui was a SPEDY participant before sho moved to Portland. Following

her family's move, Lui found an after school job in a ceramics factory.

When our interviews began, Lui had left the face ry and had been working

part-time for two weeks as a YETP trainee at a computer center of the U.S.

Forest Service.

Jessica Jackson: Age 17 Black Kitsap County 12th Grade, continuous

school enrollment YETP

Jessica is an attractive young woman with light brown skin, wide grey

eyes, and a valuable, solicitous nature. Though she has had her share of

adolescent troubles, and was once on juvenile court probation as a runaway,

Jessica feels that most of the difficulties of growing up are now behind

her. She makes it very clear that she sees herself as a mature young wom- an rather than as a "troublesome teenager". Jessica's parents separated

before she was born, and she has never met her father. Though she lives

with her mother, her grandmother has been the central figure in her life.

Jessica has been a SEEDY participant for two summers and has held a number

of different part-time jobs on her own. She wants to go to community college after graduation. When our interviews began, Jessica had been working

for one month as a part-time YETP hospital health aide.
22

Bobby Jones: Age 18 Black Boston 9th Grade Dropout YIEPP

Bobby is tall, black, and lean. He walks with athletic grace and a bit of a swagger. Bobby likes to talk, and he's interesting and easy to

listen to. Bobby was one of four children, raised in a single-parent

household. His mother died when he was 14, and since then Bobby has lived with his older sister and two younger sisters in a public housing project.

After his mother's death, Bobby did poorly in school. He dropped out at age 16, after failing to pass his ninth grade classes. He spent the next

two years out of school and out of work. He worked one summer as a SPEDY

kitchen aide in the cafeteria of the community center, where he later became

a YIEPP participant. Bobby has a juvenile offense record, and he was the

only case study participant to be arrested during the Youth Perspectives

Project research period. When our interviews began, Bobby had been enrolled

in the YIEPP program for two weeks. He was attending GED instruction in

the morning and working afternoons as a sports reporter for the community

center newspaper.

Linda Larsen: Age 17 White Kalamazoo County 12th Grade, continuous

school enrollment YIP

Linda is an attractive and meticulously well-groomed young woman,

with a low, throaty voice. After a very troubled early adolescence, Linda

has thrived during the past two years with her foster family in the small

community of Hillcrest, Michigan. Linda says she didn't get along at all

with her mother, whom she describes as being eccentric and dogmatic. Linda

was a neglected and disorderly child, who made her first juvenile court

appearance at age L3. She moved in and out of several different foster

homes before coming to live with her current foster parents, who are clearly

extremely fond of her. Linda is also highly thought of by the school administrators and teachers who have watched her growth since she came to Hillcrest

High School. She is a "B" student and would like to go to college someday,

but she knows that she will need to earn her own way after graduation. Linda enrolled in the YETP program in the spring of her junior year. She worked

as a janitorial aide for several months before securing a part-time job as

a clerical aide in the high school office.

SvenLatoka: Age 19 White Boston 10th Grade Dropout YCCIP

Sven is a strong, rawboned young man with a military haircut and the

deferential manners of a marine recruit. He has been a member of the Marine

Reserves for two years. Sven lives with his parents, brother, and sister

in Jamaica Plain, a white, working class neighborhood of Boston. Sven has

worked steadily since he left high school at age 16--first as a carpenters assistant with his father, and later in a series of short term jobs on his

own. Sven wants to be a carpenter, and learned the basic techniques and

skills from his father. He applied to a YCCIP renovation and construction

project because he was unable to get carpentry work after his father left

the business. Sven was tired of low paying, dead-end jobs and wanted to get

training and references that would improve his employment prospects. He had

just started working on the YCCIP project when our interviews began.

3
23

/iv coln: Age 16 Black Portland 11th Grade, continuous school

enrollment YETP

At 16, Vivian is still shy with adults that she doesn't know well. She

pats down her shoulder length processed hair frequently and unconsciously,

and our first interview was punctuated by giggles. Vivian lives in a pleasant, well kept household, with her parents and older sister. She likes

school and is an average student. Before she applied to the YETP program,

avian had never had a job of any kind. She began working part-time at the

hospital as a YETP nurses aide several months before our interviews began.

fvette McDermott: Age IS Black Portland 10th Grade Dropout YET

Yvette is a very pretty teenager with the composure of an older woman.

She is the mother of a two year old son and is the only case study participant who was married when the Youth Perspective interviews began. Soon

after her son was born, Yvette married his father, who had been her boyfriend since she was 14. Yvette says that family life is very important to

her. Her early home life, with a neglectful mother, was chaotic, and Yvette

would like her children to grow up in a better environment. She would like

to have two more children when her husband completes his training and finds

a stable job as an electrician. Yvette has been able to find part-time work

on her own as cashier and a stock clerk. When she enrolled in YETP, she

was looking for vocational training that would lead to better employment

opportunities. She had been enrolled for three weeks in a key punch operator training program at a community based school when our interviews began.

Tina Middleton: Age 18 White Kitsap County 12th Grade, continuous

school enrollment YETP

Tina is a tall girl with a full figure and a womanly face. Although

she looks mature, at 18, her manner is kittenish and adolescent. She

speaks in a rapid, breathless chatter and was rarely silent during our time

together. Since her father died when Tina was 10, her family has consisted

of her mother, grandmother, and two younger sisters. Mrs. Middleton receives

AFDC and is training, under the WIN program, to become a legal secretary.

Though the Middletons are a close-knit family, Tina says she doesn't spend

much time at home. She is involved in many school activities, has an active

social life, and helps her boyfriend breed and show livestock for 4-H events.

Tina and her boyfriend have "gone steady" for two years. They want to live

together before they marry. Tina has worked two summers as a SPEDY clerical

aide. She enrolled in the YETP program two months before our interviews

began and was placed in a part-time job at a state operated fish hatchery.
24

Patty Monson- Age 1 White Kitsap County 11th Grade Dropout,

enrolled in Alternative High School YETP

Patty is a welfare mother with the cheerful demeanor and well-scrubbed

Look of a high school cheerleader. Patty is the only daughter of a Large

Mormon family. The Monsons moved to Kitsap County from a small town in Utah

when Patty was starting tenth grade. Mr. Monson is a dry-wall construction

contractor, and several of his five sons work with him. None of Patty's

older brothers has completed high school. Patty left school when she became pregnant. She then moved with her family to the other side of the

county and lived at home until her son was four months old. She applied

for AFDC and got an aprtment of her own, located within walking distance

of her parents' home. Fatty enrolled in a homestudy program at an alternative high school. She heard about the YETP program from one of her teachers. Patty had been working as a part-time clerical aide in an elementary

school for one month when our interviews began. Her son, Jared, was 10

months old.

Richard Nielson: Age 18 White Portland 12th Grade, continuous school

enrollment YETP

With his heavy body, slumped shoulders, and near-sighted squint, Richard, at first, appears to be an old man. In our first conversation, Richard

paused so long before responding that I thought perhaps he was hard of hearing. But I later discovered that he was merely thinking things over before

he spoke. Richard is slow and deliberate, but he is not uncommunicative

or unintelligent. His father died when he was 7, and since then Richard

has lived alone with his mother, a devout and strict Seventh Day Adventist.

The Nielsons are welfare recipients. Richard worked one summer as a SPY

participant before he enrolled in the YETP program during his junior year

in high school. When our interviews began, Richard had been working for

six months as a part-time janitorial aide in a community based agency.

Felisa Santana: Age 17 el Hispanic Boston 11th Grade Dropout, Reenrolled in Alternative High School YETI' With her streaked hair, carefully applied make-up, and dressy clothes,

Felisa looks like a young working woman rather than a high school student.

Felisa lives with her mother, father, and five younger brothers and sisters.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Santana are unemployed, and the family is supported by

welfare. Although she was born in Puerto Rico, Felisa has spent most of

her life in Boston. From kindergarten until eighth grade, she attended

public school in Boston. In 1975, the Santanas decided to return to Puerto

Rico. Felisa liked living in Puerto Rico, but after two years there, her

parents decided their children would have better schooling and more oppor

tunity in Massachusetts. The Santanas moved back to Boston in the middle

of the 1977-78 school year, when desegregation was in full swing. When

Felisa discovered that she would be bused to South Boston High, she refused

to return to school. After several months at home, Felisa enrolled in a
25

GED instruction program at a community based, bilingual school, which receives CETA funding support. When our interviews began, Felisa had been

attending classes and working part-time for eight months as a YETP aide at

a neighborhood health clinic near the school.

Adam Sledge: Age 18 slack fir Boston 11th Grade Dropout YCCIP

Adam is a dark, handsome young man. Though he is eager to appear adult

and his posture is knowing, there is an air of youthful innocence about him.

Adam lives with his mother and six brothers and sisters in the Victoria

Point Housing Project. The Sledges receive AFDC support. Adam was a good

student, who particularly excelled in Math. Adam says he always liked

school, but he dropped out in his junior year. His girlfriend was pregnant,

and Adam felt, as a prospective father, he should be "out in the world,

working and making money instead of sitting in school Like a child". Adam's

girlfriend, Cindy, also left school and lives at home with her mother.

Adam was able to find part-time work as night security aide at Victoria

Point--a job he kept after enrolling as a daytime YCCIP participant. Adam

had only been working one week on a YCCIP weatherization project when our

interviews began.

Elvira Tay Age 17 Black Portland 10th Grade Transfer to Alternative Education Program YETP

Elvira is not an easy person to get to know. Sometimes she is sof

and shy and appears very vulnerable; other times she is sharp, brusque, and

almost impenetrable. Elvira lives with her mother and younger brother in

Northeast Portland. Her parents separated when she was young, and her

mother supports the household with AFDC payments. Elvira's two older siswho live away from home, are also single parents and AFDC recipients.

Elvira left the public high school she was attending because she wasn't

getting along with some of her classmates and she was tired of being "hassled". When our interviews began, Elvira had been a YETP participant for

about six months. She was a teachers aide for younger children at the

Black, community based school, to which she had transferred, and she also

worked part-time on a black history project.

Harold Thomas: Age 17 Black Boston llth Grade Dropout YCCIP

Harold is a tall, muscular young man with a gentle manner and a faraway look in his eyes. He is articulate and expressive. After two years

in Boston, Harold still speaks with a Virginia drawl. Harold and his younger sisters left their home town in Virginia to live with an oder sister in

Boston, following the death of their parents in an automobile accident.

Harold says he was not prepared for the kind of living conditions he found

in the public housing projects of Boston or the racial hostility he encountered at South Boston High. After dropping out of school in his junior

year, Harold enlisted in the Army Reserves. When he returned from Army
26

training, Harold was able to find work. But he wanted to pass his GED

examinations so he could be accepted into the regular Army. Harold enrolled

in a YCCtP weatherization project in order to earn money while studying for

a GED. When our interviews began, Harold had been working full-time on the

project for two weeks.

Jack Thrush: Age 17 a White Kalamazoo County a 11th Grade Dropout YETP

Jack is a slightly built, quick moving young man, with blond shoulder

length hair and a vigilant expression. Jack was watchful and wary during

our first meeting, and I was surprised when he said he wanted to participate in the interviews. Though Jack became more open as we got to know each

other, his behavior was always slightly erratic. He would not show up for

interviews at the scheduled times, but would usually manage to put in an

appearance at the last possible moment. Jack's father died when he was

young, and his mother remarried several years ago. Jack left school unofficially several times before dropping out for good in his junior year. After

leaving school, he found work and moved out of his mother's house. When he

applied to the YETP program, he was unemployed and living with his stepfather and mother. He had been working full-time as a YETP janitorial aide

for six months when our interviews began.

Joy Tippets: Age 18 White Kalamazoo County 12th Grade, continuous

school enrollment YETP

Joy is short and plump, with a warm smile and curly brown hair. She

has a reassuring, matter-of-fact personality, and, despite a recent history

of health problems, she maintains a steady, optomistic outlook. Joy lives

with both her parents and a younger brother in the small farming community

of Rexburg, Michigan. Her mother is a housewife and her father works at

the Rexburg paper mill. Joy is a better than average student though she

has been absent a good deal from illness during the past year. Joy plans

to work full-time after graduation and has no interest in going on to college. She got her first part-time job at age 16, as a clerk in a local

dime store. When our interviews began, Joy had been working part-time for

two months as a YETP clerical aide at Rexburg Junior High School.

Tien Van Chin: Age 17 Indo-Chinese Portland High School Equivalent

Training, No GED YETP

Tien is an intense and outgoing young man, with a pale, broad face and

an alert expression. He speaks English rapidly, and though he still has

problems with idiom, he has an obvious fondness for American slang. Tien

immigrated from Vietnam on his own, at age 14. He came to Portland after

spending nearly two years in a refugee camp in Thailand. Though he was an

advanced student in Vietnam and attended school in the camp as well, Tien

was not able to improve his English skills enough to pass the GED examination. Before enrolling in the YETP program, Tien held a number of different
27

low ,baying jobs. When our interviews began, Tien had been a YET? participant

for one month, and he was receiving support to study computer programming at

a private business college. Tien lives with five other young Indo-Chinese

refugees.

Mark Westgate: Age 17 White Kalamazoo County 12th Grade, continuous

school enrollment YETP

Mark has the standard good looks, personable manners, well modulated

voice, and projective personality of an entertainer. He is interested in

singing and acting. During the past three years, Mark has performed before

large audiences in a number of local musical and dramatic productions. Mark

is also on the honor roll, and he considers himself "one of the top two or

three students" at Camwell. High School. Mark says he is definitely going

to college, and he expects !A2 win a vocal scholarship. Mark's parents are

divorced, and Mrs. Westgate supports her three children on AFDC. Mark enrolled in the YETP program during the spring of his junior year. His first

part-time placement was on a janitorial crew. When our interviews began,

Mark had been working several months as an aide in the high school bandroom.

Lori Wozisky: Age 18 White Kalamazoo County 12th Grade, continuous

school enrollment YETP

Lori has short blond hair and large brown eyes. Her composure and

pragmatism make her seem older than 18. Lori lives with her parents, sister, and brother in Camwell, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Wozisky are both enemployed and disabled. As the oldest daughter, Lori has many responsibilities

at home. She has also worked part-time during most of her high school years.

Lori plans to work full-tire after graduation. She would also like to marry

her boyfriend, whom she has been steadily dating for four years. When our

interviews began, Lori was employed as a part-time YETP clerical aide in

the high school counseling office. She began working there as a SPEDY participant during the summer after the ninth grade. Her return was requested

by school staff the following two summers. When Lori enrolled in the YETP

program in September of her senior year, she was once again placed in the

counseling office as a clerical aide.
28

II. FAMILY LIFE

I'll tell you what I always wanted most. God, it sounds

really dumb, but I always just wanted a normal family.

A mother and father who always cared about you, you know?

A normal family that grows up together= like you see on

T.V. All those families that talk to each other...

brothers and sisters that talk to each other and were

always concerned about one another...you know what I

mean? I always thought that would be the ideal way to

lie. You know! The baby grew up and had no problems!

Jean Ansel

Jean laughed after she said, "The baby grew up and had no problems".

Nobody over 16 really believes in "happy ever after", and Jean knows that

people have problems in even the happiest, most secure families. But she

wasn't laughing when she talked about growing up in her family, which was

neither happy nor secure:

It was pretty terrible. I always knew it was really bad,

but I didn't know why it had to be like that. See, my

mother's always had a drinking problem. My parents

fought all the time, and they finally split up when

was in the sixth grade. After that I kept living back

and forth between my mother and my father. Neither one

of them really wanted me in their homes, because I was

too much of a problem they thought. So it was like they

were pushing me back and forth. I got involved with

drugs when I was 12. I started taking pills just to get

their attention, you know. But it didn't work, cuz then

they just turned against me even more.

Jean isn't sure who or what is to blame for the way things turned out

in her family, but she believes that she has had to pay for it. Her selfimage, health, education, and aspirations were all affected by the quality

of her family life, For Jean, and for many of the other case study participants, the contrast between the image of the ideal family and the reality of

her own family experience is sharp and painful. Where do these idealized

images originate? And why do so many families fall short?

American_ Family Myths

Traditionally, the ideal American family has been envisioned as a

self-sufficient economic and social unit. This myth of self-sufficiency is

built on historical images of independent farming families. In our idealized version of history, the agrarian households of early America constituted
economic units in which all members, from young children on up, played important, productive roles. Parents were responsible for nurturing their

children, providing them with moral instruction ad training them to be

productive workers. Early in life, most children were expected to begin

earning their own way by working with and for their families. Later, when

their parents grew old, grown children became the chief source of support

for extended family units.

The agricultural economy of the seventeenth and eighteenth century

encouraged Americans to chink of themselves as especially self-sufficient.

In the course of the nineteenth century, economic life changed radically.

The production of cash crops, like grain and cotton, replaced diversified

farming chiefly for family needs. Commercial and industrial work became

more common than farming. Most family breadwinners went out to work for

wages in factories and businesses. But the myth of family self-sufficiency

persisted, and it was closely linked to the work ethic. Industriousness

was considered a moral quality as well as a useful trait. Hard work was

not only the key to economic success; it also showed good character and

indicated a lack of idleness or sensuality. Good families, like good men,

were expected to be industrious, and parents taught their children that

economic self-sufficiency was achievable for all who were willing to work

hard enough.

As industrialization progressed and more Americans lived in less protected urban environments, the ideal family came to be seen as a safe harbor--a bulwark against the raw, competitive, and selfish world. Parents

were expected to provide for their children, instill them with positive

values, and protect them from the dangers, complications, and moral corruptions of a threatening outside world until they were old enough and

strong enough to fend for themselves. Within the protected family unit,

pure and generous feelings could still flourish. If the father was economically successful, the mother could stay at home and fulfill the nurturing functions.

Although the concept of families as idealized, cooperative social

units has persisted, overtime, the family economy has disappeared almost

completely. Most American families do not work together at common economic

enterprises upon whose success they collectively depend. As the Carnegie

Council on Children stated in 1977, "Work and family life are separate

enterprises; families consume as a unit but do not produce as a unit."

Modern parents do not typically work with their children or see to it that

they are trained in parent selected vocations, nor do they expect their

children to provide them with support when they grow old. Today, most

parents' objective is to bring up children who will be happy and successful at whatever they themselves choose. While parents do not direct their

childrens' work lives, they are still expected to protect and support their

families. During the past four decades, there has been a growing tendency

among middle class parents to prolong the protective status of childhood--

often until their offspring reach their early 20's. More advantaged young

people may feel that their only responsibilities are to accept a good
30

education, stay out of trouble, and eventually forge ahead--not for the sake

of their parents but for the benefit of themselves and the new familiea_they

may someday found.

Children have more and more come to be regarded as "dependents" in the

economic hierarchy rather than contributors. Today's parents have children

despite their cost; for if children were once an economic boon to the family,

they have now become an enormous financial liability. The costs of feeding,

housing, and clothing a child from birth through high school add up to more

than $50,000 by even the most conservative estimates. For the many parents

who support their children through more years of schooling, the financial

drain is considerably greater and may extend for 22 years or longer.

In our society, where work is valued more for the cash income it provides than for its confirmation of moral worth, child rearing has come to be

seen by many as a nonproductive job. Fewer and fewer individuals in our

society pursue child rearing on a full-time basis. In the 1970's, for the

first time in our country's history, the typical school-age child had a mother who works outside the home. While some women choose to combine child

rearing and careers in order to expand their arenas for self-expression,

growth, or social contribution, most mothers work out of economic necessity.

As inflation rises and buying power decreases for many workers, two-income

families are becoming a new norm. There are many families where both parents work and still don't earn enough to provide adequately for the basic

needs of their children.

At the same time, single parent families are becoming more common.

Though death and desertion have always disrupted a percentage of families,

traditionally, most families remained intact until the children were grown.

Marriage was considered both a prerequisite for child bearing and a permanent

institution. Personal expectations regarding marriage have changed, and divorce is viewed with greater tolerance. Since the turn of the century, the

incidence of divorce in the United States has increased by 700 percent.

Though the increase is partially accounted for by a growing population, the

rate of divorce has also expanded dramatically. An estimated one out of

every three marriages today ends in divorce, and divorce is as common among

those with children as it is among childless couples. In addition, more

unmarried women are bearing children. The proportion of first births to

loosen who have no marriage partners has more than doubled--from five percent

in the late 1950's to 11 percent by 1971. It is estimated that four out of

every ten children born in the 1970's will spend part of their childhood in

a one parent family.

For the majority of Americans, the self-sufficient, protected, and protecting family has always been more of a myth than a reality. But few people

would disagree that today's parents are more dependent on others for help and

support in raising their children than were most parents in the past. If the

lives that parents are leading are demanding and complex, the lives that their

children will lead in the future will be even more so. Many parents feel they

cannot have--and may not even want--the traditional kinds of direct supervision over their children's lives. Families look to outside institutions

41
31

and professionals for expertise and guidance. Medical care is provided by

physicians. Child psychologists and developmental specialists pass judgement on child rearing techniques. Schools are expected to not only educate

children for productive roles in an increasingly complicated economy but to

teach good work habits and formulate good character as well. The transmission of basic values has long been thought a primary responsibility of parents, but in our rapidly changing world, many parents are confused about

their own roles and values. They doubt the validity of their own standards

and tend to dilute them drastically when passing them on to their children.

L v ng With the Myths

The American family has changed, but the old myths persist. Young people seem to grow up with a strong image of the ideal family and an even

stronger awareness of the ways in which their actual family lives differ

from this mythical norm. According to the young men and women in the case

study group, a "normal" family includes two parents, who love each other and

who stay married. At least one parent (preferably the father) works outside

the home and earns enough money so that family members can have the things

they need (a nice house, clothes, food, transportation) as well as some extras (equipment, vacations, entertainment, etc.). The case study participants believe that "normal" parents enjoy their children's company, and

"normal" families do things together during their free time. The brothers

and sisters in these model faMilies like each other and get along well together. The parents expect and encourage each of their children to do well.

They set standards and may even enforce penalties for misbehavior, but they

are not arbitrary and they don't try to "run their children's lives". These

are the standards against which most of the case study participants gauge

their own families. Very few measure up.

The majority of the case study participants did not live with both parents. Of the 32 young people in the case study group, 20 spent at least

part of their childhood in a single parent household. In all but two cases,

the parent remaining with the child(ren) was the mother. In this respect,

the case study group is typical of a broader population of low income youth.

In a 1978 survey of economically disadvantaged 16 to 19 year olds, conducted

prior to the implementation of the YIEFF program, only one-quarter of the

youth polled lived with both parents. Over one-half lived with their mothers

alone. Not all female-headed households are economically disadvantaged, of

course, but poverty is much more prevalent in families where only one parent

is present. Over half of the female-headed families in the case study group

relied primarily on welfare payments for support. Despite low iLlcoms, a

number of these mothers living alone managed to provide their children with

a stable and enriching environment.

By the same token, having two parents who stayed together did not guarantee case study participants happy or economically secure childhoods. Felisa

Santana and Lori Wozisky live in homes where both parents are present but

not employed. Both families rely on ransfer payments--welfare or social

security - -which provide inadequately for their needs. Because of their

42
32

parents' medical disabilities, and because they are oldest daughters, both

Lori and Felisa carry heavy household responsibilities along with busy work

and school schedules. Felisa spends a good deal of time caring for her five

younger brothers and sisters. Lori has a resigned attitude about the way in

which responsibilities are divided in her household:

I do most of the housework--cleaning...dishes...fixing

meals. If I got a day off from work, it's my day to do

laundry. I don't mind really, cuz I've been doing it

since I was real little. I've been doing dishes since

I was too little to reach the sink--because of my mom's

arm. My mom does what she can in the house, and my sister, Donna, helps out too. My mom and dad are of the

belief that boys don't do housework. My dad doesn't work

and he doesn't do anything around the house. My brother

feeds the dog and carries out the garbage and that's it.

The emotional quality of family life among the case study group did not

often match the cheerful, cooperative climate that they imagined to prevail

in "normal" families. Both Todd Clinton and Peggy Bromfield left home at

an early age to escape from two-parent, middle income households that were

chaotic and unsupportive. Todd's father always earned a good income, and

the family never suffered from a deprivation of material goods. But Mr.

Clinton's alcoholism, irritability, and frequent verbal and physical abuse

made family life insupportable for Todd. Peggy's mother had a hard time

controlling her temper. As the oldest child, with a strong temper of her

own, Peggy was often the target for her mother's uncontrolled anger:

It happened sometimes with all the kids, but she used to

beat me most. My mom always told everyone that she doesn't

like kids at all. So I've always wondered, you know, why

did she have five of them?

Many of the case study participants came from families where parents

had married especially young and then had a number of children in rapid

succession. Most of these unions ended in divorce or separation, but a

number continued formany years though they were judged, by both parties,

to be a failure. Several participants reported their parents telling them

that they regretted their early commitments and stayed married only because

of the children and financial necessity. These parents mutt have felt

trapped and overwhelmed by their responsibilities, and they seemed to transmit to their children both a sense of personal inadequacy and a mistrust of

the outside world. Several parents, within the case study group, exercised

such restrictive control over the family that their children were nearly

cut off from experiences and relationships outside the family unit. Lori

Wozisky's mother wanted to protect her children so they wouldn't make the

kind of mistakes that she felt she had made:

My mom and dad have always been really tight on us. They

wouldn't let us do anything or go anywhere. We were never allowed to go to friends' houses like kids do. We

43
33

couldn't stay overnight with anyone--not even relatives.

Between Donna and I, any guy we've gotten close to they

just cut them off. They don't want any guys around. My

mother got married when she was 15. By the time she was

18, she had three kids to take care of. She tells us

that she doesn't want us to ruin our lives like she did

hers.

As the oldest child of young and insecure parents, Peggy Bromfield faced

a similar situation during her growing up years:

They were always criticizing me. It was like they were

waiting for me to make a mistake. They didn't like to

have people in the house, so I was hardly ever allowed

to have friends over. I couldn't play outside after

dinner. I wasn't allowed to spend the night at a girlfriend's or anything. I hardly had any friends anyway.

I always felt like there was something wrong with me.

I didn't understand then why they were like that. But

looking back, I think they were probably just scared

that something bad would happen or that they would do

something wrong. They were so strict with me that I

ended up doing everything behind their back. But them

being so over-protective didn't prepare me for life at

all. I was the first one to leave, and after I got married, they eased up a little with the rest of the kids.

While some ease study participants, like Lori Wozisky, Todd Clinton,

Douglas Giscard, Peggy Bromfield, and Richard Nielson, felt their parents

had been over-protective, imposed unreasonable standards, and restricted

their opportunities for growth and learning outside the family, other participants in the case study group had experienced a noticeable lack of parental supervision or attention. The parents in these families didn't treat

their children with hostility or burden them with excessive demands and rig=

id expectations. But neither did they provide guidance or even show much

interest in their children's decisions or problems. Some case study participants felt their parents scarcely noticed their existence. They tended to

perceive their parents as being incapacitated rather than deliberately neglectful or uncaring. These participants felt their parents were overwhelmed

by problems of their own, which left them without the energy, cognizance,

capacity to play a consistent and helping role in their children's lives.

Jack Thrush grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His father died when he

was ten years old; and for the next six years, the family lived a precarious

existence. Mrs. Thrush worked when she could find employment; in between

jobs, the family depended on welfare. Jack's older brother, Dan, took care

of him most of the time. The two brothers were very close until Dan enlisted

in the Army and left home when Jack was 15. Jack believes that life was very

hard for his mother after his father died. She had several unhappy relationships with other men and finally remarried the year that Dan left hone.

/)

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Jack left home the next year at age 16, when he got his first job. After

six months of low-paying, part-time work, Jack became unemployed. He moved

back home to live with his mother and new step-father, but he wasn't satisfied with family life:

I prefer not to live at home, but I guess it's the best

I can do for now. It's clean and there's enough food

and everything, but my parents, uh, I don't know...They're

real busy so they don't have time to understand things

very good or stuff like that. We don't fight or anything,

but since my dad died, my mother and I don't communicate

much. We never do stuff together, and they don't get

involved in my life at all. I wish we could be more a

part of...like a unit or something. But my mom's been

through a lot--that's more or less what it is--and it's

like she just'can't afford to get involved or something.

Sometimes my step-dad will try to talk to me, but you

know he never really gives me any advice or tells me

what's really going on with him. Maybe he just doesn't

want to get me involved in his problems.

Sandy Bonds is another participant who believes her mother was too

absorbed by problems in her own life to respond adequately to her children's

needs. Sandy's parents divorced when she was in the third grade. Sandy was

living with her mother and step-father in Maryland when she first started

getting into serious trouble at school. Her mother decided she was not able

to handle her, and Sandy was shipped off to live with her father in New Mexico. I know I wanted more attention,_ but I don't think it was

really my mother's fault. She had a lot of problems of

her own. I don't know that much about her background;

but she was a foster kid. I think she dropped out of

school in the eighth grade. She always had financial

problems. See, at first my family had a lot of money.

They were upper-middle class, I guess you might say.

Then when my father left, we dropped down to lower class.

Then my step-father was a truck driver, and that business

is kinds slow.

There's lots of things she didn't teach us--stuff we

should've learned about getting along in the world. It

was like she wasn't there half the time or somthing.

But I don't think it was her fault. In her own strange

way, I think she cared about us kids. She wouldn't tell

us what we should do, but she'd always say, you know,

"Look at me...you can do better." She wasn't much on

understanding what was going on with me or the rest of

the family. When a problem arose, my parents would...

sort of...well, they just didn't understand the problems.

And they didn't know how to solve them anyway. And neither did I.
35

Within the case study group, there were a number of participants who

spent substantial parts of their childhood or adolescence in households

where no parents were present. These young people didn't leave home;

through death, divorce, or desertion, their parents left them. In each of

these cases, the youngster was fortunate enough to have a relative that was

willing to provide some support and supervision. Typically, this person was

an older brother or sister. When the Youth Perspectives interviews began,

four case study participants were living in households headed by a sister or brother.

Like Harold Thomas, whose stable family life in Virginia was shattered

by his parents' death, Bobby Jones lives in a public housing project in Boston With his older sister and younger siblings. When Bobby's mother died,

he was 14. Janice, Bobby's older sister, was only 19, but she assumed responsibility for the three other Jones children. Janice supports the family

with welfare payments and money she earns from her job as bank teller. This

is what Bobby says about his life since his mother died:

Janice's done the best she could for us. But it was like...

well, things were better when my mother was livin'. I went to school, played outside after school, came inside

at a certain time, done my homework. You know, that was

it. I never was really like hangin' in the streets back

then. Well,-maybe in the summer I was in the streets,

you know. But I never really got bad then. I could control myself, keep myself out of trouble.

When she died, I never really felt...uh...It really hurt

me when she passed away. But you know, it seemed to

everyone like I was the kind of person, I could get over

it real quick. After awhile I just didn't think about

it. I depend on myself. You know, I never really fell

back on nobody.

Janice...seemed like she couldn't really tell me what

to do. I mean, she always just tried to tell me, you

know, "Go to school, study, get in something!" But if

I wanted to do something, I wouill't ask her aboUt-it;

I would tell her what it was I was going to do.

Yvette McDermott lives in Portland. She's been married since she was

16 and has a two-and-a-half year old son. Yvette has never met her father.

When she was growing up, her mother, who was a prostitute and a heroin addict, was rarely home. Yvette was frequently left alone. When she was old

enough to get away, Yvette would go across town to her grandmother's house.

Yvette's mother didn't want her daughter there; the two women didn't get

along. But Yvette preferred her grandmother. She says:

I grew up behind a whole lot of worries. I don't know

what I would have done without my grandma. If she hadn't

looked out for me...Just seemed like she was always

there--workint, takin' care of everyone.
36

The majority of the case study participants reported family experiences

that ranged from mildly unpleasant to truly horrifying. Through their own

determination, and in many cases with outside help, these young people managed to survive and grow. But the full impact of growing up "behind a lot

of worries" is hard to assess. These participants were aware of the negative effects of troubled home lives. Though some felt that their family

difficulties had forced them to be self-reliant, they also felt at a disadvantage in competing with young people whose family relationships were

supportive and secure. Many of the case study participants must struggle

to overcome the effects of negative family experiences in order to establish

themselves as productive adults. But not all of the case study participants

came from troubled homes. Let's briefly explore some of the more positive

family experiences within the case study group.

Strong. Supportive Fami es While very

ents do provide

Within the case

ily lives were,

"work" for some

few families fit the ideal image in every detail, many partheir children with strong and supportive family environments

study group, there were also young people who felt their famby and large, happy and rewarding. What makes family life

youth? Successful families are worth a closer look.

During the Youth Perspectives interviews, participants were encouraged

to offer their opinions about child rearing techniques. Each was asked, in

varying forms, the following question: If you were responsible for a child,

would you raise him or her much the same as your parents raised you? From

many participants, this question triggered emphatic negative responses followed by more thoughtful suggestions about ways in which they could improve

on their parents' child rearing practices. But nearly one-quarter of the

study participants said that for the most part, they would try to replicate

their parents' behavior. These young people went on to describe positive

aspects of their own upbringing. About half of those who were satisfied

with their family experiences were from stable, intact families; the others

came from supportive single parent households. The perspectives and experiences of both groups are quite similar.

Vivian Lincoln lives in Portland with her parents and her older sister,

Mary. Financial circumstances in the Lincoln household have been very tight

since Mrs. Lincoln was injured in a car accident two years ago. Though all

the Lincolns have had to make adjustments, Vivian says she is satisfied with

the quality of her family life:

I like living at home. My parents are great. They prepared us for any hard times, rough times--so it hasn't

been too bad. They're a lot of help to me, and they're

pretty understanding about things. They care about any

decisions. Like, if they don't think something's right,

you know, they wouldn't let me do it.
37

I try to help out around the house. There's certain

things I have to do- -clean my room and the living room,

do dishes--things like that. And in my family, there's

rules, like no dating until 17. I won't be 17 until

August. Sometimes it seems like that's too long to wait.

But it was the same way with my sister, and now she goes

out all the time. So I guess my time will come.

Sven Latoka lives in Jamaica Plain with his parents and two younger

sisters. His older brother, a marine, is stationed in Virginia. Sven's

mother is a full-time housewife. His father has been a carpenter and a

fisherman. During our second interview, Sven talked about his family life:

S: I've liked living at home. My parents are fine. No

arguments with them, you know. Soon, I expect, I'll be

moving out on my own, though.

If you're making a decision about a job or something else

that's important to you, would your parents get involved?

Yeah, they help me a lot. Now I'm of age, I'm a man, and

I basically take care of my own. But I'd let 'em know,

like...yeah, like if I got a job. They have anything

to say to me, they probably would speak right up. They

don't stop ma from doing what I want. They wouldn't do

that. They think I'm doing something wrong, though,

they'll correct me.

Do you make any financial contribution to the house?

S: Yeah, yeah. I have to pay room and board -- thirty dollars

a week.

I: Does that seem reasonable to you?

S: Yeah. Yeah, it does. That's one reason I haven't moved

out yet; on my own I'd have to pay more.

I: If you have children, do you think you'll raise th en very

much as you've been raised?

S: Yeah. I'll be strict. Because I think they'll be better

off in the long run.

I: You think your parents were strict?

S: Yeah. I know they were. I always knew from them what

you should do and what you shouldn't do. But they didn't

use force. My father's hit me a couple times in my life.

I was never beat. But when I did something wrong, I knew

'it. And I had ground rules - -come in at a certain time
38

and stuff like that. If I didn't come in, I couldn't go

out the next night. Smarten up to it, you know? When

I was younger, I had an allowance. I had to earn that

too. Taking out the rubbish when it had to be. Uh,

painting ceilings...doing things over in the house.

I: Why do you think a upbringing is good?

S: For one thing, I learned to work. How to do a job.

And, well, when I see how many kids were out all night

long, young, and now I take a look at them; they don't

seem to be doing very well. I know I'm just about one

step ahead of anybody that's had no...no discipline.

I had curfew till I was 18 years old. I always had a

job--at least part-time. And I've been pretty independent. My parents let me make a lot of my own decisions, but they taught me that you have to do certain

things. You have to keep a good attitude about yourself

in order to have a decent attitude towards other people.

Luanne Clawson lives in an apartment in Boston with her mother and

younger sister. An older sister is married andno longer lives at home.

Luanne's parents have been separated for over ten years. Her mother has

worked in the past, but the family currently receives AFDC payments. Luanne has seen her father frequently while growing up, and sometimes he

helps the family out financially. But her mother is clearly the chief

figure in Luanne's life.

My mother is really concerned about me. She's taught me

a lot. You know, she tells me things I have to know

about when I get my own place. You have to get out

there and work, pay your bills on time, and stuff like

that. She wants me to really make something out of

my life, you know? So I feel like I don't really have

no problems just so long as I come to her first and

let her know what I'm going to do. I like to know if

it's all right with her.

I had kids, I'd raise them just like I was. Yes I

would, really. I'd teach 'em right from wrong. I'd

tell 'em, you know, don't do such and such a thing.

But I wouldn't keep nagging them about it. After I

told them, you know, if they feel that they can make

up their own minds on it, I'd let 'em go. But there's

certain things.Some things, I'd make them go by my

rules--what I say-4ihile they're living with me.

I'd try to do just like my mother. Cause my mother's

doing hard things, you know. Trying to make it, makes

us good clothes, tries to give us money when we need

it--just everything.
39

Jessica Jackson's parents weren't married. She's never met her father.

But her childhood was relatively happy, and she's always had plenty of attention. Jessica lives in Bremerton, Washington, with her mother. She's a

senior in high school, and she works as a medical aide at the hospital.

Jessica lives in a single parent household, but she really has two parents.

Her grandmother lives next door, and she has always been involved in Jessica's life.

I learn a lot from my grandmother, because she knows so

much. I feel that she knows even more than my mother.

my mother and I do things together. Sometimes it's more

like we're sisters than mother and daughter. I call my

grandmother "mom ".

Both of them are involved in my life totally--all the

way. They follow me like little hens sometimes. But

nearly every time my grandmother tells me something,

she's right. It's amazing how things happen just like

she says.

I'll try to raise my kids just like I was. Totally. I was taught to get along with people. Taught to try to

do what was right. So I think it was good. As far as

I'm concerned, there's only one way to grow up, and that's

the way I grew up.

Common threads are apparent among the case study participants with

strong, supportive family backgrounds. Economic circumstances, family size,

life styles, and values varied considerably in these homes, but all the

young people in this portion of the case study group felt that their parents provided for them to the best of their abilities. They knew their

parents cared about them enough to stay involved and interested in their

lives. Unlike many of the other case study participants, they felt their

parents were really there when they needed them. Joy Tippets, a Kalamazoo

County participant, summed up the feelings of this group when she said:

I don't know how they did it really. I just really feel

close to them. And I don't really know how they do that

cause, you know, a lot of my friends aren't that close

to their parents. But they're always there when I need

'em. They trust me and all that; which is really nice,

cause I trust them. When my friends tell me some of the

things they've done, I just can't believe it, you know,

that their parents wouldn't tell them or try to stop them.

Vivian, Sven, Luanne, Jessica, and Joy all have roles to play in their

families and household responsibilities that have to be performed on a regular basis. But beyond all this, each has a set of values for determining

ethical conduct. None of these participants grew up in a religiously devout family, but each believed that she or he could distinguish right from
40

wrong in most cases. Their parents set consistent standards and expected

these standards to be respected. Within such frameworks, young people seem

to feel more secure and to have more confidence in their abilities to eventually manage their own lives. As Benjamin Spook says:

Children grow up behaving responsibly primarily because

they love parents who have loved them. They want to

please their parents (most of the time) and be like

them. But for this system to work well, the parents

must have ideals of one kind or another. They have to

know what they expect of their children and communicate

it to them clearly.

Though their parents provided examples and set standards for them, the

case study participants from strong, supportive families were also given

room for individual development. As they grew older, their parents encouraged them to make decisions on their own. Joy Tippers explained how this

process worked in her family:

I WAS 15 when I got my first job at the store. I was

still too young to drive, so I asked my parents what

they thought. my mom and dad said, "If you want the

job, you should take it. We'll help you out, but it's

really up to you." And they were supportive of me and

gave me rides till I got my license and all. But there

vests times when I had problems, and I thought about quitting. They said, "It's your decision. You're the one

who's working and earning the money. Only you know if

it's worth it to you." So it was all up to me. I had

to do this by myself, you know. And it taught me that

if you want to do something, then you should try to do

it, You don't always have to do what somebody else wants

you to do. You can pick your own goal and work for it.

Leaviry

No matter how comfortable their family lives, most young people reach

an age when they want to leave their parents' home and strike out on their

own. All of the case group participants were old enough to have at least

begun to think about leaving home and to speculate, worry, or dream about

how they would live as adults. A number already had considerable experience with life outside of family structures. Their solitary struggles had

tarnished their romantic images of independent life, and their fantasies

tended to center on the desire for supportive home lives. But for those

who had reached the age of 18 or l9 and were still living with their families, leaving home was a major preoccupation. Most were eager to be on

their way and felt they were ready for a more independent life:

Why leave home? I just want to be on my own. My

mother's tooken care of me long enough.

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41

I want to live on my own. Have something that belongs

to me instead of to someone else.

my boyfriend and I have been talking about moving in together. I'd really like to because I don't think we

can just get married before we've co-habitated. I think

people should live together first, and I think we're

really ready to give it a try.

Soon I'll be trying to get out on my own. Get my own

apartment, start doing stuff for myself--you know, doin'

my own thing. I want more privacy. You know, it's about

that time, that you should get out and be on your own,

have your own things.

During the research period, half of the case study participants were

living at home with their parents or other adults. Though they had visions

of independence, most planned to remain with their families for at least

another year and some for considerably longer. What keeps these young people at home? Several of the participants talked a lot about leaving home

but seem to sense that they were not really ready for independence. They

acknowledged a need for the emotional support that they receive from their

parents or other family members. Jessica Jackson ran off to California with

a girlfriend when she was 14 years old. She returned home after her brief

fling with independence convinced her that she was not ready for life on

her ovine

I feel that a lot of my friends, they're at the point

where they want to leave home and be on their own. And

I tell them exactly how it is when you leave home. It's

really bad. Without someone looking out for you, you

can get into so much trouble! You have a lot more problems if you leave home.

While emotional ties kept some of the case study participants at home,

for most, financial necessity played a larger role in determining living

arrangements. Some of the participants received little emotional support

from their families and felt they would be happier away from home, but they

couldn't afford to move out on their own. Many of the case study participants who lived at home were working only part-time in YEDPA jobs and attending school. Those who worked full-time were earning only minimum wage.

The majority of participants living at home were covering only their own

personal expenses (like clothing, entertainment, transportation, and meals

away from home) with their YEDPA paychecks. Only a few of these young people were paying their parents for room and board, and none were paying as

much as it would cost to live independently. Though they received some

financial support from their families, most of the participants living at

home were not doing much saving out of their small YEDPA incomes. However,

several case study participants, like Luanne Clawson, were putting money in

the bank on a regular basis:

0 2
42

I've got over $500 in the bank now, and I figure I need

a couple hundred more. I plan to move in with a friend--

so there'll be two people on the sharing. But I know it

will still be real expensive.

Some case study participants learned about the financial demands of independent life the hard way. Lori Wozisky, Jack Thrush, and Carrie Green

all saw their first full-time jobs as opportunities to escape from difficult

family situations. All three were under IS when they moved out of their

parents' home and into an apartment with friends. Carrie and Jack both lost

their jobs within six months and had to move back home when they couldn't

find other work. Lori also ended up back home:

I got an apartment. I was sharing it with my girlfriend.

The rent was good. It was a good district and everything. I was glad to be away from all the hassles at

home. But then...moneywise...Well, the car broke down,

and it cost two hundred and eighty some dollars to fix.

And every day my parents were calling to ask when I was

coming home. So finally I ended up moving back.

In spite of the financial difficulties in store for them, some of the

case study participants plan to leave home as soon as possible. Most hoped

to secure full-time jobs after they graduated from high school or completed

Min program activities. These young people were beginning to realize that

rent, utilities, and food were expensive commodities and that it might be

difficult to find work that paid enough to cover total living expenses. Some

were so eager to be on their own that they said they would take any job they

could get and figure out some way to get along on whatever money they could

make. But others, who planned to go to college or build more substantial

careers, had decided that it would be most practical to live at home for a

few more years. Richard Nielson and Felisa Santana offered the following

comments:

I'll probably be at home until I establish a career.

It would take something better than the job I have now

to do it. Even if I keep working and I can pay my own

college tuition, there wouldn't be enough money for rent

and stuff if I went out on my own.

Realistically, it will be quite a while before I can

leave home. I have to get another job that pays more.

Cause I know you have to get an apartment, and rent and

all that is real expensive. So it will probably be two

years or more before I really get going and get out on

my own.
Early and_Abrupt_Departu

43

While leaving home was still an aspiration for some of the case study

participants, others had been living apart from their families for years.

Over 90 percent of the nation's 16 to 17 year old population lives at home

with at least one parent. But within the case study group, fully one-half

of the participants_ left their parents'homes before they had turned 18 or

graduated from high school. They left for different reasonssome in the

midst of intense family conflicts, and some under amicable circumstances.

A number left to establish themselves as wives or as mothers heading their

own households. Some chose to leave because they couldn't get along with

their parents or other family members. Others were told to leave because

their parents felt they couldn't handle them and no longer wanted them in

their homes. One young man was a refugee, who left his home and parents

in Viet Nam for the hope of a better future.

How does a 15 or 16 year old go about leaving ho look at

some of the case study participants' experiences.

Douglas Giscard left home near the end of his fifteenth year. He is

now 18, a serious and articulate young man with long black hair tied back

neatly in a ponytail. "You might not believe this," Douglas says with a

laugh, "but my long hair had a lot to do with my leaving home." Douglas

describes his family as "pretty well-to-do, conservative middle class

people". His father is a manager for a large drug store chain. His mother

is a full-time homemaker. Douglas has two younger brothers who still live

at home. The Giscards are devout Catholics; Douglas is a non-believer.

When he was living at home, Douglas was required to go to church every

Sunday, attend a Catholic school, be in the house by nine each night, and

keep his hair trimmed above the ear lobes. His objections to these rules

led to a series of drawn out struggles with his father.

We weren't getting along at all. It was hard on everyone, and finally I decided I had to go. My dad and I

agreed that it was fine with both of us. In fact it

was the only thing that we could do was for me to move

out. I moved in with a roommate, and my dad agreed to

give me $100 a month. So I'd go my way and live my own

life.

David Anderson, who is now 18, also left home because of family

flicts. But he did not choose to go. He 13 one of the thousands c'! young

people who are removed from their homes each year through legal intorvention.

Though David has never been charged with breaking the law, he was, et the

request of his mother, declared an "uncontrollable juvenile". David is his

mother's oldest child; and he says she pampered him when he was very young.

David's parents divorced when he was Still a baby. His mother remarried

when he was two years old and had three children with her new husband.

David always had trouble getting along with his younger half-brothers and

sister. His step-father would lose his temper frequently and beat David

for disobedience or for crying. Then David would turn on his brothers or
44

sister. His mother would threaten to call the police and have David taken

away, but he never thought that she would actually do it. When it happened,

David could still hardly believe it

The day it happened, I had hit my sister. I'd been getting mad at my brothers and sister a lot and hitting 'em.

I guess my mom got to the end of her rope. She called

the police and they came and picked me up. I was really

scared at the time. When I first went into detention,

I thought my mom would be back to pick me up the next day

or something. But it didn't happen that way. She didn't

want me back at all. I spent 43 days in detention before

I was moved out to here.

Jean Ansel, the young woman we heard from at the beginning of the chapter who wished for a "normal" family, was not yet 15 when she left home.

She started taking barbiturates when she was only 12. She got the drugs

from older friends. She was living with her father and his girlfriend when

she started using heroin at age 14.

Well, when I was hooked on downers, the only reactions

I ever got from my father were just...There was really

no communication going on at all. They would tell me

how stupid I was and this and that. But there was no

real caring. They never made no effort to say anything

like, "Why don't you stop?", "You need help.", "Can I

help you?", or nothing like that. And that's what I

wanted to hear before I could tell myself to stop. But

with heroin now, like he'd be finding needles. He always went into my bedroom and was always finding needles,

but I always convinced him I wasn't using it. Then the

last night that I lived there, he made me show my arms.

Right then that proved it. And that's when he kicked

me out.

When Tien Van Chin left his home in Saigon in 1975, he was only 14 years

old. During the period immediately after the communist takeover, the city

of Saigon was in tumult. Tien's school was shut down. He says that food

was scarce; people were living in the streets and lining up at warehouses

for rice. People like Tien's parents, who owned a plastics manufacturing

plant that had supplied the South Vietnamese Army, were making arrangements

to flee the country. The Chins paid over $400 in gold to the owners of a

small fishing boat for Tien's passage out of Viet Nam. Although their own

prospects were not good, the older Chins decided to remain in Saigon.

My parents stayed. When you live somewhere too many years,

you don't want to just left there. You can't go and just

leave your assets. MY parents let me go. They understand

I make a chance by myself. When they turn the country

over to North Viet Nam, I know I'will not be able to learn

a occupation. That's why I go. I took a choice to come
45

here. I have hear a lot of the United States. I believe it is the best place for young people, to come

here, learn to get ahead for themselves.

Landing Places

What happens to a young person who leaves home at 14, 15, or 16 years

of age? Once they have jumped out of the nest, or been pushed out, where do

they land? Some of the study participants who left home early found safe

landing places and made a start toward independence. Others were not so

lucky and found life on the "outside" to be even harder than their lives

at home. Most were in for some difficult years. Let's follow the four young

people whose departures we have tracked.

In some ways, Douglas Giscard was prepared to be on his own. He was

used to doing chores around the house; and when he moved into an apartment

with a friend, he found it easy to cook, clean up, and take care of himself.

His relationship with his parents improved almost immediately. He enjoyed

his new privacy and independence. But he soon found that the $100 a month

his parents were willing to give him wouldn't stretch far enough to cover

his expenses, and he couldn't find a job that fit in with his school sched.

ule. So Douglas and his roommate started dealing drugs to make ends meet.

This new enterprise was so successful that Douglas decided to quit school

and embark upon a life of crime. For nearly two years, Douglas lived very

well off the proceeds of illegal drug sales and periodic burglaries. He

says he never really saw himself as a criminal, but it was an easy way to

make money--until he got caught. In 1978, Douglas was arrested while leaving the scene of a burglary with two thousand dollars worth of antique

watches and jewelry in his pockets. The juvenile court allowed Douglas to

remain on his own, but he was ordered to find employment so that he could

pay the court fees.

David Anderson's mother never came to take him back home. After being

held in a juvenile detention facility for 43 days, David was assigned to a

group home ir. the country. At first he was uncooperative and resentful at

being shipped away from home. But the group home turned out to be a good

place for David. He was able to attend high school on a regular basis; and

he was referred to the CETA program, which placed him in a part-time job at

his school. David says the people at the group home are fair. The restrictions are few and reasonable. Through counseling sessions and interaction

with others at the group home, David was able to sort things out and gain a

better understanding of his own behavior and family experiences.

It's a good place to be if you want help in getting

through problems or learning to deal with other people,

because there's always new people coming in and they're

all different. The house parents are really outstanding

people. They've helped me a lot. We have both individual

and group counseling.
46

I understand what happened to me a lot better now. My

step-dad in many ways is a typical male. If he's got

a son that's 16 or 17 who cries when he gets hurt...

well, that's just not "man" to him. So he gets mad

and he hits me. And I just couldn't handle that, because I've got feelings too. I don't care if I'm a

man, woman, boy, girl...I just, umm, instead of crying,

I'd just bottle those feelings up inside. Then somebody would tip it off. And I'd blow up, and it would

all come out. That's when I would hurt somebody. I just feel like I can handle it all a lot better now.

When Jean Ansel left her father's house with needle marks on both arms,

she was in for several really rough years. At first things looked as if

they might work out well. Jean had a "straight" friend at school who knew

of her addiction. This young woman's parents sometimes took in foster

children. The morning after Jean's father threw her out, she showed up at

school because she didn't know where else to go. The first person she ran

into was her friend. She told her what had happened, and together they went

to a teacher with the story. Arrangements were made to place Jean as a foster child in her friend's home. The family was especially supportive. They

saw Jean through her heroin withdrawal. But, ironically, Jean found she was

unable to sustain herself in the "normal" family situation she had always desired:

They were really wonderful people. They really helped

me out a lot. But like...that was in February, and come

June, I just couldn't handle living there. It was too

much of a family situation. Umm, you know, like they

had the mother, the father, the family. And I hadn't

been used to that. Even when my family was together, we

weren't like that. They were all so much nicer than me.

It made me feel worse somehow. And it was just like...

it was just too straight.

But it was really hard to leave. I knew I had to get up

and go. I told them I was going to try it again at my

father's house, and I went back there for like two weeks.

I tried to do it at my father's house, but it didn't work

at all. It was weird; I couldn't really make it there,

but it seemed like that was where I belonged.

Then I was staying at a friend's house. And I started

seeing a drug counselor over at ATE. I was drinking then

instead of doing drugs. And she, my drug counselor, put

me in this shelter home. I stayed there for awhile. And

from there I hit the streets.

Umm...Out on the streets, I wasn't working. It's kind

of a blank. How was I getting my money? I think...I

was doing odd jobs, I guess. (pause) I hate to admit
47

it, but I was also "tricking". That whole time I can't

remember too well, and I don't like to remember it either.

It went on, on and off, for over a year.

Finally I contacted CSD, Children's Service Division,

and last January, they were able to put me on a program. They had an independent living program, where

they give you money each month, but you have to go to

school and look for work. I was going to night school,

and I came to the CETA program to get a Job. Things

got a lot better then. I had my own apartment, and I

was working with the deaf kids--where I work now.

Tien Van Chin celebrated his 15th and 16th birthdays in a refugee camp.

Be finally made it to the United States after spending two years at the camp

in Thailand. Tien was relocated in Portland under the sponsorship of a

church agency. He was 17 years old and wanted to go to the university and

study international relations. But he had no money and his English was

limited, so he began a series of factory and restaurant jobs while he studied English at night. Eventually, Tien heard about youth employment and

training programs. He applied to the YETP program and received financial

support to attend a private business school. Tien is studying to be a computer programmer so he can support himself while he goes through college.

He lives in a cooperative household with five other young Vietnamese men.

Three younger boys go to high school and work part-time. Two older ones

work full-time. They all pool their earnings and share housekeeping duties.

Among the group of young refugees, Tien's English is the best so he handles

most of the household business.

Adolescent Parents

Six of the 16 case study participants who left home before high school

completion were adolescent mothers. While young men, in general, were more

likely than young women to leave their parents' home at an early age, all

but two of the female case study participants who moved away from home permanently before age 18 were teenage mothers. The 1978 Youth Entitlement

Survey indicated that nine percent of all eligible youth are, themselves,

heads of households. Most of these are unmarried females with children.

An estimated 23 percent of the economically disadvantaged 16 to 19 year old

women in the geographic areas covered by the survey had at least one child.

While overall fertility races of young women have been falling during

the past 15 years, fertility among unmarried women is rising. Between 1965

and 1976, the percentage of births among unmarried women, ages 15 to 19,

doubled. Not only are pregnancies on the increase among unmarried teenage

women, but the number of these young women who choose to keep their children

and raise them alone is rising. Adolescent parenthood is.a lifestyle alternative being chosen by a growing number of teenagers. In addition to the

six case study participants who were already mothers, two other case study

participants faced parenthood during the course of the eight month research

period.
48

How viable a lifestyle is adolescent parenting? Most young women who

become pregnant in their early teenage years leave school before graduation.

Many never return. Once the baby is born, young mothers face special income

and employment problems. Caring for a child is a demanding job which limits

a young woman's ability to gain other work experience. When no father is

present, teenage mothers usually rely on welfare for support. Each of the

case study mothers who remained single received AFDC payments. Long term

welfare dependence is often the unfortunate result of early childbearing.

It is estimated that one-quarter of the women who bear children during their

teenage years depend on welfare payments into their twenties.

Who are the young women who embark upon motherhood alone and in their

teens? Statistically, the incidence of adolescent parenthood is higher among

economically disadvantaged and non-white females. But the teenage parent

population includes young women from every ethnic, racial, and economic group.

The case studies indicate that there is no prototype for the adolescent mother, in terms of her personal characteristics or family background.

Genetta Burke, now 19 years old, is one of the two young mothers in the

case study group who has more than one child. She lives in an apartment in

Boston with her four-and-a-half year old son, three year old daughter, and

her grandmother. Her mother lives next door. Genetta is black, as are half

of the teenage mothers in the study group. She grew up in Victoria Feint,

a public housing project less than two miles away from where she now resides.

Before Genetta was on her own, she lived with her two brothers and five sisters. Her mother supported the family through a combination of work and welfare. Mr. and Mrs. Burke remained married although they have not lived together for over 16 years. Genetta's mother signed her up for AFDC while she

was still in the hospital after the birth of her first child. Genetta and

the baby lived with her mother for nearly a year. Then Genetta lived with

the baby's father, whom she had dated since age 13, first at his mother's

house and later in an apartment of her own. After two years, Genetta asked

her boyfriend* to move out of the apartment. She still sees him regularly,

and he gives her 25 to 30 dollars ea,: -K to cover extra expenses.

Fatty Monson, age 18, lives with her 18 month old son in a small town

in Kitsap County, Washington. Patty is one of the three young white mothers

in the case study group. Fatty grew in Utah in a large Mormon family.

Her father, a dry-wall construction contractor moved his wife, five sons,

an:1 one daughter to Kitsap County when Fatty was starting tenth grade. Patty

was in the eleventh grade when she became pregnant. She had been dating the

baby's father less than three months. Shortly after she learned of her pregnancy, Patty moved with her family across the county to the town where she

now resides. She never told the young man who fathered her child that she

was pregnant, and she hasn't seen him since she moved. Patty lived with her

*The term, boyfriend, is used by the several young case group mothers who

remained on close terms with the fathers of their children.
49

parents until her baby was four months old. Then she applied for-AFDC and

moved into an apartment of her own. She still feels close to her parents,

who live less than one mile away. Patty's mother offered to tend her son

each day when Fatty became a YETF participant.

Why does a young woman of 15 or 16 decide to become a mother? If you

ask the young mothers in the case study group that question, they will look

at you uncomprehendingly for a moment and then say, "because I got pregnant."

And it is true that none of the young women consciously planned her pregnancy; but that is not the entire story.

Hardly anyone doubts that sexual activity among teenagers has increased

during the past two decades. More young people are sexually active at earlier

ages, and some increase in teenage pregnancy is a natural result of such patterns. Sexually active teenagers are more likely than adult women to conceive. However, increasingly, young people also have more access to birth

control information and devices. Many young women, as is evident from the

case studies, are sexually active in their teenage years without becoming

pregnant. About half of the non-mothers in the case study group indicated

at some point during the interviews that they "practiced birth control",

which usually meant oral contraception. Several of the young mothers in the

case study group admitted an early knowledge of basic birth control techniques and said they had practiced different methods intermittently prior to

becoming pregnant. But none reported employing birth control methods of any

type during the time directly before conception.

Once pregnancy was established, the young mothers -to-be in the case study

group seemed to have had difficulty conceptualizing any alternative to single

parenthood. Most felt they were not ready to think about marriage, and none

elected to give up her child for adoption. Only one of the young women seriously considered abortion as an alternative to childbearing. In this, the

case study mothers were not typical. Each year there are many more unmarried

teenagers who have abortions than there are those who give birth. But abortion was not viewed by the mothers in the case study group as an effective

but unpleasant solution to a difficult problem; abortion was "killing your

baby"--something no good woman would willingly do.

Cartneletta DeVries was the only young mother who saw abortion as a distinct possibility. But she decided to go ahead with the pregnancy though,

unlike others in the case study group, she had few positive expectations for

motherhood.

My parents told me if I wanted I could have an abortion,

you know, cause it was messing up my life. I mean, I

didn't need any baby. I had got pregnant once before,

and I had an abortion and I felt...I can't just keep

having abortions, you know. Sometimes, I was sorry about

when I had the first one. I was sad then, you know. I was 14 or something like that and I couldn't deal with

it. My boyfriend was mad. But still, you know, my
50

father sit and explain it to me, all the facts or whatever. And I understood 'em, you know. And I decided

to go ahead and have the baby. It wasn't that I felt

it was the right choice, you know; I just had to have

it. You can't just keep going on with abortions. It

wouldn't be right. I ain't going to have no more kids

though.. that's for sure.

Some experts believe that many teenage pregnancies represent a bid for

attention or a desire on the part of an adolescent to "punish" her parents

for what is perceived as their restrictiveness or neglect. According to

this theory, a young woman may feel that pregnancy will give her power over

her parents, and she may use her body as a weapon. Benjamin Spock believes

that, "(in) even many of the quiet, illegitimate pregnancies at various social levels, it becomes clear that the girl was not really carried away by

passion or by infatuation; she involved herself rather cold-bloodedly, without consciously knowing why, because of resentment against her parents."

Others believe that teenage pregnancy represents a rite of passage

from girlhood to womanhood in which more young women are choosing to participate because of its increasing social acceptability. In some areas of the

country, adolescent parenthood has not only become more common, it seems to

have become something of a fad. In Montgomery, Maryland, it was estimated

that one out of every ten teenage girls would become pregnant in 1979. According to Steve Spenick, a counselor in the county's social services department, "It's become fashionable to a degree. The girl will announce her pregnancy and her friends will say, 'It's groovy.' As a peer group thing, it's

encouraged. It means you stand out."

During the past decade, progressive education policies have attempted

to ameliorate the stigma and isolation of adolescent parenthood by including.

pregnant girls and young mothers in regular high school activities, and by

providing special child care facilities and child development classes in the

schools. Some educators now fear that such programs have made teenage motherhood appear a more attractive and viable alternative to an increasing number of high school age women.

None of the young mothers in the study group chose single parenthood

directly for the social cachet it afforded, but the increased frequency and

acceptability of single parenthood does seem to have played a role in their

decision to keep their babies. Each of the young women who didn't marry but

decided to bear and raise her child alone had at least one close friend or

relative who was already a single parent, and several had more than one single parent in her immediate family. At the least, the experience of these

role models demonstrated to the prospective mothers that single parenthood

was a viable, if difficult, alternative.

While increased social acceptability undoubtedly made single parenthood

an easier and more likely choice for the teenage women in the case group,

the comments of the young mothers suggest that they were also influenced by

Cl
51

their romantic concepts of motherhood and needs to prove themselves as women.

Their desires to enter the adult world via motherhood were typically linked

to a dissatisfaction with the way things had been going for them at home, at

school, or in their social lives.

Although several young women who became teenage mothers came from supportive, stable families, most experienced family pressures or problems

prior to their pregnancies. Peggy Bromfield felt her parents were both

punitive and unaffectionate, and she longed for a happy family and home of

her own. Lynn Hazelton, who later lost her son in a drowning accident, became pregnant six months after her brother's suicide when her parents were

still withdrawn and grieving. Yvette McDermott's mother was seldom home,

and she spent most of her time alone.

None of the young women were happy with their situation at school. Patty

Monson had recently transferred to a new high school with higher standards

and stricter requirements than her old school had. After years as a successful student, she was distressed to find herself working harder than ever before but getting only "D"'s and "C"'s. Genetta Burke was a good student,

but she was one of a small group of black students being bused into South

Boston High School, and she faced extreme racial hostility each day. Yvette

McDermott, Carmeletta DeVries, and Peggy Bromfield were all skipping school

almost as often as they attended during the months before they became pregnant, and their grades were showing the result.

Though pregnancy was typically unplanned and preceded by some unhappiness or dissatisfaction, it was not viewed as a tragedy by most young mothers in the case group. These young women did not see pregnancy as the product of a string of failures; it represented instead the beginning of new

possibilities. Motherhood was an adult challenge, one that they planned to

meet successfully on their own. Some figured, "When it happens, it happens.

Might as well start now." Others associated highly positive images with

motherhood in general, and thought it was even better to "have your children

while you're young." One young woman said:

Well, I always wanted to have kids young. I never

thought about marriage all that much. I always saw

myself walking down the beachlooking real good and

got my little girl on my'hand, you-know. She'd be

about three years old, curly, curly hair...And now I've

got two. And I'll be walking down the beach this summer, and I'll be looking good.

Though our of the young women felt they were "really in love" during

the period when their children were conceived, marriage was not a major consideration for most. They did not become pregnant with the expectation that

marriage would result. Peggy Bromfield was the only participant who associated her pregnancy directly with marriage. She was eager to be both a mother

and a wife:
52

I was really caring for him a lot. I figure, if you really love each other enough to want to make a baby, you

should show your love and how much you really want to be

together. Starting a kid is more of a bond. My parents

didn't like the idea of him being almost eleven years

older than me. "Are you sure you know what you're do-

?", you know? But my mother got married when she was

15, so she couldn't really say no because she did it too.

My dad felt the same way too. And since they could see

I wasn't happy without him, they let me get married.

Peggy Bromfield and her husband conceived another child five months

after their first was born. The marriage lasted just over a year. When

they separated, Peggy was 16 years old and five months pregnant. Her son

was ten months old. Yvette McDermott, the only ocher young mother in the

group who married, has had a more successful marriage experience:

I knew my husband for about three years before I got

pregnant. When I knew I was pregnant, I didn't want to

just marry him--not to just get married, you know, because I was pregnant. Yeah, I always said I wouldn't

do this and I wouldn't do that, but I ended up doin' it

anyway! (laughter) After my little boy was born, that's

what my husband wanted to do. So I did it. Worked out

pretty well too. It really has. I like being married.

For some women, like Patty Monson and Lynn Hazelton, marriage was not

really an option immediately before or after pregnancy. But several others

said their babies' fathers were ready to marry them at any time, if that was

what they wanted. Though they were willing to tackle motherhood in their

teens, some, like Genetta Burke, were still wary of early marriage:

I'm chicken. I don't wanna get married. (laughter)

Cause I don't think marriage is for everybody. You

know, when you're young and you get married, you break

up and stuff. My kids' father, he wants to marry me.

But I think that he just want to marry me so he can

keep me in the house. (laughter) He can't make me do

it, you know, cause we don't stay together now. But if

we get married, you know, he would want to live together.

The reality of a teenage F, ler eager to wed while the young mother is

wary was not something I expectuu to encounter. I thought these reports

might reflect, to some extent, bravado on the part of the young women in

question. But I had the opportunity to confirm such circumstances from the

young man's perspective. Adam Sledge, a case study group participant from

Boston, was 17 and in the eleventh grade when his girlfriend Cindy became

pregnant. Adam was excited about prospective fatherhood. He quit school

in mid-year to find a job. He planned that once he was working steadily,

he and Cindy could be married. Cindy lived at home with her mother until

her baby was born. Attest got a YCCIP job in a weatherization project. He
53

also worked nights as a security guard. When the research irate ews ended, Adam's daughter was six months old.

decide whether she wanted to marry him:

He was still waiting for Cindy to

Well, Cindy says she's getting on welfare... or she supposedly would. But she never heard from 'em since she

went. So I be getting...I be helping her out mostly.

She don't get any aid, and her mother's not getting aid,

so...so I help out. I'm ready to get married anytime,

you know. The rest is up to her.

The availability of AFDC clearly affords young mothers more sense of

choice over the issue of marriage versus single parenthood. AFDC grants

also allow young mothers to move out of their parents' homes and into the

adult world, albeit on strained and restricted terms. While AFDC helps to

make single parenthood viable for adolescent women, there is no evidence

that the availability of welfare payments acts as an incentive for early

pregnancy. Most teenagers don't think very realistically about their financial future before or during their pregnancies. If anything, they tend

to naively plan that they will go out and get a job once the baby is born.

With the exception of Peggy Bromfield, rho married, all of the young mothers

in the case study group lived at home until their babies were born. AFDC

was generally resorted to as the easiest, most practical means of support,

when they later decided that they needed to be away from their parents and

on their own.

How do the young women fare once their babies are born? How does reality compare to their fantasies of motherhood? If you ask the young mothers

in the case group, most will laugh and tell you, "It's a whole lot harder

than I thought it would be." For most new parents, the first six months of

parenting are the most difficult period. Adjusting to the needs and demands

of an infant is especially challenging for an inexperienced adolescent. But

while the experience may be sobering, it is also fulfilling and exhilarating

for most mothers. As one case study participant said, "A tiny baby...you

can see he really needs you. I mean you're his mother!" This also seems to

be the time when some young women decide that motherhood is their calling

and become pregnant again. In any case, it does not seem to be a time when

the teenage mother seriously considers going out to look for a job. Most

mothers in the case study group said their infants kept them so busy that

they couldn't really imagine taking on outside work.

When their babies were about one year old, most of the young mothers

seemed to be able to look at their situation more objectively and to try to

assess their alternatives. This is a time when they were apt to seek employment. For some, a job 1411iewed as a sacrifice because it meant time away

from their baby. For othe=rs, a job represented a welcome reprieve from a

demanding toddler. All needed the money they felt employment would bring

But job hunting was a disillusioning experience. Some young mothers found

work on their own before they became YEDPA participants, but most were discouraged when they discovered how few jobs they qualified for and how little

those jobs paid. When they became YEDPA participants, none of the young

64
54

mothers in the case study group had completed high school. Their children

ranged in age from eight months to four-and-a-half years. All had limited

skills, and several had no previous work experience at all. This was the

time that any regrets they might have were bound to surface. Genetta Burke

probably articulated her feelings best:

If I could do it over, I guess I wouldn't have any kids.

Now that I, you know, them, I love them. I wouldn't

give them up for nobody. But if I could do it again...

well, it would have been a lot easier without them. A

lot of times, I've felt like I couldn't do stuff or enjoy myself because my kids were there. But then sometimes I think: maybe there's really nothin' out there

to do. You know, maybe I'm not really missing nothin'.

Cause sometimes if you don't have nobody in your life,

then it don't really mean nothin'. At least I always

have my kids to cheer me up when I get depressed. I can talk with them, play with them. They can lift my

spirits.

If I could change things, I guess I wouldn't've sat home

all the time I did. Altogether, I sat home about two

years--doin' nothin'. I wasted time. I didn't get no

place. The only real part about it was my kids though.

But I wish that...Yeah, I should've finished high school.

I mean when I was first there. But I don't know...You

know, my mother said that I just don't have any sense.

But you know, the thing was...I was just young. I was

just tryin' to find out what life was about.

Role Models

Adult role models are important for a young person trying to establish

an independent life. During their early years, children look up to their

parents and try to be like them. In early adolescence, most young people

are concerned mainly with their image and acceptability among their own

peers. But older adolescents trying to make the step to young adulthood

need grownups with whom they can identify and who can serve as models in

their efforts to establish careers and successful personal lives in the

adult world.

The case study participants were asked to talk about the adult they felt

closest to and most admired during the past two or three years. Participants

told what they liked or admired about this person and the ways in which they

would like their own lives .t0 be similar or different. For many of those in

the case study group, this person was their father or mother. Young people

from supportive families, as might be anticipated, were more likely to see

their parents as positive role models for their own future lives.
55

Among the participants who named their father as the person they most

admired were several young women. Vivian Lincoln, whose father is an orthopedic supply salesman, says, "I like what he does...how he works. He seems

so important. I'd like to be like him in my career." Carrie Green, who was

raised by her father in a single parent household, also admires her father

for the work he does, as well as for his personal traits:

He's got a good job; he's a line manager at Brock Incorporated. He's also pretty active. He does different

things. Like he golfs, and he goes bowling, and he

goes, you know, on trips. And another thing is that he's

wise. He's pretty smart in a lot of things. I hope when

I get that old, I'm wise. I guess my dad prepared me

pretty good for Life, because he always told me, you know,

"You gotta go out and get a job, and get it yourself.

You can't get it from me."

Within the case study group, there were young men who began working

with their fathers on construction jobs during early adolescence. Sven Latoka admires his father and plans to follow in his footsteps:

I would like to be like my father. I like his trade.

He's a carpenter. I like that. And, uh, he's smart

too. He knows what's right and what's wrong. You know,

you can't really get over on him. He's physically fit,

and that I admire. Gives me sort of an example to get

going myself. I think he's led a pretty good life, an

Interesting one. He's traveled, and he's done good by

his family--and he's my father!

Todd Clinton, on the other hand, is eager to disassociate himself from

his father's fiberglass construction business and establish his own career

in another field. Though Todd admires his father's financial success, he

does not want to emulate him in other ways:

I would like to have the money that my dad makes. He's

made a lot of money. But he more or less keeps it all

to himself. He doesn't broaden himself. He doesn't

want his business to get any bigger than it already is,

because then he's got regulations. He's afraid that he'd

have to hire minorities. He's a real prejudiced person.

Like I said, I would like to have his money--and maybe

his attitude of how he keeps money. But in anything

else, I would much rather be different.

Interestingly enough, several male participants who had reported intense

periods of conflict with their fathers still considered their fathers to be

positive role models. Douglas Giscard expressed respect for his father

though he saw himself living a very different kind of life:
56

Well.. I really respect my dad because he's got a lot ofcannon sense.- I wish I had as much common sense as he's

got. He's very careful and he's humble. I like those

values. But as far as being different from him, I would

like to be more of myself rather than be like society expects.

Participants who felt closest to their mothers usually admired her for

her personal characteristics and role in the family rather than her position

in the working world. Most of these participants were young women; although

one young man said: "I admire my mom most. I like the way she keeps house.

I don't do a bad job, but she really does a good job." Young women who saw

their mothers as likeable, successful people often said that they would like

to do as well with their families as their mothers had but they would like,

at the same time, to have more contact with the outside world. These young

women saw themselves as differing from their mothers by having careers as

well as successful family lives:

I want to be close to my family like she is and...she

seems happy doing what she's doing. But she stays home

mostly, you know. I'd like to have a career along with

that. Maybe when my kids were younger I wouldn't, but

I want to work too.

Young women who grew up in female headed households sometimes came away

from the experience with very different perspectives on the role of the single mother. Elvira Taylor, whose mother raised her and three other children

alone with AFDC support, told me: "Not that I want any kids right now, but

I would like to be living alone with my kids when I have them--not with a

husband but on my own." Tina Middleton, who grew up in much the same cir7

cumstances, had a very different view: "I don't want to be alone. I don't

want to get married and then be divorced. I don't want the responsibility

of raising children by myself. It's just too hard!" Prophetically, Elvira's

comments foreshadowed reality; before the research period ended, she became

pregnant. She dropped out of school and out of the YET? program, fed she intends to keep the baby.

What about young people who ove and admire parents whose lives in some

respects are not successful? Are they programmed to repeat their parents'

patterns? The interviews indicated that young people can love their parents

and admire some things about them without necessarily identifying with their

failures. Adam Sledge, whose mother raised seven children on a poverty level income, has always been told that he is the "image" of his father, a man

who was chronically unemployed and eventually abandoned the family. Adam

says: "Yeah, I'm good looking too' I look like my father, and I talk like

my father. But I like to work. And I love money. (laughter) I already

have two jobs, and I'm trying to get a third one." Felisa Santana, whose

unemployed parents support a large family with welfare payments, thinks that

her life will be very different from her mother's:
57

My mother had a rough life. She didn't get enough education when she was young. She was working in bad jobs

all hk_c life--first in PL2rto Rico and than here. My

life will be different, cause I'm getting more education

than them...than they had. And I'm...well, I think if

I keep studying and working, I'll get a better job than

what they had.

Several participants, like Todd Clinton, felt that they had learned

something about life from watching their parents' mistakes:

Maybe it did prepare me for life, after all. I learned

a lot from my family experiences. I think I've learned

enough to be able to say that I won't make those mistakes

that my parents made...that I'm not going to be my parents. That I never want to be. That I'm going to do

what I wan- to do--what I think is best. That I'm going

to do it to the best of my ability.

Some young people who either have no parents, or who are extremely alienated from their parents, feel close to other family members instead and

want to emulate them in some respects. Several participants, like Jack

Thrush, admired their older brothers: "He's married, and he's going to

have a family. I'd like to have a nice job and house and everything like

his." Some participants held in highest regard the family member who helped

the others most and held things together when times were hard. But while

they identified with these relatives and wanted to be like them, they generally wished for easier lives.

I like the way my grandmother's done. She's neat, and

she, uh, works. That's what I want to do too, you know.

And she takes care of the family. That's the way I'm

doing. But she hasn't gotten...well, she hasn't gotten

to did a lot that she wanted to do. But, uh...I think

I will, you know.

Yvette McDermott

I'm so much like my grandmother. But I wouldn't want to

be put through the stuff she has been. She's had to

raise all her kids by herself. My grandfather died when

I was five. And my uncles, they were bad, totally. To

me, I'm turning out just like my grandmother. I'm the

only one in my family that's gone through high school.

My grandmother went to college, and I plan on going to

college. I look up to her more than anyone, because she

knows a lot more than I do.

Jessica Jackson
58

My older sister, she's really had it hard. She's taken

care of my little sisters and brothers. And she's really

given her heart. I feel closest to her. I do everything

I can for her. Times have been bad. I'd like to see my

brothers and sisters in a place they can call theirs.

That's why I plan to go into the Army, so I can do something to. help my sister. So I can give 'em a lot more.

Harold Thomas

What about young people who find no role models in their family experience? Within the case study group there were a number of participants who

left home at an early age without knowing any adults they felt close to or

admired. Trying to function independently with no positive models to serve

as a guide is a difficult and frightening experience for a teenager. The

lucky ones were able to find sympathetic adults in the outside world who

were worthy of emulation and willing to play a sustaining role. After years

of foster homes, problems, and unproductive mandatory counseling, Sandy Bonds

met an adult who cared about her and with whom she could communicate. This

woman was a 25 year old juvenile probation officer, and Sandy marks their

relationship as a turning point in her life:

She was really straight with me. This may seem minor,

but she didn't ever lie. Neither do I. I don't like

people who lie. There's really no reason for it. Um,

I really can't say what exactly it was she did, but she

helped me see myself in a new way. She's just a really

good person. And it made me want to...made me realize

that I could put my life together.

Young people need adults they can admire and emulate. If they don't

find them among their families or friends, they will seek them out in other

places. Youth program counselors are often surprised to find how much even

the most guarded or arrogant young people seem to crave and respond to attention from a caring adult. A tough exterior may camouflage intense needs.

Bobby Jones, who says, "I depend on myself. I never fell back on nobody,"

also tells me that his YIEIP counselor, John, is "interested in me 'specially". Bobby says, "John can't play no favorites here; it wouldn't be right.

But I know he got an eye on me 'specially, cause he know I got the potential."

The need for adult support and role models is so great that young people

sometimes project inappropriate images that cannot be sustained., Jean Ansel

formed an unusually close bond with her drug counselor, one of the first

adults she met who was willing to treat her as an equal. This relationship

led to some disillusionment:

My drug counselor, Gloria, now she came...got to know me.

We were seeing each other as friends for about two years.

She's about the only one I ever let know everything that

I was thinking. When she's working, she's a very strong
59

person. And I always wanted that kind of strength for

myself--the way she could work out problems and just go

through with things--1 always wanted that. But as a

person, she was really very messed up. I got to know

her as a friend, you knew, on the side. I found out that

she was really messed up inside. Like, she didn't know

her own life, what was going on, you know, in her home

situation or her social life.

Perhaps the most fortunate youth are those with access to successful

adults who have enough self-knowledge and control over their own lives to

be able to respond to a young person with generosity and objectivity.

David Anderson was lucky enough to encounter such a person in the group

home to which he was assigned by the juvenile court:

One of the best things about it here has been Mathew--

Mathew Tyler, he's one of the house parents. I admire

him more than anybody. I wouldn't want to be a group

home parent, but I'd. like to be as straight as Mathew.

Be as honest and know how I'm feeling all the time.-

And know how to deal with different situations and with

each person that comes in.

Future Families

Family background and early experiences in the home exert strong influences throughout adult life. For the young people in the case study

group, family experience is still a dominant force that shapes their concepts of themselves and the world around them. The interview transcripts

testify that family related issues are of major concern to the case study

participants. They frequently think, and sometimes worry, about their

family relationships and earlier experiences at home, and they tend to project their futures in terms of possible family roles.

What kinds of future family lives do these young people envision for

themselves? We live in a time when family structures are changing. Some

believe that family life in its more traditional forms is dying. However,

most of the young case study participants have images of family life that

are not radically different from those their parents probably held. The

majority of case study participants envision both marriage and children in

their own futures, and they hope to establish harmonious households.

Interestingly, the young men in the case study group held family aspirations that were generally more traditional than those held by the young

women. This tended to be true regardless of differences in their early

family backgrounds. Of the 12 young men in the case study group, only one

didn't plan on marriage, and all said that they wanted to be fathers. The

average male partici' ant in the group thought he would like to have three

children. The young men with the most traditional views favored later marriage and equated marriage with the ability to support A family. These
60

youths tended, to have more definite career goals than did other young men

in the case-study group. Although only a few male participants said they

would "require" their wives to stay at home even if they "really wanted to

work", most would prefer to be the chief source of family support. These

young men felt it was beat if the woman was home "taking care of things"

particularly if there were young children in the family. The following comments are representative of this group:

I wouldn't really want her to work. At least until the

children are in school, she ought to stay home and take

care of 'em. And then she could work part -time so she

would be at home when they get home.

Uh, I'd rather support her and the children. If she

wants to work, maybe...I mean I could see the point in

not wanting to be a housewife and constantly in the

home. If she can work and be a parent at the same time

and take care of the house too...If she couldn't, then

I really wouldn't want her working.

No, I don't think it's a good idea for women to work.

She should take care of the house--stuff like that.

Well, if she just wanted to have a ..11) like at an A Ex W,

or something...I don't think that's necessary. If she

had a career, that might be different. But when children

are small, they need to be tended to. She will need to

make sure they're tended to, first and foremost.

Several other young men also wanted marriage and a family but were willing to consider a more innovative and equitable assignment of family roles.

They thought their future wives would probably want to work, and they planned

to play at least a helping role in household tasks, like cleaning and cooking.

When asked how he felt about mothers working when their children were small,

Mark Gurney replied:

Depends on how old they are. But I think it's up to both

...not one-sided...or not just one that's handling it all.

If I said she had to do such and such, that'd be onesided. You either both work...and if the kids are not

old enough, then one of us would work part-time and the

other could work part-time too.

In regard to their family plans, female case study participants fell

into three major groups. Less than one-third of the female participants

fit into traditional patterns. When asked what they planned to be doing

at age 35, these young women envisioned their futures in terms of motherhood and marital status. They planned to be-married-by-the.tAme-they were

in their early twenties. Most felt 19 to 21 was the "best" age for marriage. They wanted two to four children each, and they wanted to have

their first child before age 25.
61

These young women believed that the wife should bear the major responsibility for running the household, but most of them expected that their

husbands would "help out" with housekeeping chores. Tina Middleton was

already contemplating marriage to her boyfriend though she believed they

should live together first for a year or so. Her comments were typical of

the more traditional young women:

Well, ideally, I'm sure Rick would help out. I mean, I

might do a lot of the cleaning and stuff, but some things

we could share. Rick really likes to cook. In school

nowadays there's almost as many boys taking cooking as

girls. Even my grandfather likes to cook. He doesn't

make all of the meals or anything, but he does like to

cook.

I don't know. The father's really important in the family,

but he can be around mostly on weekends. But I think the

mother should be home all the time. I mean, the father

can be there after work end all. The father's real important, but not as important as the mother.

All of the young women in the case study group said they intended to

work after marriage, but those in the most traditional segment planned to

leave the labor force following the birth of children and to stay at home

until their youngest child was at least school age. Most saw this "mothering" period as a positive responsibility rather than as an obligation. As

one young woman said: "I wouldn't want to be working and miss the part

when they're first growing up; that's the best part of motherhood." These

young women expect their future husbands to support the family alone while

their children are young.

About half of the young women in the case study group favored later

marriages and planned to play less traditional roles. None of the young

women in this second segment of the case study group planned to marry before her late twenties, and several said they thought 30 to 35 was the

ideal age for marriage. Most said they wanted only one or two children,

but several wanted three or more children, though they weren't so sure

about how marriage fit in. All but one of the teenage mothers were in this

second group; and rather than being eager for immediate marriage partners,

some of these young mothers thought it best to raise their children before

considering marriage. They seemed to see a husband as someone who might

compete with their children for their time and attention rather than as a

help-mate or rescuer.

The second group of young women differed from the first group in regard to their attitudes toward work. They did not see their future husbands as family breadwinners. Most planned to keep working through married

life with only short breaks for childbearing. Their motivations for future

work roles were sometimes idealistic and sometimes quite pragmatic.
Why would I want to work? To live! Cause if you don't

work you ain't got no money and you can't live.

You can't get through life just sitting around not doing

nothing, you know. You can't get what you want. That's

one thing. Besides, I always wanted to work--make something or do something--cause it's just...during the-day

there's nothing to do just sitting at home.

I'd like to be doing good, you know. I want to work. I

just can't picture myself in the house, sitting at home.

That's just not for me.

I'd like to be a very famous doctor.

I can. It will be hard when I have

be with them as most of the time as

couldn't be there all the time, you

Helping everybody

children. I would

I could, but I

know.

62

A third, and smaller group, of female case study participants had plans

that didn't fit at all into traditional patterns. All of the young women

this group were career oriented, though their career expectations were

very different. Only one thought she might marry, and she planned to wait

until after she was 40. Only one of these young women planned to have children. Each of these female participants czme from a home where, after a prolonged period of conflict, her parents had divorced. Only one continued to

live with her mother after the divorce. None had a close relationship with

her father. Although each associated positive images with her career choice

and intention to remain single, all carried negative impressions as well of

the potential hazards in marriage and family life.

By age 30, I'd like to have all my schooling completed.

I'll have a job with a good challenge--interpreting for

legal affairs or working with speech therapy. From what

I've seen now, I don't want to get married. If I ever

changed my mind, it would be years from now. But I don't

think I ever will Married life can be just too rough.

Jean Ansel

I'd like to be a beautician. And I'd be living on my own.

I might have children, but I don''t want no husband. Not

at least until I'm 40.

Yvette McDerm

I'd like to be working in a fairly high position out at

the Forest Service--something like that anyway. I don't

expect to marry, and 1 don't plan to have children. The

reason is because I like independence and freedom a lot.

Heidi Clark
63

I hope I can make it as a carpenter. I can see myself

sitting on a rocking chair with my cat beside me and a

house with a fence around it. Oh, I would be just sitting there making a guitar. Or I could change the situation around and say, 'the house that I just built for

myself'--something like that. Just be...be happy. I'm

a feminist. I don't believe in marriage. I don't like

the idea. It kind of bores me. I mean, I favor choice.

If a woman wants to work, go to work. If she wants to

be a housewife, let her be a housewife. Most women with

any...with anything, will want to work. Men should figure that out when they get married. I mean, if they figure they're going to get married to have someone watch

the kids while they work, then they don't expect that

other person wants to work and expand themselves, that's

almost crazy!

Sandy Bonds

The young people it the case study group are still trying on roles.

It is not realistic to assume that they will live out their lives exactly

as they have planned them at this point in time. But their family plans

do reflect some of their basic values and expectations. From the participants' comments, we can see how their plans are influenced by early family

experiences as well as by their observation and understanding of the outside world. Most of the case study participants intend to marry and establish families of their own. Some want to emulate their parents, but most

hope to establish households that are more harmonious, stable, and financially successful than those in which they grew up. Though there is considerable disagreement between male and female case study participants

about the roles that they should play as husbands and wives, both groups

agree that economic security is a key to successful family life. Most of

the young men and women in the case study group believe that their own

employment status will be a critical element in determining the quality of

their future family lives.

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64

III. COMMUNITY LIFE

This community could be better. Like people could be

helping each other more instead of putting each other

down. Some people won't take the time. Like there's

not too many things around here for kids. Kids are

getting smarter, but there's nothini for 'em to do but

get into trouble. If people would get together more

and start helping each other more, things could be

better.

Adam Sledge

Community life plays an important role in the development of young people and the perspectives from which they view life. How young people define

themselves and go about choosing the roles they will play in adult life depend to a large extent on their interaction with others. Most youth grow up

in families and receive academic instruction from public schools, but these

institutions exist within the broader framework of communities. The welfare

of the community relies on individual members who are able to perceive their

own interests in terms of common bonds and who are willing to make decisions

and abide by rules that support the common good. Though youth may receive

formal indoctrination in school on the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democratic system, it is through their actual dealings with those

around them--in their neighborhoods and local communities--that the true

basis is laid for the definition and assumption of roles in broader society.

The quality of community life has an impact on the immediate well-being

of the young as well as on their future lives in society. The case studies

suggest that young people are astute observers of community life. The case

study participants believe that their lives are affected by the attitudes and

behavior of adults in the community. They reap the benefits if the community at large sees youth as a resource and is willing to support activities and

programs that help to integrate young people into community life in positive

ways. In communities where teenagers are viewed in negative terms, as potential trouble-makers whose needs are of interest only to their parents, they

are cut off from opportunities for meaningful contribution and may retaliate

from alienation or boredom by becoming a community nuisance.

To a certain extent, youth will fulfill whatever expectations are placed

on them by the community. Mary Conway Kohler, founder and executive director

of the National Commission of Resources for Youth, Inc., believes, "We tend

to trivialize young people in this country. We don't take them seriously

enough, and we don't realize their tremendous potential for the kind of work

that teaches responsibility and makes true contribution and independence possible in later years." That young people are both willing and capable of

contributing to their communities in positive ways is demonstrated by the experiences of several case study participants. Mark Westgate shares his mustcal talent with others in the community through participation in civic theatre

7
65

productions. Jessica Jackson represents the views of other young people and

helps in the creation of program policy through participation on the youth

employment and training advisory council in her county. Young people, like

Sven Latoka, who worked on YCCIF neighborhood service projects point with

pride to the tangible evidence of their work and its impact on the appearance of the community.

Though sous of the case study participants believed they were making

positive contributions to their communities, there were other young people

in the case study group who either felt no sense of connection to the community, or who had defined their roles outside of communal interests and socially acceptable frameworks. "I'm a loner; I stick to myself, and I don't

need nobody else," was a comment typical of a number of participants. Others

were dependent on society and knew it; they or their families, relied on

public welfare for support, and this dependency was felt by some to be stigmatizing evidence of their inadequacy in the community. A few case study

participants had channeled considerable energy into illegal activities, like

shoplifting, burglary, or drug dealing, that reflected a negative identification with conventional values. Several others had retreated for some period

of time into alcholism or drug addiction.

Row do young people view the neighborhoods and communities in which they

live? What do the case study participants have to say about their own roles

in community life --both positive and negative? The quality of community life

and the views that the participants carried away from their experiences varied widely within the case study group. MUth. of this divergence was related

to differences in geographic settings and community profiles. Let's examine

the experiences of young people in different kinds of communities.

Rural Areas and Small Towns

I've lived here all my life, and I like Rexburg a lot.

All my family's arOund here..my grandparents, my uncles

and aunts...everybody's here. It's my home. Sometimes

though, I go out on a Friday night and there's not too

much to do. But I like Rexburg. I like the small town

life.

Joy Tippets

Joy Tippets lives in Rexburg, Michigan, a small farming community that's

a half-hour drive from Kalamazoo. She is one of nine study participants who

live in the small towns or rural areas of Kalamazoo and Kitsap counties.

Kitsap County is a peninsula in the Puget Sound region of Western Washington. Bremerton, Kitsap County's largest city, has a population of only

37,000. The rest of Kitsap's 116,000 people live in the wooded countryside

or tiny towns that nestle in the hills along the county's extensive shoreline.

Seattle, the major city in the Northwest, is over an hour's ride by ferry boat

from Bremerton.
66

Kalamazoo County is in Western Michigan. Nearly half the county's

200,000 people live in or near the City of Kalamazoo, an established manufacturing center with a busy shopping area, a university, and many stately

Victorian homes. The city is surrounded by flat expanses of Michigan farmland dotted with smaller community centers like Cooper, Galesburg, Oshtemo,

and Schoolcraft.

Kalamazoo and Kitsap are thousands of miles apart, and they differ dramatically in climate and landscape; but they encompass communities and life

styles that are similar in many important respects. Each county has an urban core in which population and economic activity is centered, and each has

extensive outlying areas that are more rural than suburban. What is community life like for young people who live outside the urban centers?

Life clearly has different dimensions for those who live in the country

than it does for city dwellers. To begin with, there is the expansiveness

of sheer physical space. Young people like Lynn Hazelton, who can walk for

20 acres from her home before coming to another house, have access to a kind

of privacy that would be impossible to achieve in more densely populated

areas. Most of the case study participants who lived in rural settings were

appreciative of the spaciousness and natural beauty of their surroundings.

Some could scarcely imagine life in a crowded city:

I've got my trees and animals, and I like being around

nature. I wouldn't want to live in a city. I don't

think I could live without animals around. All those

people so close together and everything...

Tina Middleton

I like to see the seasons change. Winters and summers,

each has its good parts. Picking berries in the fall...

stuff like that, you know, it wouldn't be the same in

the city.

David Anderson

like the land. I wouldn't never ive in the city.

If I ever get a house, it has to be on at least five acres

--room for at least one horse.

Mark Gurney

In small towns and rural areas, where people tend to know their neighbors, a stronger and more cohesive sense of community seems to prevail. Being

known in the community provides a sense of security for some young people,

like Joy Tippets, who spend their lives surrounded by relatives, long time

friends, and neighbors. The closer knit social fabric of small communities
67

and the high d:igree of personal visibility can also result in the kind of

supervision and potential for exposure that make it difficult. for young people to get into trouble. "You gotta watch what you do around here," one

young man said. "I know the police officersand just about everyone else

for that matter. If they see me do anything, my parents would hear about

it for sure."

Small, stable communities may support a variety of activities that

teach young people traditional values and skills. Small town and rural participants in the case study group were more likely than others to have been

actively involved in organizations like 4-H, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and

Explorers. Sports, particularly high school football, baseball, and basketball, are typically supported avidly by the entire community. Outdoor activities like hunting and fishing offer another source of recreation that

often involves both young people and their parents or other adults. Several

case study participants said they frequently spent time working or playing

outdoors with their families.

Geographic isolation increases the dependency of non-urban dwellers on

the automobile. In the less populatecLcommunities of Kitsap and Kalamazoo

counties, the distances between participants' homes, schools, and places of

work preclude walking, and bus service is non-existent. The social activities that these young people :enjoy, like movies, bowling, and trips to the

city, also depend on private transportation. Young people in the small

towns and rural areas covered by the case studies were much more likely to

have cars than were urban dwelling participants. In several cases, participants had enrolled in YEDPA programs primarily to earn the money to buy or

operate a car of their own. In addition to being a necessity for some and

a significant expense for most, cars also seemed to be a major source of

recreation for young men in small towns and rural areas. One participant

from a small Kalamazoo township said:

In the summer that's all you hear twenty-four hours a

day are stock cars. There's young guys all over here

with stock cars--working on the races, cycles up and

down the road...You don't get any sleep in the summer.

While rural and small town life provides comfort and security for some

young people, its cohesiveness and clannishness makes others feel confined

or excluded. The community ties which link some persons exclude others who

reject or transgress communal definitions. While poverty alone is rarely a

basis for condemnation in such communities, young people whose older brothers and sisters have been in trouble, whose parents are unemployed, or whose

families receive welfare may be unfairly stigmatized. Most of the case study

participants who lived in don-urban areas described their neighbors as friendly and easy to get along with, but others complained about the "nosiness" of

people in small towns. One young, single mother said:

What's bad over here is people talking about you. Everybody's trying to know your business all the time. I just

want to be with my Little boy and my boyfriend. I'd like

to get away from all that talk...live my life. It's okay

here, but it just ain't for me.
68

The young person who enjoys growing up in a small town is more apt to

experience its confinement as he or she gets older. Employment opportunities

are limited in rural areas. Part-time and seasonal work typically pays lower

than minimum wage, and full-time jobs for high school graduates are scarce

in small communities. The case study participants who planned to stay and

make their adult lives in these communities were often willing to forfeit

broader opportunities for the benefits of non-urban life. Some dreamed of

travel; they talked of going to California or to Florida to escape Washington's rain or Michigan's snow, but most thought they would eventually settle

down in a small town or in the country rather than in a large city. Others

were frustrated by the limitations of their communities and were eager to

get out in the world. "I won't be in Hillcrest much longer," Linda Larsen

said "There's just nothing here for me. There's more places that I have

to see before I decide exactly what I'm going to do."

City Life

This is my home town, but I have nothing I like about it

really...The community looks filthy. That right there...

and the crime...It's no place for little old ladies, nr

any ladies, I suppose. Boston, itself, or anywhere near

Boston...you can move out to the suburbs...but anywhere

in Boston you have to watch out. And people's attitudes...

You see a group of people--for a long time people were

friendly around here--now everybody's running around,

trying to put one over whenever they can, you know. That's

the big change, really.

e, Sven Latoka

Sven Latoka lives in Jamaica Plain. Like Hyde Park, Roxbury, and Dorchester, Jamaica Plain is a Boston neighborhood. About 45,000 Bostonians

live in Jamaica Plain. Though it's not the inner city, its environment is

far from suburban. Once the home of European immigrants, who lived in

neatly painted wood frame houses and worked in its tanneries and breweries, Jamaica Plain has become a neighborhood of sharp contrasts. In the

north, there is the Bromley-Heath public housing project with predominantly

black and Hispanic residents; then there is the largely Spanish-speaking

Hyde Square. Next is the central business district, which is encompassed

by the white working class and a growing number of young white professionals. And to the south are Jamaica Pond and Moss Hill, enclaves of the wellto-do.

Racial, ethnic, and political tensions run high in Jamaica Plain. In

the 1970's the minority population, mostly black and Hispanic, has grown

from 16 percent to 33 percent. Many white residents are alarmed by the minority influx. The concerns of the Summer Hill Association, which represents

a largely middle class area in south Jamaica Plain, have little in common

with the agenda of the Tenant Management Corporation at the Bromley-Heath

7:3
69

housing project to the north. The Latoke family belong to the white working-class portion of the community and Sven admits that he is "prejudiced":

"I don't like the Puerto Ricans, and I don't like the black people. They're

closing in on this place."

In its ethnic and racial diversity, Jamaica Plain is different from the

all white neighborhoods of South Boston and the predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhoodi of Roxbury. But in its extremity of polarization and

racial tension, Jamaica Plain is a mirror of the larger community. There

is little question that the court-ordered city-wide busing of school children and the acts of violence it triggered have served to exacerbate the

sense of mistrust and animosity which prevails among different racial and

ethnic groups in Boston. When asked what they felt were the major problems

in their community, every one of the Boston case study participants talked

about racial problems and neighborhood fighting. Five of these participants

are black, one is Hispanic. Four live in dilapidated public housing projects in Dorchestei By mutually accepted definition, these non-white participants and Sven Latoka are opponents, but their views on community life

are not that different:

I would have to say the worst thing about it here is

people not liking each other. Wherever you go around

here, it's just like that. In this city, racial problems is really bad. In the neighborhoods, you know,

seem like it's the same way. Even if you're the same

color...It don't make no sense. It really start from

the grown people down. What they say goes down to

the kids, and, you know, so on.

Bobby Jones

Where I'm living at? Not no community up there. Not

really, cause some people are prejudiced. There's always fights up there.

Felisa Santana

Boston's the most prejudiced place, most prejudiced,

most racist. Too much killin' and stuff, I mean no

freedom to go where you wanna go and stuff like that.

I don't wanna live like that all my life. I don't

want my kids to grow up livin' like that. Yeah, there's

white people here, an there's black people there, and

the Puerto Ricans live over there. You know, it's just

'like you stay here, and I'll stay there, and I'll stay

over there. I don't want my kids to live like Itlived.

Genetta Burke
70

White people come over here to the project at night in

cars, trying to run people down. Then when the police

catch them and stuff, they, you know, they say they're

lost. But when we catch 'em in here or something and,

you know, we do anything to 'em, they're looking for us

then. But they over here starting their troubles themselves, Cause we don't go over there, you know. If

it's done in Victoria Point, there's no way they're gonna

get blamed for it. People in the community figger it's

us, you know, cause it happened out here. But they come

into here, and they do everything and we get the blame.

Adam Sledge

Racial animosity and inter-neighborhood conflict serve to restrict the

geographic parameters in which the Boston participants live their lives. Despite an efficient city-wide transportation system, most of these young people limit their activities to the confines of their own neighborhoods. Enrollment in youth employment projects is sometimes limited by residential

locality. Several YCCIP and YIEPP projects were based in community centers

that were located in, or near, public housing complexes. Apart from occasional excursions to the downtown business area, which is "free territory",

some participants rarely leave the housing projects where they live and

work. Genetta Burke lives in a changing Dorchester neighborhood. She is

careful not to venture into enemy turf. A segment from one of Cenetta's

interviews illustrates the considerations that affect her movement through

the city.

G: Simmons Street, where I live, it's all blacks--well, mostly black people. But then there's this next street right

there, and we can't go on this street. Yeah, we can't

go down there at all.

I: Why.

G: Why? (laughter) Cause we'd get jumped.

I: So this street next to you is white?

C: Yeah. And they got a lotta racists down there. They got

a big park there too. And if you go down to the park;

they all hassle you. You'd get jumped, for sure. You

might say it's kind of a dividing line. They live on

the next street over. The park's right in the middle,

and you can't even go that way.

Is that a problem for you? Not being able to take your

kids to the park?
71

G: Well, no. Not that park. You know, there's other parks,

where we go. But they're like further away from where

we live.

Apart from your neighborhood and the park, do you feel

like there's other places in the city where you can't

go? Places where you wouldn't feel safe?

Yeah. Yeah, lots. Like Charlestown, East Boston...I

won't go near it. Every time somebody tries to get me

to go to like Charles Street, you know, I think, "Nah,

I don't wanna go down there, cause I might get jumped!"

They say, "Aw, we won't get jumped." But how do you

know? I don't take chances.

I: Well, did you ever actually...

G: No, I never got jumped. Well, I almost got jumped by

some white boys, but thwv some people came along and

they run off. I did get jumped though by black girls--

five black girls. But never, you know, by white people.

I: But you feel you have to be pretty careful?

C: Yeah, around our way, you do. The train station, you

know, is in their area, but you can go there. They

don't usually bother the women, black women. But, you

know, sometimes they jump the guys. But it's not just

them. It's just that, you know, the black people around

where I live, they be...um, you know...They'll knock you

down, take your pocketbook--stuff like that.

So it's not safe even in...

G: No, it's not. I wouldn't feel safe livin' there even if

it was just all black. I wouldn't want to live there.

I'd rather live around all kinds of people. I want my

kids to grow up integrated, with non-racist people. To

be able to associate with any kind of people.

Even within the confines of their own neighborhoods or housing projects,

the Boston case study participants didn't seem to find a reprieve from conflict. Though residents will rally against threats from the outside, most

of the time a climate of mistrust and dissension seem to prevail within the

neighborhoods. Some participants said they were not able to trust many of

their neighbors. They doubted the credibility of friendship and felt their

only alternative was to keep to themselves.

When my older sister was up here first, she was telling

me how good it was--how good she could make it. So we

decided to come up here...which was a big mistake. It
72

Looked all right at first. Then I seen projects, all the

tracts and stuff...looked like a jail or a prisoner's

camp, like in the war. And I found out there was a whole

lot of racism up here, and just people hating each other.

I never fought until I got here. I keep to myself, but

there's no way you can live without fighting here. I really don'! know. I don't associate with people much.

I just like to be by myself. There's nothing here that

I want. That's why I'll be leaving soon.

Harold Thomas

When I was growin' up here even, there was a lot of white

people. But we never even associated with them. I'd

really like to, you know, associate with different people.

Because the people here--1 mean if you really look at it--

they don't...I mean the girls especially...I don't associate much with other women, because the simple fact is

they always out to stab you in the back. You know, like

tryin' to met you. Or either they're tryin' to talk to

you because they like your old man or something. klaybe

other people are different. Like if you get a friend,

it's a real friend...not some half-steppin' friend, somebody that'll come into your house, you know, smile in

your face, and then take somethin' out of your house the

next minute. I don't need people like that around me.

But those are the only kind of people who seem to be

around me. I feel trapped myself because I can't enjoy

people. I can't relax and enjoy bein' with them. Livin'

around people you can't associate with...I can't live

like that. I can't stay to myself, you know. Well, I

can, because I've done it for a long time. But I don't

enjoy it.

Genetta Burke

Boston is a beautiful and historical city. For some it offers cultural,

educational, and social advantages comparable to few other areas of the country. For others, life in Boston means segregation, animosity, and limitationscompensated for only by welfare payments. Is the level of tension

and degree of social segregation found in Boston typical of big cities in

general? The experience of case study participants in Portland indicates

that another kind of urban life is possible.
73

A Different Kind of City

This is a neat town, man. I love it here. Portland

is baby soft compared to every other town I've lived

in. It's not rowdy; it's not dirty. That's what I

like. You can walk down the street and...well, there's

not a lot of trash, and drunks, and dead dogs and shit

laying all over the place. No one hassles you, and you

see nice clean streets.

Sandy Bonds

Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers in

northwestern Oregon, Portland is an attractive city. As in Boston, the

busy harbor and expanses of water lend added interest and beauty to the

cityscape. Though Portland lacks the historicity of Boston, it is a wellkept city that is not seriously eroded by physical decay. With a population of 385,000, Portland is only just over half the size of Boston, but

it is Oregon's largest urban center and holds the greatest concentration of

minorities in the state. Portland has its problems; it is not immune to

the issues of crowding, crime, racial discrimination, and youth unemployment that plague older urban centers. But the problems seem less serious

here, and the young people who live in Portland say they like their community.

None of the case study participants living in Portland reported negative views of city life. Some participants said they liked Portland just

because it was "home" and they couldn't imagine living somewhere else.

But recent arrivals like Tien Van Chin and Heidi Clark were more enthusiastic and specific:

Well, I think this place is better than some other

places. People are friendly, everything look nice, and

not too much air pollution.

I love the way it's green all the time here. There

seems to be a sort of togetherness about the people

that live here...much more so than other places I've

lived. Sort of a friendly atmosphere here most of the

time; I've noticed that especially, and I like it

The city covers a wide geographic area with many different neighbor

hood centers. Bus service is good in Portland, and participants seemed to

move freely around the city, though some complained about the distances they

had to travel each day between their homes and jobs. Portland has a dec?ntralized, well-coordinated system for dispensing youth employment and training services. Access to YETP and YCCIP projects was not restricted by geographic location within the city.
74

Minority case study participants from Portland included two IndoChinese, one Native American, and three black young people. None of the

non-white participants in Portland believed that racial discrimination

played a major role in his or her own life. Though the Portland participants were aware of recent increases in criminal activity in the city (and

some had been personally involved in criminal acts), they all reported that

their neighborhoods were safe places to live. The freedom from fear of

physical attack shown by the Portland participants was more pervasive than

that shown by the few participants who lived in the City of Kalamazoo, an

urban center less than one-fourth the size of Portland. Several Kalamazoo

residents said that they were afraid to walk through their neighborhoods at

night, but none of the Portland residents reported such fears.

Though the case study participants enjoyed life in Portland, and most

were satisfied with their own role in the community, about half of the Portland participants did not intend to make a permanent home there. Of those

that planned to Leave, most intended to move outside the city to smaller

towns or rural areas within the Northwest. But several participants wanted

to try life in a larger city. One who had plans for big city life was a

young Indo-Chinese man, Tien Van Chin. While Lui Hueyen, the other Vietnamese refugee in the case study grout, said she would prefer life in a small

town, like Coos Bay to life in Portland, Tien said: "If I have a chance to

go, I intend to move to a really big city, with lots of different types of

people. I will have more opportunity there."

Juvenile Cr

Sky-rocketing crime rates, particularly in the major urban centers of

the country are a symptom of dysfunctional community life. Young people are

both the victims and the perpetrators of a substantial portion of the crimes

committed in the United States. About 55 percent of all people arrested each

year are under the age of 22. The majority of young people convicted of serious crimes are white males, although a disproportionate number of minority

youth are convicted of lawbreaking. In recent years, there have been increases in the numbers of female juveniles involved in criminal and delinquent behavior. Juvenile crime is a serious problem in large cities with

a high concentration of low income, unemployed youth, but smaller cities

and suburbs have also experienced an increase in delinquent behavior among

the young.

Travis Rirschi, of the University of California at Berkeley, defines

delinquent behavior as the commission of acts, which, if detected, result in

the punishment of th person committing them by agents of the larger society.

According to this definition, juvenile delinquency is a widespread phenomer,,n. Hirschi believes that involvement of.youth in delinquent behavior is

Linked to three factors: (1) a lack of comMitment to conventional behavior

accompanied by the belief that there is little to be lost in risking one's

itvestment in conventional performance; (2) a lack of involvement or engrosszient in conventional activities which results in the time and energy to
75

pursue delinquent acts; and a lack of strong belief or sense of moral

obligation to conform to the rules of society regardless of personal advantage.

When viewed from this perspective, juvenile crime appears to be something more than random or senseless behavior. In some communities and some

circumstances, young people may see their future as so limited that their

interest in the rewards of conventional life is minimal, and they feel little

risk in engaging in criminal acts. If they have dropped out of school and

have not been able to find work, there is plenty of time and energy for illegal activity. Need constitutes a major motivation. Young people who lack

the money or means to satisfy their needs legitimately are more likely to

resort to illegitimate methods. Youth are aware of the incentives and precedents in our society for gaining desired objectives by illegal means or

at someone else's expense. Among even the non-criminal elements of the

community, there is considerable variation in the extent to which people

believe they should conform to the formal rules of society.

About one-half of the participants in the case study group reported no

encounters with the law, beyond an occasional traffic violation. But though

many had never been caught, most of the case study participants said they

had committed some kind of property offense during their teenage years.

These offenses ranged from the humorous and incidental--"When my horse

kicked a car and broke the window, I got scared and rode away."--to the

serious--"I had two thousand dollars worth of merchandise on me when I was

caught." in small towns and rural areas, the property offenses committed

by case study participants seemed to fit mostly in the category of mischievious pranks. Young people who painted obscenities on the water tower or who

took an old truck for a joy ride knew that they would get into trouble if

they were caught, but they were also aware that a certain amount of latitude

prevailed within the community for yout:.rul "high finks ".

In small towns or rural areas, the penalty for minor misdemeanors is

typically a call to one's parents and a police escort back home. Venturing

into trouble in the city can have more frightening repercussions, as Elvira

Taylor discovered:

My boyfriend and I went in this empty house one day. You

know how you just...I mean the door was open and all, and

you just want to walk through and see. We didn't take

nothing, but we turned the light on and someone must've

seen. The police came. They grabbed us and handcuffed

us...started reading us our rights and stuff. They

thought we were stealing. They finally let us go, but

it was real scary.

Next to the use of illegal substances, shoplifting was the crime most

frequently engaged in by the case study participants. About half of the

young people in the case study group admitted that they had stolen something

from a store at one time or another. Most said their shoplifting had been
76

limited to one or two ventures when they were 10 to 15 years old. Though

the punishment for youthful shoplifters who were apprehended was typically

not severe, some case study participants claimed that getting caught was a

major deterrent.

One time - -I'll never forget this cause I'll never do it

again - =I stole four candy bars from the store. They sat

me in jail for eight hours and nobody talked to me the

whole entire time. I just sat there. And I've never

stolen anything since then. It was really embarrassing.

Yvette McDermott

One time I got caught stealing cigarettes at the drug

store. They called up my parents. My dad gave me a

lickin'. I never did that again.

Sven Latoka

I got caught shoplifting. Oh, God, was I scared! It

was my first time doin' it, and it was my last time

too. Since it was my first time and I was young, they

just called my parents is all. They could see I felt

real bad so nobody did too much about it. My grandmom

was so disappointed in me - -that was the worst part.

Jessica Jackson

Several case study participants had been habitual shoplifters; and

while they claimed to have stopped, they also indicated that they didn't

think it was that "big a deal". (armeletta DeVries said, "I never did

anything bad--just shoplifting is all." She went on to explain that stealing from a store is much different than stealing from another person, because "stores expect a certain amount of it (stealing), and they can cover

it." Adam Sledge, who had been caught stealing a radio from a department

store said, "It wasn't nothin' serious--just shopliftin'. But it was my

second offense so I got probation." Luanne Clawson, a Boston participant

who claimed never to have stolen anything herself, offered the following

rather confused but revealing comments on the differences between the criminal acts of "girls" and "boys" and the motivations for juvenile theft.

The girls don't really steal that much...only if they're

out shoplifting, right? That's probably all. But if

you hear somebody rob a bank or shoot somebody, you know,

that's mostly boys. The girls, you know, shoplift. That's

all the girls do, is like shoplift clothes or something.

But me, myself, I never did anything like that. I think
that's bad. Even if you want

know. Like Bobby Jones, all

thing that he wanted real bad

have the money or nothing for

to take it if he really wants

now if I was in Bobby's shoes

too and everything...Well, if

aside each time, out of each

it all up and get whatever he

something or to hurt somebody

look on it that way.

something really bad, you

right, now if he seen some-

, you know, and he didn't

he has no choice but

it, right? All right, but

, you know...since he works

he just put a little money

check, then he could save

wants, It's wrong to steal

But some people just don't

77

Youth are much more likely to commit property offenses than violent

crimes. While 50 percent of all persons arrested for property offenses

each year are 18 or under, teenagers account for only about 25 percent of

those arrested for crimes of violence. Bobby Jones, the young man who was

used as a negative example by his classmate, Luanne Clawson, was the only

case study participant who had been convicted of a violent crime.

Bobby was 16 and a ninth grade dropout when he started getting into

trouble in the community. He stole marijuana from apartments in the project

to use himself and sell to friends. He says he also used to ri A around in

stolen cars. Bobby had been out of school and unemployed for six months

when he was arrested for unarmed robbery and sexual assault. Along with

four other young men, Bobby 1 Ad stolen some food stamps from a young woman

in the project. She was car-fing them in her pocket at the time. Bobby

claims there was no sexual assault:

Me and the four other dudes, we messed with the girl--

played with her is all. When she called the cops on

us, we didn't believe it, you know. Cuz we knew her

and everything...We couldn't believe she was really

serious.

Following ,their arrest, Bobby and his friends were kept in juvenile

detention for four days. Bobby's sister was asked to post $5,000 bail and

appear with him in court. Bobby was put on probation for three years. He

says that he had to pay a $125 court fee, which he "earned" through illegal

drug sales. Bobby never reported to a probation officer, and he has not

heard from the court since his sentencing. Though he was upset at what he

felt was unjust treatment, Bobby experienced no serious repercussions from

his first brush with the law, and he went on to get in more trouble. The

second time he was "caught", the potential punishment was more severe.

After that I used to ride around in stolen cars sometimes, but I never stole one. You

to go Steal one. But I still fool

ple of times. But then, you know,

I got tO realizin' that if you get

can happen. I can't see myself in

could never get me

around in 'em a cousomethin' happened.

caught for that what

no fail. That time
78

here in Boston, it was just boring. We played pool,

watched TV, eat, got to sleep. It was an experience- -

that was all. But there was one other time...much worse.

This is wh!le I was in the program, not too long ago. I

went to Baltimore for a vacation with a friend of mine.

Me and my cousin and his friend, and their two girlfriends,

we was riding around 'A a stolen car. My friend went off

to go over to his friend's house. And we got caught.

I got caught. He didn't.

I had to stay down there. They had a blizzard down.

there in Baltimore, and we got caught in it. It started snowin' when we first got down there. I was in jail.

First I was in their police station--it's like jail,

you know. I was in sentry there from Sunday night till

Wednesday afternoon. Then we got put into the cf.ty jail.

My'people--my aunt and my grandmother come in Friday and

got me out. They could've got me out earlier, but the

blizzard...

This jail is ten blocks wide. Like a penitentiary or

somethin'. I was in jail with grown men--hoods, faggots,

gays, everything. You should see it! It was a trip.

They had men in there that looked just like women! That

experience...after that...That made me realize that I

couldn't do no more crime. If anything would've happened to me, they would've had to kill me to do it. I

met some dudes from the jail house that got transferred

over with me. That was lucky. We was together, and nobody really tried nothin'. But there were dudes in there

who were pimping the faggots for five dollars and stuff

like that. I was seared when I went over there. Cause

it's real bigreal big. And you don't know what could

happen to you.

I was lucky really. I got let go. Cause `t was a first

time. Instead of giving me a sentence, they let me go

back to Boston. Plus my aunt got me a good lawyer. I think I was very lucky. The judge told me I could've

got five years. They're really strict down there. 'Dept

for bein' in jail, nothin' bad happened over it. My

people, they didn't tell anybody up here. Anything can

happen. But, you know, it was just a bad mistake on my

part. After that I really realized that I couldn't do

nothin' else. Cause the goin' to jail.../t was real

scary.
79

For Bobby Jones, spending t3 e in a big city jail with adult criminals

was a frightening but instructive experience. Whether the experience will

act as a permanent deterrent or merely an introduction to criminal life remains to be seen. Each year about 100.000 youth under 18 are placed in

adult jails or police lockups. The average length of time a young person

is held in jail is six days, but many are held for longer periods awaiting

court appearances., A 1976 study by the Children's Defense Fund of the Washington Research Project found that the period of incarceration for youth in

many cases was not directly related to the period stipulated by state laws.

And, unlike Bobby Jones, many of the young people who are incarcerated each

year have committed no criminal offense. Jails, detention homes, and training schools are filled with youth whose only crime has been disobedience or

unruliness. In New York State, one survey showed that 43 percent of children

in jail were status offenders.

Although state laws differ, status offenses commonly cover some seven

categories of behavior: (1) disobedience of "reasonable" orders of parents

or custodians; (2) running away from home; (3) truancy; (4) disobedience of

the "reasonable" orders of school authorities; (5) acts which are permissible

for adults but are offenses when children commit them, such as possessing alcohol or tobacco, or frequenting pool halls or taverns; (6) sexual immorality,

sometimes called leading a "lewd and immoral life", or being a "wayward"

child; and (7) acting in a manner injurious to oneself or others.

Status offenders are often held by authorities for longer periods than

more hardened juvenile offenders, because their parents are more reluctant

to take them back home. David Anderson, whose parents had him declared "uncontrollable" because of his frequent fights with younger siblings, spent

43 days in a juvenile detention facility before finally being assigned to

a group home. Prolonged confinement does not make status offenders better

behaved or less hostile to their parents and society, and there is widespread

agreement that some revisions of the antiquated status offender laws is overdue. One school of reform would limit the sanctions that courts can levy on

such children, forbidding them to be placed in jails, detention homes, or

training schools and focusing on family counseling, probation, and, if necessary, placement in a group home as more appropriate remedies.

Counseling services provided through the juvenile justice system were

of considerable benefit to at least one of the young offenders in the case

study group. Shunted back and forth between hlr parents, foster homes, and

friends, Sandy Bonds went through years of getting into trouble and being

hauled into jail before she finally got the kind of intensive counseling

that could help her to achieve perspective on her problems and develop selfresp- !c. I was busted for selling acid, selling pot, selling...

oh, pills and things...for drinking too. When I lived

in New Mexico. the drinking age was 21. I drank constantly, and I was always getting busted for that.

Seemed like every weekend I would get busted and hauled
80

off to jail Then I'd go before a judge, and he'd spank

my hands and say, "Don't do that anymore."

I also had problems at school. I started a couple of

riots actually. There was this little group, this gang

in school, I used to run around with. And we'd pick on

certain people we knew couldn't do anything to us. It

got to where it would be thirty people in one group and

another thirty people, and we'd just start fighting each

other outside during lunch or something. Everybody would

harrass each other, just be real mean. There was some

police patrols brought in for a couple days. They tried

to find out who the problem kids were in the groups and

kind of zero in and talk to them. I heard if they got

your name, you would get kicked out of school, and you'd

become the custody of the court and all this stuff.

But it wasn'' like that at all. I got put on probation,

and all. I got this really good P.O. officer, Susan

Fisher, that I told you about before. I had to go to a

treatment facility. The whole time I went there I was

in a kind of psycho-therapy thing. I had a couple different psychiatrists talk to me. They had established

me as "emotionally unstable". It was kind of strange

with them, but my P.O. officer was the best. Everybody

told me I was better than what I had been. That's the

main thing. I got pumped into my head, "you're not a

bad kid," and "show yourself what you can do."

At the time I didn't understand, but it made me realize

a lot of things. It, uh, I'm just glad they did it. Be.

cause if they hadn't, I wouldn't of been able to sit

here and talk to you. I wouldn't be working. I've got

more self-respect now, and you need to have that to do

anything. I mean, how can you make a decision about

yourself if you don't know yourself and you don't re.

spect yourself? How can you make a E224 decision for

yourself? It's almost impossible. You've got to know

something about yourself before you can make any good

decisions.

Other case stt...y participants were less fortunate than Sandy in their

dealings with the legal system. Several young people who were involved in

only minor infractions were treated with hostility and suspicion by law enforcement authorities. Jessica Jackson reported two encounters with the

law. One had occurred several years earlier after she ran auay to California with a girlfriend. The other, more recent, incident involved a violation for impeding traffic when the muffler fell off her car. In both encounters, Jessica felt the attitude of the authorities who were involved

were unfairly condemning.
81

After I ran away with my girlfriend, I was put on probation. I'd never done anything bad before, and I was real

sorry. But Mr. Casey, my probation officer...I hated

that man with a passion! He said that I was too mature

for my age. He said that I was too developed. So he

made me go to Jackson Park and get pregnancy tests all

the time. I didn't even have a boyfriend. But he

wouldn't let me stay with my mother on weekends. He'd

take me out to the case worker's house and make me stay

there. A couple times she made me babysit her little

boy while she went out drinking. One time her husband

came home, and they got into a fight. I had to sit

there and watch this. Finally my grandmother went in

and told Mr. Casey off, and after that he left me alone.

This is a small town, and I know most of the cops on

the force. They're good guys, and I have nothing against

them...except for John O'Reilly, the guy who gave me the

ticket a few weeks ago. I don't think he treated me

fairly. He turned on his lights and his siren and pulled

me over. I didn't drop my muffler on purpose, you know,

but I couldn't get two words in to explain. He came over

to my door and said (gruffly): "Get into my police car."

I felt like--the way he talked to me--I felt like I was

the cop trying to be reasonable with him, and he was the

teenager. He took my driver's license and just threw it

in my lap. I said, "You have my insurance form there."

And he said, "Shut up, young lady, I'm not done with it

yet." I'm not some smart aleck teenager! I have total

respect for my elders. If they treat me like dirt, I

won't say nothing to them. I told this detective on the

force all about what happened. He said, "Plead not guilty,

tell the judge what happened and also tell him how the

officer treated you." And he's darn right I'm going to,

because I don't feel I'm a trouble-making teenager, and

I don't want to be treated like one!

While some young people seem to engage in illegal activities sporadically, without much forethought or understanding of their own behavior and

its effects on the community, other youth plan criminal acts with deliberation and may feel ethically justified in committing them. Douglas Giscard

began a two year burglary career by robbing donation boxes in Catholic churches. Given his history of conflict with strait-laced parents and parochial

school officials, it seemed to him like poetic justice.

It was an easy way to make money, and I -Lally felt justified in doing it. We used to pick out a .1rch almost

every weekend. They had little poor boxer they'd

put bills through the little slots. We'd g_ in the back

and put our combs down there, catch the bills in the teeth
82

and pull 'em up, There were always wealthy people that

went to the churches, and they would put twenties and

stuff in there every so often.

Douglas was living on his own when he began burglarizing houses, He

had no job and no ties with parents, school, or conventional, organized

activities. Douglas is an intelligent, methodical, and not particularly

Lggressive young man. He says that he never wanted to hurt anyone; he needed money and burglary seemed a logical and not too risky way to go about

getting it. He learned the techniques of a burglar in much the same way

that young people learn more conventional skills:

How did I figure out? Well, I watched people. I knew it was going on, you know, ever since I was a child.

Our house had been burglarized and I was real curious at

the time. I learned a few tricks from older friends on

how to do it the fastest and easiest ways. There's really no stopping burglars once they know what they're doing.

It's hard to catch 'em.

Douglas' burglary career came to an abrupt halt when he was arrested.

He says, "I was handled reasonably and fairly by the police. I was caught

red-handed in the process. I was guilty." After being held for four days

in jail, Douglas had a preliminary hearing in juvenile court at which he

pled guilty. He was released in his own custody and later placed ad probation. Douglas knows he got off "easy" because he had no previous arrests.

He was nearly 18 years old and could have been remanded to adult court,

where the penalty would likely have been much stiffer.

Fortunately, the caseworker assigned to Douglas by the court realized

that he needed a job which would offer him a challenge and the opportunity

to participate in the community in a positive way. Through a referral to

the YETP program, Douglas was hired by a non-profit agency providing emergency services for runaways and other youth living away from their parents.

Douglas easily established rapport with the agency's staff and clients, and

he was able to channel the energy that he had previously expended in illegal ventures into work that benefitted himself and the community.

Alcohol and Drugs

The use of alcohol and other drugs for social occasions, recreation,

and relief of tension or boredom is a feature of modern life that permeates

nearly all segments of the community. The line between use and abuse of

'such substances is a narrow one. Unless the law or community standards of

behavior are flagrantly violated, the consumption of alcohol, prescription

drugs, and other mood altering substances is considered to be a matter of

private choice by most adults. While accepting alcohol and drug use by

adults, we try to protect young people from the potential harmful effects

of consumption by restricting the sale of alcohol to minors and levying
penalties against those caught with marijuana or other illegal substances.

But the use of alcohol and marijuana is widespread among young people and

appears to be on the increase.

Experimentation with alcohol has long been a rite of passage for adolescents. But today's teenagers seem to be starting younger and drinking

harder. Teenage "problem drinkers" are now thought to number about one

millionat least double the number of five years ago. An estimated one in

twenty teenagers has a serious drinking problem. Reliable statistics on the

consumption of marijuana and other illegal drugs by young people are not

available, but examples of 12 and 13 year olds who are regular users are reported frequently in the media. With less supervision, more mobility, and

greater exposure to adult pressures and problems, young people have increased

opportunities and incentives to experiment with alcohol and other drugs.

Though some seem to weather such experimentation with no lasting harmful effects, others develop an early and deoilitating dependence.

Among high school age youth, as in the adult community, there is a wide

range of behavior and attitudes concerning the use of intoxicating substances.

Within the case study group, alcohol was by far the most commonly used drug.

Only two participants described themselves as total abstainers, and threefourths of the 32 participants said they drank at least on social occasions.

While alcohol was the drug most acceptable and readily available to the case

study participants, marijuana was also available; and its use was not uncommon, even among participants from small towns and rural areas. Twenty of

the case study participants have tried marijuana at least once, and about onethird said that they currently smoked it on an occasional or regular basis.

The regular use of other drugs like amphetamines, barbiturates, and

cocaine was comparatively rare among the ease study group. About half the

participants reported having gone through a phase of drug experimentation,

but most limited their experimenting to marijuana. Psychedelic drugs, like

LSD and peyote, were uncommon. Most participants associated psychedelics

with "older people from back in the 60's." Alcohol is the drug of choice

among the minority of case study participants who consider themselves heavy

users. Heavier users in the case study group seemed more interested in blue

ing their sensibilities or insulLing themselves from outside pressure than

they were in "tripping". Only one p-rticipant had used heroin.

Case study participants are divided in their views about whether teenage

drinking and drug use constitute a serious problem in the Oommunity. Abstainers and moderate users believe that excessive alcohol consumption is a problem for only a minority of young people. Several participants see excessive

drinking and "pot" smoking as a natural phase that most people outgrow in

time. While many admit that it gets out of hand on occasion, most feel that

the decision to drink or smoke should be left up to each individual. They

believe that abusers are only hurting themselves and that, in any case,

little can be done to curb excessive use.
84

Well, I don't know how bad drinking is. I mean as long

as they do it at home...as long as they stay away from

me, they can get plastered out of their mind. I could

care Less. They're not hurting anybody but theirselves.

And with the pot thing...1 don't smoke it; I think it's

really bad. I don't relish the idea of going up to the

balcony in the movies and being choked with the smoke,

you know. But people will be people.

Linda Larsen

From what I've seen, there's some talk about drugs, but

the use is not that great. Drinking is more popular,

but it's not really a problem for most people- -just some

kids,you can tell they have to have it all the time.

Joy Tippe

The people I know just usually drink on special occasions--

weekends, usually. I don't know too many people who drink

it every day. Just mainly on weekends. Friday, Saturday

night, people go to a movie or somewhere else and drink.

I could care less for drugs. I've tooken some before,

when I was younger. I'm not afraid to admit that. Smoked

pot...it's not so hot, but how can it harm you? Pills,

you know, that's a different story...

Sven Latoka

It seems like everybody tries drinking and pot. But I

don't think they're really hurting anybody--except maybe

themselves. Like a lot of my friends...like about ninth,

tenth grade, everyone was drinking. Everyone came to

school at least once bombed out of their mind...took

tests and things that way. Everybody got considerably

lower grades. We all did it; I did it too. Now, we're

out of it. I think it's just a phase. Like my little

sister wants to drink now, and she smokes once in a while.

Tina Middleton

A number of the case study participants do believe that alcoholism and

drug dependency are serious problems, but they don't think that this abuse

is primarily centered in the youthful segment of the community. As one young

we an ,aid, "In my neighborhood, it's not mostly kids--a lot of grown people

drink. There's a lot of speeding around, people hollering at night and just
85

carrying on." In the broad sense, young people have inherited rather than

created the problem of drug abuse. Most of the case study participants had

observed adults in the community who had turned to alcohol and drugs when

they despaired of other means of solving their problems. Those who had witnessed the debilitating effects of alcohol or drug abuse On their parents or

older friends were usually sobered by this experience, and they maintained

that it affected their own patterns of use.

I like to drink sometimes, but I don't like to get high

all that much. Alcohol played a big role in my family

life. I don't know if my dad is an alcoholic, but he's

the kind of person, well, the kind of person that when

he drinks, he drinks to get drunk. When I was younger,

he drank a lot. When he was real uptight about something,

he'd come home drunk, get real loud, pick fights, and

stuff like that. That's one of the reasons we don't get

along today. I don't like to be around him when he's

drinking. My awn attitude is that I said to myself when

I was younger, if I ever got that way, I'd just quit.

I'd never get that way!

Todd Clinton

My dad's an alcoho

and I know what it

quite a few times.

be a heavy drinker

really alcoholics,

have their booze.

it. I drink once

I don't like hard,

my style. And thL

Lori Wozisky

lic, I've grown up with the situation,

can do. He's been in the hospital

And my boyfriend, Bill, he used to

. Most of my friends, they're not

but every weekend they've got to

Seeing my dad, it turned me against

in a while, but I don't like beer and

hard liquor. I like sloe gin, that

,'s it!

I don't think you should use it o get away from some

problem you may have. I got a friend, Harry, who's older than me, and he's got two kids. Harry and his wife

got along pretty good before he started drinkin' heavy.

I told him he should watch what he was doin' and stuff.

But now he's in the hospital, tryin' to straighten himself out. Him and his wife are getting a divorce, and

she's Lakin' the kids away.

Mark Gurney
86

A lot of the older people out this way, the adults, they

smoke a lot of marijuana. And I can see its effect. They

forget a lot. They just lay around, and after while they

get real fat. Cause it makes 'em eat. A lot of people

are smokin' it all the time. They just get lazy. They

lay around and don't get any exercise...don't care about

nothin' too much. That's not for me. I keep my body in

good shape so I can play ball, you know.

Bobby Jones

Within the public housing projects and low income neighborhoods of

large cities, a wide variety of drugs are available and heavy drug use is

not uncommon. The study participants from urban areas, particularly those

from Boston, exhibited a familiarity with the distribution patterns, use,

and potential effects of different kinds of narcotics. Some used marijuana, themselves, and saw nothing really harmful in this habit. Others

couldn't see much point in smoking "weed". But all drew a sharp distinction between the use of mild narcotics like marijuana and the effects of

stronger, addictive substances like heroin.

The worst thing is people dealing. That's the real problem. Heroin, coke, pills, and everything else,..Some

people my age is already using it. That ain't doin' 'em

no good. Smoking is different though. There's a big difference. Everybody does it out here. They know how to

smoke weed and, you know, they still work, and they still

get along. But taking dope now...all those folks do is

steal. They don't work. They just want to be stealing.

Genetta Burke

One thing about shooting up, once you get hooked on it,

you'd do anything for it. You'd kill if you have to,

if you're in the bad of a situation. People go really

far for some dope. But marijuana, it's just like a lazy

high. It'll get you lazy and get you feeling funny, but

you won't want to do too much. But with dope, you get

to feeling bad. Afterwhile you get to the point where

you have to get you some money, you know, to get you

some more. Those people would do anything for money- -

hold up, stick up, jump, rob, shoot, kill--anything!

Bobby Jones

When I first moved up to Boston, I knew what herb was.

I was smoking a little bit. But when I got here everybody was doing ..way more up here than it is down

9 "7
south. Still, between smoking and shooting up is a way

big difference. You can get addicted to heroin, but you

can't get addicted to marijuana. I don't see no harm in

it. It helps me...it helps me out a little bit.

Harold Thomas

I know this lady, she just died from an overdose of heroin, and there's a couple around who are snorting coke.

I think that some drugs are worse than others. I don't

mess with drugs so I don't know what I'm sitting over

here saying for...Maybe just a couple times that I ever

bothered, you know, to take a pill or something. But

usually I just drink a beer and smoke a joint or something like that. There's nothing wrong with that really.

Carmeletta DeVries

Heroin or anything like that, I wouldn't, you know,

wouldn't go that far. You know, I grew up with some

dudes out here, and they just went off, you know, into

that. So I'm by myself now. That's just not what I

want to get into. If you're smoking marijuana, you may

just smoke it once in a while. But if you messing with

heroin, you're going to start getting sick, and you're

going to start needing it. You mess with heroin, you're

on the way out

Adam Sledge

In the public housing projects and ghetto neighborhoods of Boston,

heroin is viewed as the enemy. Most residents deplore the crime, decay and

debilitation it spawns, and some campaign actively against substance abuse

of all sorts. In the hallways of housing projects and community centers

hang large posters of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, with the words: "We can

march to freedom, walk to freedom, and even crawl to freedom. But we cannot

stagger our way to freedom." Several of the case study participants who

live in ghetto projects are opposed to reliance on any sort of drug and believe that the use of heavily addictive narcotics is going out of style,

particularly among the young.

Some people around my way still smoke weed, but that

all. They don't shoot up or nothing like that no more.

But me and my friends don't smoke no more, cause, you

know, why waste our time? It ain't nothing but being

high a little while. Then it just wears off. You spent

your money and you ain't got nothing.

Bobby Jones
88

Not none of my friends would use heroin. That's one

thing about the people I veal with. You couldn't pay

nonelike dope between teenagers now in the area--you

couldn't pay them to touch it. You know, shootin' up,

that used to be a real major thing a while ago around

here. But it ain't the thing no more.

Felisa Santana

I've seen it go on in front of my face, and I dont like

it. I know a lot of names, but, you know, when starts

coming over to my family and friends, something's got

to be done. I be trying to do something now. I work

over here in the project for the security force, you

know. We try to tell people what's happenin'. That's

not the way to be doing things out here. Cuz if they're

going down, they take me with 'em.

Adam Sledge

What about the young people who do become addicted or who are trapped

in alcohol dependency? Within the study group, there were three participants for whom drinking or drug use was more than just a social ritual or

somebody else's problem. Though their family lives were troubled, these

three participants did not come from urban ghettos. All three are white

and each is female. Why did they turn to alcohol or drugs? How did they

become dependent, and what effects did their dependency have on their lives?

Jean Ansel believes that she started taking barbiturates whenshe was

12 primarily to get attention from her parents. The "downers" didn't get

Jean the attention or affection she craved, but they did make her high and

help her to forget her troubles. Within two years, Jean had "graduated"

to heroin, which was even more effective in obliterating her feelings of

pain and inadequacy.

I liked taking downers because of the high. And then I

started realizing that when I took 'em, I wasn't ever

having to face my problems. I didn't really have to face

life at all. I kept taking them for that reason. Then

I knew this girl, Penny, who was a junkie. She was a few

years older than me. She told me about heroin--that it

was a whole new life. I tried it, and I realized that

it was a much better life. It didn't take me long to get

hooked. Penny lived with her father, and she was able

to write checks on his account. I would come up with

about one-fourth of what it cost, and she'd pay the rest.

Sometimes we stole money from people's purses and stuff.

I didn't like that part. But I liked being high. I
89

liked it because I could stand up and look at everything

and everyone and just not care at all. It didn't bother

me one bit what happened! I was free. Nothing bothered

me. When I didn't get it, I was really bad...bitchy and

all. Like if I was starting Co hurt for it, I'd start,

you know, going nuts. But when I was on it...you couldn't

hardly beat this person!

Though withdrawal was painful, Jean was able to beat heroin dependency

and live a drug free life during her seven months in a foster home. But

when she moved back to her father's house, she found she still needed a

crutch. This time it was alcohol:

I started drinking heavy when I moved back with my dad.

I didn't want to get back into drugs, and he and his

girlfriend drank a lot so it seemed okay. From then on,

even after I left there, I just kept drinking. I was

staying away from drugs, you know. I kept thinking that

drinking was okay, but drugs wasn't. But theA I had that

drinking problem. It took me a long time to realize I

was addicted to alcohol. I finally went to a treatment

center. That helped some. My job and school have helped

a lot; I mean my life is a Lot better and everything.

But the only real treatment for it, as far as I can see,

is just to stay away from it altogether. Cause if I

drink now, I still want to get drunk.

Jean substituted alcoholism for an early drug addiction. She fell into

a pattern of heavy drinking without realizing that alcohol could be addictive.

Another participant, Peggy Bromfield, also slipped into alcohol dependency

with little understanding of the potential for addiction. Peggy started

drinking to fight loneliness and ease the strain of launching a social life

after her divorce at age 17. She had little previous experierite with drugs

or alcohol. She was drinking regularly for over six months before she realized that she had a problem.

Since last December I've been enjoying life more. But

until then, From February to September, I was an alcoholic, and I don't remember where the time went, really.

It was like I had a constant hangover, and I was in a

bad mood all the time. When I left my husband, it was

like an, um, immature person just coml.& out into the

world. You know, it's really kinds hard to get used to

being single and going out with other guys. That was

the hardest part--tryinl to figure out which ones were

weird and which weren't. You don't even realize when

you get into it, you know. You just have a craving for

people and attention, and you, um, you know, have people

come over and party constantly. You get to know people

like that, and like I couldn't leave the kids; so you
90

tell them to come over and bring their friends over.

Everybody's always drinkin' so you drink too. There

were people here day and night, and I was drinkin' day

and night. Nobody knew it but me, cause there were always different people. I'd drink at least a bottle or

two of wine every day, you know, and it just never phased

me. People would talk about alcoholics and how they

get like that, and I finally realized that I could be

one. I got to where I couldn't get up in the mornings,

and nobody knew what I was drinkin' but me.

I finally decided that I needed to get away from the

whole scene, to think about it and what it was doin' to

my kids. I went with my grandparents to the beach for

a week. They didn't know how I'd been drinking. By the

second day, I was real shaky, you know, and I wanted to

drink real bad. I drank a lot of tea and that helped.

At the end of the week, I felt a lot better. I knew I

couldn't go back to drinking like I had been. I've only

drunk once or twice since then. Now what I do is smoke

a couple hits of hash, and I'm just out. That's not the

best thing, I realize, but at least smokin' something that

good keeps me from drinking!

The practice of alternating between alcohol and other drugs, or

stituting one kind of dependency for another, believed to be less harmful,

is a common pattern. For many young people, like Sandy Bonds, who have

experimented widely with drugs, alcohol proves to be the most addictive.

Unfortunately, it is also the most readily available and socially acceptable alternative for the very young. Sandy Bonds took her first drink when

she was 11 years old. Her mother, who never drank much, kept a bottle of

vodka in the kitchen, and Sandy decided to try some. "I took a swig of it

and about gagged myself to death," Sandy laughs. "So then I decided to

put a little orange juice in it and it wasn't half bad." Sandy had friends

who experimented with drugs and alcohol. She herself sold drugs and tried

many different kinds. But she returned to drinking, and she acknowledges

that it has been a serious problem for her.

Drugs were a way of hustling, of making money. And

they were sort of experimental. I would try this and

try that just to see what would happen--just to see how

I felt. And because I felt so bad then, I would take

'em to make myself feel better. I Cried almost everything you could think of, except heroin. I never shot

up.

But alcohol was the main thing. Cause it's legal.

mean grown -ups were drinkin' and everything, so it

seemed like it would be okay. But it's not. I don't

care what anybody says. It's not. When you want to
91

drink to escape or when you drink and you're an alcoholic, it's not okay. I don't even understand why they

even got it legal--except for the fact the government

makes so much money off it.

Alcohol is kind of a "get- away" type thing. Everybody

save that alcohol is something just to ease the mind,

relax, or just a social thing. That's not what it is.

Alcohol is a real escape for a lot of people, cause it

works. It's a depressant, but it sort of...sort of...

almost turns into an upper when, when you're depressed

and you drink it. I don't know how that works. rm...

I Kind of wish they never even had the stuff around.

But I do like it. I still like it, and I still drink

it. I don't drink to where it's going to hurt me anymore. Um...that's what I learned from drinking. I mean, I know when it's going to hurt me, and when it's

not. So I can regulate myself on that. Mostly I don't

drink at all. And when I drink, I know that I'm drink -

ing to get drunk.

Fe1fare Dependency

In earlier times, when communities were more isolated from one another

and tended to function more self-sufficiently, most adults were easily identified in their towns and neighborhoods by their occupational function.

Those who were unable to maintain stable employment or to play productive

roles in the community were usually at the bottom of the social scale. In

the suburbs and cities of modern America, many people have no idea what their

nearest neighbors "do for a living", but the social and economic status of

most people is still affected by the employment status of the household head.

In community institutions, like schools and churches, the "haves" and the

"have riots" are easily identified. Being a welfare recipient typically means

having low status in the community. rt connotes poverty and the lack of

occupational function. Welfare recipiency is viewed by some as evidence of

personal failure and an unhealthy dependency on the community at large.

Most of the case study participants had experienced some sort of dependency on welfare or other income support programs. Most of these participants came from household.? where reliance on AFDC or social security payments

had ext2nded over a number of years, but some had been only short term recipients. Nine of the case study participants had applied for and received some

form of income support either as individuals or as heads of their own households. Only eight of the 32 participants had no personal experience with

income subsidization programs, apart from their participation in youth employment programs. How do young pele from welfare dependent households view

their role in the community? Is there any stigma associated with welfare

recipiency among the young?
92

Within the case study group, most non-recipients admitted that they

knew little about the welfare system. Some associated welfare recipiency

with negative character traits. They had heard parents, teachers, or other

adults speak of "people who take advantage", "people who stay on the dole

all their lives", and "people who could work if they weren't so lazy."

Most non-recipients had uncomplimentary views of welfare users, but some

were hesitant to judge recipients harshly. "It's not a good thing to get

on it," one young woman said. "But you never know what their situation may

be so you shouldn't point a finger."

While the majority of participants, both from recipient and non-recipient

households, said they could not see themselves being dependent on welfare payments as adults, a number of young people in the case study group felt that

income support programs had been important to them, or their families, as a

temporary lift on the road to economic self - sufficiency. Participants in

this group did not make sharp distinctions between use of welfare and the

use of other community services. Like food stamps, planned parenthood services, and community health clinics; welfare and other forms of income support were viewed as resources to be tapped in time of need. Among those

with such views were the two Indo-Chinese refugees and several case study

participants who received temporary independent living subsidies from the

State of Oregon.

The U.S. Government give for the refugee the program they

call TRAP. Say some of us cannot find work or go to

school, they will give help. The help last about two

years for some, I believe. My father did not need, but

my brother must use, and it help him very much. He was

able to finish school and find a better job.

Lui Heuyen

The Independent Living Subsidy Program is a program sponsored and set up by the city. They provide a juvenile,

when he's in a position that he can't really hack it on

his own right now, they give him about three hundred and

ten dollars a month to, uh, pay for an apartment, bills,

food, and other stuff. It's set up so you work, and

whatever you make is subtracted and they pay the difference. They help you make a budget and all. Well, I was

on it for about four months until I was able to leave it

and stand on my own two feet. It was a stepping stone on

the way up. A very helpful procedure for me.

Douglas Glscard
93

I'd probably apply for it (welfare) if I really needed

to. If I couldn't find a job for a long time, or I get

fired and couldn't get another...wasn't able to pay the

rent and stuff. I'd probably accept it. But all the

time, I'd be working to get off it, you know. That's

what my mother did.

Jack Thrush

Some of the case study participants who lived in AFDC households felt

socially stigmatized by welfare reliance. They believed that others in the

community looked down on them for being welfare recipients. Richard Nielsen,

whose widowed mother raised him on AFDC as a strict Seventh Day Adventist,

said:

When a person's on it, and they're going to a very conservative church, then they tend to get frowned on. But

I feel that if it's necessary to be on it, well, then

there shouldn't be that kind of flack from the...others..

the peers.

Welfare mothers who came from middle income households seemed to feel

the social stigma of dependency most sharply, and the administrative hassles

of dealing with the welfare office added to their discomfort. Peggy Bromfield first got on the welfare roles when she was pregnant and her husband

was unemployed. Her dependency continued after she was divorced:

I always thought my husband lost his job purposely so that

welfare would pay for the pregnancy and the hospital bills.

And I guess that's a smart investment, but I think it's

a cop-out. If I have another baby, I'll pay for it myself.

Socially, there's a lot of negative things about bein'

on welfare. The people in the welfare office look down

on you, you know, when they probably just barely got out

high school and were lucky enough to get a job. They

look down upon you and they show it. And that hurts.

It's degrading.

I don't like to tell people I'm on it, because I think

they'll look down on me. But I'm pretty honest, so I do.

When someone asks me where I'm coming from, I have to say,

"Welfare. I wish I could lie...I'd tell you a good lie,

but I'm not into lying, so now you know the truth."

The young heads of household who have to deal with the welfare office

are united in their complaints about the inefficiencies, inequities, and

absurdities of the welfare system. Patty Monson talked about the lack of

coordination and frequent changes in procedure. Last winter when she needed

emergency help with utility bills, she was sent to ten different places

10 1
94

before she found someone who could assist her. Most young mothers say they

have to take time away from YEDPA jobs and household responsibilities when

they are asked to report to the welfare office for minor issues. One young

woman said, "Any trip to the welfare office for anything means at least a

two to four hour wait."

Some welfare recipients are assigned caseworkers who are able to expedite procedures, but not all caseworkers are so accommodati.ng. A young

mother from Boston had the following to say about her AFDC caseworker:

The one I got now, she gives me trouble all the time.

All kinds of trouble. I mean, she don't wanna give me

nothin'. And she thinks that...I don't know what she

thinks. She just troubles me for nothin'. I won't be

doin' nothin' to her, and someday she'll just call me

up, and tell me I got to come down there. And when I

get down there, she won't be there or somethin' like

that. I pack up and get all ready for trouble, and

then...nothing!

Case study participants who had watched their parents or other relatives struggle to support a family on welfare payments had a number of

complaints about the system:

It's no good livin' on welfare. You don't get too much.

They say if you're on welfare, you not supposed to have

a job. How they think you gonna get by? If people do

find a job--which is most likely--then they cut you down.

Only give you so much. I think people should be allowed

to get their welfare check and work too. Everything's

goin' up. People Navin' like four or five kids, they may

get somethin' like two hundred, three hundred dollars.

They have to buy more.

Bobby Jones

Sometimes the family can't wait the two weeks to get the

check. They can't make it between checks. I think that's

too long to be waitin'. And some mothers don't do right.

They use it for other things. It's just given to them,

you know, not to the kids.

Adam Sledge

Sometimes, for some weird reason, they'll cut the amount

my mom gets. And now they don't pay her'anything for me,

and that's kind of hard. Sometimes I have to loan her

money out of my CETA paycheck. I think that's wrong. I
could see them cutting the

home, but I'm still living

from high school yet. I'm

you know, there's no place

don't understand that.

Tina Middleton

amount if I

at home and

still going

else for me

'd moved away from

haven't graduated

to school, and,

to be. I just

95

While I had anticipated that case study participants from welfare dependent households might have negative views of the welfare system, I was

surprised to find that many had negative views of welfare clients as well.

A number of participants from welfare families associated recipiency with

laziness, and they felt that the system discouraged active participation in

the labor force.

I wouldn't like to be on it when I'm on my own, causf. to

me it's just a waste of time. I mean, they're just getting lazy from staying home. Some people take it just

to stay home and be lazy. They don't have to be getting

on it. Other people need it, and they won't give it to

them.

Felisa San ana The way it seems to me, I just want to do something for

myself. I don't want nobody to give we too much of anything. I guess some people say they like welfare, and

some people don't. To me, I don't think it's no good at

all. Cause it keeps people from learning to do something

that they vant to do Or need to get into. They just get

lazy and just sit around and get free things: That

shouldn't be. They should be out trying to do something

on their own.

Adam Sledge

I don't like it. I mean, everybody should be getting a

job. Welfare needs to go away anyway and everybody needs

to get a job. I don't really think welfare is going to

be here too long. And while people are just sitting here

at home doing nothing, it's just going to disappear slowly. It's going to end up being more difficult for them

to get a job.

Harold Thomas
Luanne Clawson, who had been raised by her mother on AFDC, maintained

that she, herself, would never apply for welfare because "it's better to

work, and they don't give you that much to bother with anyway." She felt

that the entire situation was largely the fault of the fathers who fail to

support their children:

For some people that nas a lot of kids, I know it's

really hard on them. So many kids won't get out there

and try to find 'em a job. But, you know, it's really

the father's department. Cause he should...he shouldn't

go around giving people babies if he's not going to see

about 'em. That's why people have to get on welfare.

It's the fathers; they just up and leave you and don't

give the kids no support or nothing. I think that's

wrong. My mother's on welfare, and me and my older sisters, we help her out. She's doin' better, cause she

only has one kid more to take care of. That's my little

sister that's nine. The rest of us, you know, we're on

our own. We know what's happening out here.

The small size -)f welfare grants in comparison to actual living expenses, and the administrative barriers that one must navigate to receive

support, provide both the incentive and the rationale for welfare "chislin "

During the research period, I heard a number of stories about women who

worked and augmented their welfare grants with unreported earnings in order

to support themselves and their children. I met only one participant who

was willing to confirm this practice and discuss her own experience as a

welfare "cheater".

Genetta Burke has received AFDC payments since the first of her two

children was born over four years ago. Genetta says she could never support

her family on the AFDC checks alone; and though she doesn't like to cheat,

she feels justified in not reporting her full income. During the nest three

years, she has worked briefly as a receptionist and put in three short stints

as a factory worker. The income that she earned from these jobs was not reported to the welfare office. During the research period, Genetta was getting a $152 AFDC grant every two weeks. She was also bringing home about

$75 each week from her YCCIP job. This income had been the source of some

conflict with the welfare office:

Oh, they was gonna cut me off they said. Because I was

in this, this training program. They was checkin' people's...you know, they had that computer checkin' up on

people? Yeah, well, my social worker, she tried to interview me about it. But we got a waiver or something.

Cause Henry, you know, my supervisor? He called and

got me a legal aid lawyer. And after I told her that

I had a lawyer, she just dropped it.

Genetta's grandmother lives with her, and she contributes about $1,50

each month for household expenses. Genetta's boyfriend, who no longer lives

with her, but is the fatner of her children, also gives her money each week.
97

She says, "He's pretty good about that. He rays for my daughter to go to

nursery school, $25 a week. He pays for that and gives me a little mci,ly

extra for food and stuff like that."

When income and contributions from all sources are totaled, Genetta

receives an average of about $800 per month to cover expenses for a family

of four. This puts the Burke household well above the poverty guidelines

set by OMB, but still within the lower income category. Though she has no

trouble handling basic expenses, like rent, which is $175 a month, or heating oil, which shot up to about $90 a month last winter; after food, clothing, transportation, and other household necessities are purchased, Genetta

says there is usually no money left. Genetta feels that she is just trying

to do the best she can for her children. And while she acknowledges that

she "makes out pretty well compared to lots of people around here", Genetta

would like to be more self-sufficient:

I'd like to get off welfare. I like workin'.

probably always work. But for now...I mean, just to

make what I need...I'm not even doin' that good...but

without welfare, I'd need to make at least $5 an hour.

I don't think right now I could get a job that paid

that much.

Genetta's situation, though understandable, is not typical of the AFDC

recipients within the case study group. Most welfare families seem to get

by on much smaller incomes, and most recipients are too afraid of losing

benefits to risk not reporting earned income. Occasional abuse notwithstanding, nobody in the case study group appeared to be getting rich, or even

living particularly well from welfare. Carmeletta DeVries lives with her

sister, who is also a welfare recipient. Carmeletta gets only a $108 AFDC

allotment each month to cover expenses for herself and her infant son. After

she lost her YETP job, this was the only income Carmeletta was receiving.

Patty Monson had to meet living expenses for herself and her year old child

with $280 monthly allotment. In addition, she was allowed to keep $100 of

her monthly YETP earnings; but since she received no money from welfare for

child care, this entire amount went for babysitting costs.

Given the nature of the welfare system, the attitudes toward welfare

dependency that prevail within most communities, it is not surprising that

most of the case study participants would much rather work than collect welfare. If anything, those with first hand experience as recipients are even

more eager than non-recipients to avoid welfare dependency in later life.

But for many, particularly for single mothers with small children, welfare

dependency is a difficult trap to escape. The low paying, dead-end jobs

available to unskilled young people do not really offer a viable alternative

to welfare. How many will be able to gain the skills and job experience

that will enable them to achieve economic self-sufficiency and escape welfare subsidization remains to be seen. But there is little doubt that most

would like very much to do just that.
98

IV, SCHOOL LIFE

My education is real important to me. Also to my parents.

They kind of got it into my head how important an education is. My dad only went through eighth grade, but now

he's taking night school. You really need a high school

eduation to know things and to get ahead in the world.

Kids who quit school...they can't get good jobs. They

end up drinking or in jail...I like going to school. I'm

glad I don't live in some other country where you go to

the sixth grade and that's it:

Lori Wozisky

Faith in the wonder working powers of education has proved to be one

of the most durable tenets of democratic ideology. The maintenance of a

public school system that provides universal education to the nation's

youth is considered an intrinsic component of our society. While there are

conflicts about how the system should operate, the concept of free and mandatory schooling for the young is supported widely and is a point of concensus among otherwise divergent groups. American families, like the Woziskys,

believe that the education afforded by the public school system is the key

to a viable and successful life for their children.

Schools bear the responsibility of teaching young people basic skills --

reading, writing, and arithmetic. But their function extends beyond rudimentary academic instruction; they are supposed to prepare young people for

life. Public schools are expected to provide the knowledge, discipline, and

vocational training that will enable young graduates to successfully enter

the job market. They are also expected to play a major role in the socialization of the young, to provide them with the values, experience, and social skills that enable them to make a positive adjustment to adult life.

After the family, the school is the first social institution a child must

deal with--the place in which he learns to handle himself with strangers.

School life establishes the pattern of subsequent assumptions about which

relations between an individual and society are appropriate and which constitute unacceptable invasions. In school, young people begin to discover

where they stand in relationship to their peers.

Historical Mandates for Education

Today, the idea of free and universal public schooling seems commonplace; in the early nineteenth century, the concept was revolutionary to its

advocates and opponents alike. Although schooling before that time had been

fairly widespread, it was limited in scope. Boys were far more likely than

girls to be sent to school. Most spent less time in school over the course

of a year than children do now, and most left school as soon as they learned
99

to read, write, and cipher. Schooling was chiefly a way of providing access

to the scriptures, the laws of the. land, or the skills of a trade. The major responsibility for education fell on parents, with school playing a distinctive secondary role.

With the creation of the public "common school" system in the midnineteenth century, formal education began to replace family education rather

than to merely assist it. Compulsory and free schooling was given many justifications; among the most widely accepted was the argument that families- -

particularly immigrant families--could not adequately educate their children

for productive roles in the growing and increasingly complex American economy.

It was proposed that schools should do what families were failing or unable

to do; pass on needed skills, teach good work habits, and form character--in

short, to Americanize.

To a large extent, the philosophy of Americanization was linked to the

idealistic objective that schools would become the major vehicle for equalizing opportunity in future generations. Horace Mann, the most influential

and articulate advocate of egalitarian education, saw a direct connection

between universal public education and the elimination of economic inequality.

Mann believed that education "prevents poverty" and envisioned school as "the

great equalizer of all conditions of men...the balance wheel of the social

machinery." Educational egalitarians believed that if schools could be made

free, compulsory, and universal, they would serve to equalize the conditions

from which all children started the race of life.

While nineteenth century reformers appealed to the belief that, schools

under responsible professional leadership would facilitate social mobility

and the eventual eradication of poverty, others favored such a system for its

potential to stabilize society and control the negative effects of divergent

cultures. Under favorable conditions, the school system's emphasis on Americanization and its promotion of universal norms had a liberating effect which

helped individuals to make a break from narrow and limiting traditions and

to connect with broader opportunities. But the democratic aim of bringing

the fruits of modern culture to the masses resulted in a system which to some

extent used education as a form of social control. School contributed simultaneously to social mobility and social stratification. It helped to advance

those who adopted the values and patterns of behavior endorsed by certain

segments of society while discouraging those who failed to adapt from developing ambitions incommensurate with their station and prospects.

Under the Americanization model, education was intended to serve as both

a political and economic initiation for young people. Nineteenth century

schools attempted to inculcate industrial discipline in the broadest sense

of the word. As evident in the writings of Thorstein Veblen, the same habits

of mind that were associated with the making of good citizens--self-reliance,

self-respect, versatility--were thought to be essential to good workmanship.

By developing these characteristics, accompanied by a scientific and materialistic outlook and a commitment to quality workmanship, the education system

attempted to provide an efficient labor force for the industrializing economy.

1
100

As the nineteenth century progressed, technological advances associated

with industrialization increased the demand for ski/led and manually proficient workers. By the turn of the century, the education system was under

pressure to play an expanded and more specialized role in the preparation of

young people for the labor force. Manual training and vocational education

were made available in the public schools. The non-academic portion of the

high school curriculum was extended to include practical courses like business management, bookkeeping, office practices, industrial arts, homemaking

and consumer economics. In addition to the emphasis on practical skills,

schools stressed the inculcation of orderly habits and a work orientation,

particularly for those whose formal education would end with high school

graduation. According to a report of the National Manpower Council issued

in 1954: "The school enforces a regular schedule by setting hours of arrival and attendance; assigns tasks that must be completed; rewards diligence,

responsibility, and ability; corrects carelessness and ineptness; encourages

ambition."

The School em Under Challenge

By the mid-twentieth century, mandates for the nation's education system

were so broad that they encompassed nearly every conceivable objective regarding the development of young people and their future in society. With

their far-reaching and conflicting goals, it is small wonder that public

schools have been the focus of considerable criticism and disappointment.

Though a greater proportion of young people attend school and receive more

years of schooling than ever before, the impact of universal education on

the academic abilities, practical knowledge, occupational readiness, employment prospects, and relative economic position of the nation's young is open

to question.

Universal schooling has not, of course, eliminated the gap between wealth

and poverty that exists in the country. Given the enormity of the forces that

work against greater equality and mobility, it was probably unrealistic to

expect that the effects of schooling on equal opportunity, much less equality

of condition, would be more than marginal. Studies undertaken in the late

1960's by James Coleman, and in the 1970's by Christopher Jencks, among others,

indicated that there are limitations in what the schools can do. The methodology of these studies has been criticized, but their central findings have

been supported by other researchers. Coleman found that school performance

is massively influenced by the social, economic, and family background of the

child. Jencks went on to find that success in later life as measured by income bears almost no relationship to academic achievement, once the characteristics of an individual's family background have been taken into account.

The main factors that appear to "predict" where a youth will eventually end

up in the economic and social hierarchy are family structure, parental education, family income, and other factors related to accidents of birth rather

than to schooling per se.
101

As in the past, public schools still attempt to hold society together

by establishing a working consensus on values, tastes, and behavior among

students whose backgrounds and experience might otherwise be in conflict.

But while the homogenizing force at work in the schools may be as pervasive

as it was in the past, its objectives are less clearly defined and its nature

more indistinct. Fifty years ago, public schools were authoritarian in imposing rigid standards of behavior, belief, and demeanor. But educators of

the past were confident that those standards, if successfully inculcated,

would provide young people with an entre or advantage in a competitive but

relatively stable society. Economic and social realities are changing rapidly, and there is much less certitude today about what values and orientations should be passed on to the young. The rigid standards that were enforced with imperious self-assurance have been replaced--not with a viable

new consensus, some maintain, but by an innocuous, amorphous leveling process.

In its quest for relevancy, the public school system stresses the preparation of students for a productive role in the economy. This preparation,

however, does not pertain primarily to the development of marketable skills.

High schools are not able to provide most of their students with the skills

and techniques they will actually use to earn a living. The jobs that will

be available to most require the mastery of specialized procedures, machinery,

or administrative routines that cannot practicably be duplicated in the school

environment and must be learned on the job. Schools concentrate instead on

the development of.attitudes toward the self in relationship to others and

on the student's potential economic function as an adult. Increasingly, the

focus is on the

od

in yual's role as a consumer rather than as a producer in

the economy. Th society stresses the economic advancement and security

that education bring, the impact of high school on future success appears to

be largely that of an enabling credential rather than a function of experience

or learning.

In addition to questions about its practical relevancy, the school system is under attack for its alleged failure to adequately teach academic

skills. While increasing proportions of graduates are enrolling in postsecondary schools rather than entering the full-time labor force, one study

after another documents the steady decline of basic academic skills among

the high school age population. In 1966, high school seniors scored an average of 467 points on the verbal section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test; ten

years later, in 1976, the average score was 429. Average scores on the mathematics portion of the SAT have dropped by 25 points since 1966. Reports of

functional illiteracy among high school graduates have prompted the initiation

of standardized basic skill examinations that must be passed in many states

before graduation is allowed. High school and college teachers complain that

students' ability to communicate in writing, their reasoning powers, their

stock of historical information, and their knowledge of literature have all

deteriorated dramatically over the past 10 to 15 years.

No one believes that today's students are stupid; they appear in many

way, to be more sophisticated than their predecessors. But they are becoming

more difficult to teach, at least by traditional methods. Though there is
102

le doubt that young people are assimilating information and developing

new orientations, much of this learning seems to take place outside of

school. By age 16, the average adolescent has spent 12,000 to 15,000 hours

in front of the television set. By the end of one typical year, the same

average teenager has viewed 25,000 television commercials.

While educator observations and test scores point to a decline in traditional academic skills among the youth population, there is no basis for

concluding that young people today are less well prepared for the world that

they will encounter as adults. Automation and communication technology have

changed the world. Mass media capabilities have changed historical patterns

of information packaging and dissemination. Television oriented adolescents

may well find themselves more in tune with the world of tomorrow than will

those with traditional academic perspectives.

America has shifted from an industrial to a service economy. In spite

of the fact that job functions have become increasingly specialized, some

observers of contemporary society believe that the American economy has outlived the need for large numbers of traditionally educated workers. A major

justification of the school system is its function in training young people

for work, but critics, like Christopher Lasch, point out that an increasing

number of available jobs, even in the higher economic ranges, no longer require high levels of academic skill or broad intellectual perspective. Many

jobs consist so largely of specialized routines and techniques, and depend

so little on general knowledge and resourcefulness, that applicants with a

liberal education may find themselves "over-qualified" or unsuited for most

positions.

Though its curriculum and instructional methods may be out of step with

rapidly changing social and economic patterns, the public school system is

still a major component in employment preparation--particularly in regard to

credentials. For those aiming at a successful employment future, high school

graduation is a necessary first step, and post-high school training is increasingly viewed as essential. By the mid-1970's, the majority of the nation's 18 and 19 year old population were students. In the 1980's, more

young people are likely to pursue some type of education and training into

their twenties. Young people remain in school longer in the belief that the

education and training they receive will afford them better opportunities in

the labor market. Many realize that even college educations are no guarantee

of good jobs, but they are sufficiently aware of social realities to realize

that if they leave school early, there is really no place for them to go.

The Dropout_Froblem

Even in our credential oriented society, there are thousands of young

people who leave high school each year without graduating. The millions of

young dropouts in the country today are seen by many as tangible proof of

failure on the part of our education system. Though many older Americans

function as productive members of society without the benefit of a hie. school
103

diploma, there are few legitimate roles for the young high school dropout.

The belief that "kids belong in school", is heavily engrained in public consciousness and is substantiated by economic realities. Jobs that were formerly available to unskilled teenagers have dwindled in the wake of automation,

the decline of small business, and changing attitudes about child labor. The

young person who leaves school at age 15, 16, or 17, is likely to be unemployed for some time before getting one of the dead-end, unskilled, or semiskilled jobs available for those with little formal education. Dropouts may

face lifetimes of substandard living and sporadic unemployment.

For nearly two decades, the dropout problem has caught the attention of

media and government spokesmen. As the first early entrants of the "baby

boom" generation began to flood into the labor market during the 1960's, concern with the magnitude and implications of the dropout problem was aroused

at the highest levels of government. In 1961, Abraham Ribicoff, then Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, warned the American public about the

2.5 million high school students who would be dropping out of school during

the next three years. He spoke of the need to strengthen the country's education system so that more young people could be "held in school". In 1962

and 1963, President Kennedy stressed the values of education and the need to

"reduce the alarming number of students who now drop out of school." Under

Johnson, categorical manpower programs provided financial incentives designed

to keep economically disadvantaged young people in school until graduation.

Concern with the dropout problem persisted through the 1970's and was

exacerbated by general economic conditions and unprecedentialy high rates of

youth unemployment. Educators and policy makers pointed with distress to

school dropout rates as high as 30 percent in some states. Maintaining

school enrollment and promoting high school completion were key objectives

of YEDPA programs. YIEPP and YETP programs provided part-time work for

young people who were willing to remain in school, and employment was used

as leverage to convince young dropouts to return to school. Media campaigns

urge those in school to stay there and those who have dropped out to return.

In television commercials, radio spots, and comic books, dropouts are portrayed as"dead-enders". Young people are told: "Good jobs go to those who

graduate," and, "You will earn more if you stay in school."

Is the dropout problem really growing? It depends on how you look at

it. In spite of rhetoric about the dropout rate "reaching fantastic proportions", the percentage of young people who fail to receive high school diplomas has dropped steadily throughout the twentieth century. In 1900, only

about ten percent of all male students remained in school until graduation.

The high school drop rate was nearly 90 percent at the turn of the century,

and it did not fall below fifty percent until the 1950's. By 1965, the dropout rate had declined to about 30 percent. Since that time, the percentage

of students who leave high school before completion has dropped nearly ten

points.

The proportion of dropouts has gone down. But the dropout problem is

viewed as more serious than ever before, because the proportion of jobs that

are suitable and available for dropouts is declining even more dramatically.
104.

The present concern over school dropouts is not a result of an increase in

the number or proportion of young people who do not finish school, but the

fact that there is no place for the dropout to go in our economy. The predicament of the dropout has become more acute as society has accommodated

itself to the concept of formal education as the major path to fulfillment.

While there is no doubt that the job market is tougher for dropouts

these days, it is also tougher for young people whose education ends with

high school graduation. Studies that show a great disparity in income levels

and employment stability between dropouts and high school graduates often do

not distinguish between those completors whose education ends with graduation,

and those who go on to further schooling and may graduate from college or

even from professional school. Though 20 years ago, high school graduation,

in itself, meant a large boost in employment prospects, current research

shows that the noticeable gain in average income now follows graduation from

college, not from high school. Many believe that as post-secondary education

becomes more nearly universal, earning a college degree will probably cease

to bear any very significant relation to income.

All this does not mean that young people should not be encouraged to

complete high school. Given society's preoccupation with credentials, those

with the least education are likely to continue to fare worst in the job

market. But the implications of the "anti-dropout" campaign should be more

closely examined. There are indications that efforts intended to discourage

young people from dropping out may have actually had the effect of worsening

the problems faced by those who leave school before graduation. Bachman,

Green, and Wirtanen warned educators of the possible double-sided effects

of crusades to reduce high school non-completion nearly ten years ago:

In one sense the (anti - dropout) campaign has been a preventive effort directed against dropping out. But as a

by-product of this effort, the campaign has also come to

be directed against the dropout himself. No matter how

good its intentions, the anti-dropout campaign has often

criticized and ridiculed the dropouts...What, then, do

we do when we conduct a national anti-dropout campaign

that downgrades the status of dropouts, and perhaps encourages employers to make the diploma a requirement

when it need not be? It seems just possible that our

treatment of dropping out as a national problem has

some of the features of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Perhaps for some young (people) the greatest disadvantage in being a dropout is measured not in terms of the

education they lost, but rather in terms of the stigma

they acquired.

Bachman, J., et al (1971) Dropping - problem or m9
105

Who Drops Out

Although they have had only limited succeEs in preventing high school

noncompletion, educators are often able to predict with surprising accuracy

which young people ill become dropouts. It has long been recognized that

youth from economically disadvantaged homes, and those who do poorly in

school, are dropout, prone. An adolescent who starts tenth grade with a

good academic record, fairly positive attitudes about school, and high

socio-economic level family background is extremely likely to finish high

school and go on to college. Tenth graders who are significantly lower in

these dimensions are more apt to drop out of school before graduation, and

those who do complete are much less likely to enter college. Young people

with a history of delinquent behavior in school stand far better than average

chances of becoming dropouts.

Study after study has shown that family income bears a critical relationship to school performance and high school completion. Since the classic study, Who Shall Be Educated? was published in 1944, numerous researchers

have confirmed that family income and educational attainment are closely

linked. In their late 1960's longitudinal study of the school and employment experiences of a young male sample group, Bachman and his associates

found that the higher his family socio-economic level, the more likely a boy

was to perform well in high school and to enter college and the less likely

he was to drop out of high school. In general, the more a child's parents

earn, the better are his or her prospects for completing more years of schooling with higher grades.

YEDPA was targeted on the economically disadvantaged, and there is a

higher than average proportion of dropouts among the youth population eligible for employment and training programs. A survey of potential participants

in the YIEPP program showed that over one-third of the 16 to 19-year old low

income sample were dropouts during the 1977-1978 school year. Though dropouts rates were above average among the YEDPA applicant pool, the large majority of the young people who actually enrolled in YEDPA programs were high

school students. About 30 percent of all YETP and YIEPP participants were

enrolled in high school when they applied for program admission. Only in

the smaller, non-income tested YCCIP program did the enrollment percentages

of dropouts exceed those of students.

The Youth Perspectives Project was focused on YEDPA participants who

had not yet graduated from high school. Among the 32 case study participants, there were 16 non-graduates who were out of school at the time of

program enrollment, and four others who had dropped out of school at least

once. Most of the dropouts in the case study group came from families with

low income, but a number came from middle income, or even upper middle income, family backgrounds. There were also 12 participants in the case study

group who had never dropped out of school, and most of these participants

went on to graduate during the course of the research period. Economic digadvantagement was just as prevalent among this latter group, yet all remained

continuously enrolled in school and each was firmly committed to high school
106

completion. Though family income is a big factor in high school performance,

characteristics associated with dropping out clearly go beyond economic disadvantagement. What additional factors are related to-high school noncompletion?

Beyond income, other family dimensions appear to be linked to educational attainment and high school completion. Among the Youth in Transition

(YIT) sample, Bachman and his associates found that broken homes made a measurable difference in dropout rates. They concluded that dropping out of high

school was about twice as likely among boys whose parents were separated by

death or divorce. Two of the 20 dropouts in the YP case study group were

orphans living with older siblings, and all but six of the remaining dropouts

were from single parent families. Rowever, the great majority of young people from single parent homes do not drop out of high school. The YIT research

team discovered that the quality of family relations was also a factor in

high school completion. YIT researchers found that dropping out occurred

more frequently as reported parental punitiveness increased and as family relationships deteriorated. A number of YP case study participants, like Todd

Clinton, Douglas Giscard, and Peggy Bromfield, were involved in a series of

intense confrontations with authoritarian parents just prior to dropping out

of school.

Past school experiences are an important predictor of educational attainment. YIT researchers found that boys who had been held back a grade in

school by the time they reached the tenth grade were four times as likely to

drop out as those who had not. Students with a history of poor grades are

also more likely to leave high school before graduation. Only three of the

20 YP case study participants who had dropped out had grade averages above

"C" during the year before leaving school, and most were getting "D"'s or

failing marks in at least some classes. Several participants were a grade

level behind standard when they dropped out, and one participant, Bobby Jones,

left school at age 16 after being told he would have to repeat the ninth grade

the following year. But it is important to note that while poor school performance preceded dropping out, among YP participants, it was not necessarily

linked to lack of learning capability. Over half of the YP case study participants who left school without graduating had been able to get "A"'s or "B"'s

in classes that they liked enough to do the required work.

In terms of educational attainment, young blacks are approaching parity

with the young white population. While higher percentages of minority youth

leave school before graduation, differences in dropout rates between the

white and non-white youth population are largely accounted for by differences

in average socio-economic level. When family income and other socio-economic

factors are held constant, black youth appear as likely as white youth to

complete high school. Nationally, blacks from segregated schools appear to

be more likely to drop out than those attending integrated schools. But the

experience of YP case study participants suggests that desegregation can

negatively impact high school completion rates for some of the black population. Each of the non-white case study participants from Boston who was

transferred and bused into a new school, as part of the city's court ordered

desegregation, dropped out of high school within a year's time.
107

In predicting high school completion, a number of personality and beh vior dimensions appear to be pertinent. Bachman and his associates found

dropout rates to be lower and college entrance more frequent among youth with

high needs for self-development and self-utilization, and among those who

felt some control over their own destinies. A number of studies have found

that measures of self-esteem are positively related to educational attainment.

Friedenberg believes that young people who make it in school are often better

"operators" than those who do not; they have more outside support and connections, are more familiar with bureaucratic modes, and are better able to

take advantage of opportunities. The better operator description seemed to

fit a number of the continuous attenders in the YP case study group. Over

half of the continuous attenders made use of CETA or other youth programs by

the time they were 15 or 16 years old. But most of the dropouts in the case

study group did not even know that such programs existed until just before

their current enrollment.

In contrast with other personality dimensions, YIT researchers found

that individuals with very high needs for independence were more likely to

become dropouts than those with average independence needs. In his study of

values transmitted in American high schools, Edgar Friedenberg categorized a

certain portion of young people who fare badly in school as "divergent thinkers". The divergent youngster is characterized by an unusual degree of originality, spontaneous feeling, and a highly idiosyncratic, personal response

to people and events. A number of YP dropouts, like Sandy Bonds, Todd Clinton, Douglas Giscard, and Jack Thrush, seemed to fit within this definition.

They were more independent than most of their classmates and more apt to

balk at pressures to accept group norms or submit to the expectations of

authorities. Sandy Bonds' comments were typical of this group:

I'm not going to say I've always done whatever 1 wanted,

but I always really wanted to do what I wanted and what

I thought, and not what someone else thought.

Other interview comments suggest that though these case study participants knew "how the game was played" at school, they did not believe that

pleasing teachers and fitting in successfully was worth what it cost in independence and self-esteem. The two interview excerpts below show the contrasts in attitude toward school authorities between a divergent student,

who chose his own path and who eventually dropped out, and a more conventional student, who bought into the system and went on to graduate.

When I was going to school, the teachers seemed to be

mainly impressed with a certain kind of people. The

people that were constantly trying; The people that

ran around and more or less did just exactly what the

teachers said. And that wasn't me...I mean I usually

did what I had to, but I didn't get across the way they

wanted...1 wasn't into brown-nosing my teachers. I just didn't let them walk on me, that was all. The

teachers didn't seem to want to have much to do with

you if you had a mind of your own. That's not the way

it should be, but that's the way it was.

Todd Clinton; dropout, 1977
Some people at school don't like the principal, Mr.

Fitzpatrick, cuz he gets on their case. I don't do

nothing wrong in school, so I don't have him on my

case. That's why we're friends. I can go to him for

anything. See, I help him out. If I see someone doin'

something wrong, and he asks me for a girl's name...

sure, I'll tell him. Cuz if they do something to ruin

my privileges, then I feel that it's okay I tell on 'em.

Cuz I don't want to lose my privileges for anything.

Jessica Jackson; graduate, Class of 1979

oute_Say About School

108

During the Youth Perspectives interviews, all the case study participants were asked to talk about their high school experience. They discussed

particular aspects of school life, like academic record, subject matter,

school policies, and social life, as well as their general feelings about

being a high school student. It came as no surprise to find that most of

the dropouts had disliked high school. Compared to the continuous attenders,

who went on to graduate during the course of the study, dropouts expressed

more negative feelings about school experiences and were more dissatisfied

with both the roles they had played in school and the way in which the schools

they attended had been operated.

It is probably typical of all students to be somewhat critical about

the schools they attend. Though educational resources are mobilized for the

benefit of students, young people generally have little say in how services

are delivered and little control over the rules to which they must, as students, comply. Same grousing is predictable, but most students make their

peace with the system. A few students flourish and excel in every aspect of

school experience; some make a place for themselves by refining skills in one

or two areas; many settle for anonimity and mediocrity; and still others move

uneasily between rebellion and bored resignation. Whether their experiences

in high school are predominantly positive or negative, most students remain

until graduation--either because they link school completion with personal

employment or educational objectives, or because there appear to be no viable

alternatives.

- Disparaging comments about school were not uncommon among the case study

participants. Some continuous attenders liked school and were outstanding

students. Others were just marking time until graduation. But nearly all

of the non-dropout participants accepted their own involvement in high school

and its routines as a necessity. Very few questioned the basic assumptions

of an education system that required them to spend six or seven hours a day,

five days a week, thirty-six or so weeks a year, in a classroom, under the

charge of teachers in whose selection they had no voice, performing tasks

about which they had little choice. Perhaps this was because most of the

continuous attenders believed that high school "prepares you for life", and

113
109

that those who did best in school would be most successful out in the world.

When asked how high school could be improved, a number of the non-dropouts

were unable to envision anything -substantially different from the existing

systems. As one young woman said, "I like it the way it is now, pretty much.

I guess I'm so used to it, I wouldn't really want any changes."

The attitudes of participants who had dropped out of high school stood

in sharp contrast to the rather passive acceptance of school procedure and

authority evidenced by most continuous attenders. Nearly one-half of the 20

participants who had left high school at some time before completion indicated

that what they most disliked about school was the amount of control it exerted

over their behavior and movement. In some cases, participants focused their

complaints on specific policies and rules that seemed arbitrary and unnecessarily restrictive. Douglas Giscard protested against the regulations imposed

by a strict Catholic school, where "you had to have your hair really short,

couldn't wear tennis shoes, and had to have your shirt tucked in all the time."

But few other participants had attended schools with such rigid requirements.

Most reacted in a more general way against the authoritarian nature of the

school system and the assumption they had to comply. Sandy Bonds' comments

about her high school experience were typical of this group of dropouts:

I hated it with a passion...Some of the people...some

teachers...the routine...but mostly the fact that it was

mandatory. That really got to me. The attitude, you

know, "There's nothing you can do about it; you're going

to school and d9n't give me no shit." That was it.

Everybody said you have to do it this way, and I didn't

have a choice to do what I want. That really upset me.

In general, case study participants who dropped out of high school had

poorer academic records than those who remained in school until graduation.

Dropouts typically showed particularly poor academic performance during the

period just before leaving school. For some, this was a final stage in a

history of academic failure, but for others, low grades were a recent development that reflected their lack of interest in school. Less than one-third

of the dropouts reported having. had substantial difficulty understanding

basic concepts. Only five of the 20 participants who had dropped out of

school described themselves as slower than average learners.

These self-described slow learners expressed frustration with their

classroom experiences and disappointment with their own performance, but

none felt he or she was incapable of learning basic ac2demic skills. Several

were able to maintain average grades in general courses like English and Basic

Math but had a much harder time with more sophisticated subjects. Todd Clinton says, "I'm the kind of person it takes me a long time to learn new things,

but once I understand something, it's like I've really it." Todd had no

serious problem in Math I, but he had a difficult time adjusting to Algebra

and failed it once before he finally managed to get a "C".
110

A number of dropouts who had done fairly well in grammar school or

junior high said they were surprised to find the work much more demanding

for high school level courses. Carrie Green said:

When I started taking harder classes in the tenth grade,

that's when I ran into trouble. Biology, especially,

was real.hard for me. I was like a slow learner. I would try to raise my hand when I didn't understand.

But the teacher, you know, she wouldn't want to slow

everyone down just for me.

Participant school performance seemed to be affected by differences in

the academic requirements and standards of the schools they attended. Some

schools had a wide variety of classes and program tracks. The most able

students were channelled into college prep programs with more challenging

classes, but many of the students with less apparent ability were put in general programs, where they were not discouraged from filling their schedules

with "easy credits". Several dropouts complained that the more interesting

employment related classes at their schools were also reserved for the academically proficient. Jack Thrush said:

I thought school was supposed to prepare you for life.

But from what I've seen, you gotta be one of the socalled better students just to get into these classes

where they teach you business or job skills and all that

stuff. If you're not a good student, you're in these

plain classes that are real boring. And I would usually

just slide in there.

Several students who dropped out soon after transferring from one high

school to another noticed a big difference in the academic standards at their

new schools. Patty Monson said:

I enjoyed school when I was in Utah, but I hated the

school I transferred to in Kitsap County. It was so

much harder! You'd have to go through all your life

at school there to be able to do the work in high

school. I just couldn't catch up.

A substantial portion of the dropouts seemed to have a hard time relating

to much of the high school curriculum. These young people favored practical

courses, or, as one young man said; "Classes that teach you things you need

to know--stuff that you'll really use, like how to balance a checkbook." Consumer Economics and Personal Finance were considered by a number of continuous attenders to be the most worthwhile classes they had taken in high school.

But most of the dropouts said that they had never had the opportunity to take

these kinds of practical courses. Sandy Bonds had a lot to say about the

things she wished she had learned in school:

121
Most

a need to

that they

quired to

outs with

They oughta teach you how to handle yourself financially- -

how to make a decision on your own, how to rent an apartment, how to talk to people when you're being interviewed

for a job, how to read and understand contracts, and the

whole thing--things like that, you know? Like what to do

with your bank account, and where to go to get the best

deals. Even down to shopping. I mean they oughta teach

somebody how to shop for groceries. A lot of people don't

know how.

of the dropouts in the case study group acknowledged that there was

learn basic reading, writing, and math skills at school, but beyond

could see little point in some of the subjects they had been restudy. The following comments reflect the impatience of some dropdifferent aspects of the traditional curriculum:

Fundamentals of English--who cares! I don't think that's

something you should really have to take. Like diagramming sentences...I mean, how often do you need to do that

in Life? But it seemed like, in school, they wanted you

to do it over and over

Social studies is one thing; it's about what's happening

now, at least. But all that History, it just didn't make

any sense. I don't understand why you would need to know

about things way back in the past.

Everybody needs some English, basic grammar and stuff

like that, just to talk and all. You need to read and

write, but I don't like to write just to be writing. I'm

a carpenter and I don't need to be writing compositions,

you know. All that stuff about nouns, pronouns, verbs,

adverbs--it just seems really confusing to me.

Some of the things we were supposed to learn in school

just didn't seem necessary. Some of the information

you'd read in books...it seemed old, out-of-date or something. It was like it wasn't real. I don't know...I'd

find myself kind of reading things and wondering, maybe

this is right or maybe it isn't.

Dropouts who questioned the relevancy of the academic curriculum were

Often very work oriented. They wanted to gain job related skills and couldn't

see any reason for spending so much time on subjects that held little interest,

or immediate value for them. One young woman said: "It would be neat if

school would teach you whatever you needed or wanted to know about a special

job you wanted, or special way that you wanted to make an income." A number

of other dropouts favored more autonomy in the classroom and more individual

choice over subject matter. Douglas Discard offered the following comment:

12
112

I'd like to change the high school classes. I'd like to

have it so that a kid could go into a classroom and have

him study for as long as he feels like studying and not

feel pushed into it. He should get what he wants to get

out of it, not what other people want him to get.

The dropout- in the case study group had a lot to say about teachers

and teaching methods. They reported having had both "good" teachers and

"bad" teachers. Most felt that the latter outnumbered the former. There

was general agreement that a good teacher should be knowledgeable about the

subject that he or she is teaching. Though there were isolated reports of

"students knowing more than the teachers knew," most participants admitted

that they were in no position to judge a teacher's level of erudition; and

they were more apt to be concerned with a teacht_2's approach and manner in

the classroom. There were many complaints about teachers that didn't seem

to be able to relate to their students, and a number of participants associated such inability with age.

Some teachers were pretty good as far as the studies

went. As far as relating to a student, they weren't

so hot. Most of them had a hard time, because they

had really structured ideas of behavior and values.

Well, different strokes for different folks. Some of

them, they taught their subjects well, but I couldn't

see how they could even be a teacher. The younger

teachers seemed to at least try to get close to the

kids, but the older ones would just stay out. One

track, that was it.

This may sound really prejudiced, but it seemed like

most of the older teachers just couldn't handle it.

I would have liked more younger teachers. They seemed

so more up with the times...more willing to bend their

ideas, you know, and not just to have a set something

in their minds.

Given their negative feelings about many of the teachers they've had,

one might expect that potential dropouts would want to avoid teacher contact

as much as possible. But nearly all of the case study participants who had

dropped out of school reported that they would have liked more interaction

with their teachers. These participants wished their teachers had been more

observant and paid more attention to them and their needs. They believed

that a good teacher really cares about each student. As Sven Latoka said,

"The worst teachers are the ones that just try to contain you for an hour or

so." Luanne Clawson felt that "teachers should be noticing more about who

needs help. When someone asks a question, they should stop and really help

them instead of getting impatient." It was something of a surprise to find

that along with more individual attention and special recognition, some dropouts would have liked more pressure from their high school teachers. The

1 9 r.)
113

attitude expressed by Bobby Jones, a ninth grade dropout, was not unusual

among this group:

I like the teacher to push me a little, be on my back

sometimes. I like for people to come out and talk to

me...to tell me, you know, "you're smart, you can do

something with yourself." I wish I'd have had teachers

who come out and told me that I could do it. It would

have been no problem doing the work, you know. I could've

done it; it's just that I didn't. I like to get individual attention. I think I could work better if it was

just me and the teacher. That way I could stop and ask

questions, you know.

A number of dropouts felt that the major problem with the high schools

they had left was that they were just too large. They believed the problem

lay more in the size of the school than in the quality of the teaching staff.

Opportunities for close interaction or individual attention from teachers

were minimal because class sizes were too big and there were too many students.

It was just too over- crowded at West Roxbury. Like

there would be thirty or more kids in a class. And I

know it be hard on the teacher to teach one, you know,

and still teach the whole class. Cuz some people learn

slow, some learn fast. So many kids can't hardly keep

up. I think it's hard on the teacher cuz she can't just

stop for one special person, you know. She can't hardly

slow down the others.

Luanne Clawson

The last high school I went to was a good school, academically, the teachers and everything. But the school

held seven thousand people. It was a ba school, almost

like a college. And there wasn't much contact between

you and the teacher. In a school like that, you got to

want to be there, you know, to get by.

Sandy Bonds

While participants who had dropped out complained about the academic

requirements and teaching methods in their high schools, most acknowledged

that their poor performance had a lot to do with their own lack of effort.

Most dropouts were skipping school frequently in the period just before

leaving, and very few reported having done any studying outside the classroom during this time. But the majority felt that they were capable of

doing the required work and probably would have done reasonably well if

they had applied themselves. The following comments are typical of the

dropouts in the case study group:

I
114

When I got to Central, I started messing around. I was

skipping and everything. But, you know, I could have

went to class, and I could have did the work okay, if I

had wanted to.

Jack Thrush

The work got to be real hard for me, because I didn't

study for it at all. But I know if I would've listened

in class and studied, then it wouldn't have been hard.

Jean Ansel

I didn't like most of my classes so I hardly ever did any

of the assignments. The only class I really studied in

was literature, because I like to read. So I did pretty

good in that.

Harold Thomas

In spite of the fact that dropouts had typically devoted little ime

to studying and many said that they hadn't really cared how poorly they per- formed during the time before they dropped out, a number of them showed a surprising amount of concern over issues of grading. Within the case study

group, continuous attenders at the low end of the academic achievement scale

were generally not very concerned about grades. Among this group, the following kinds of remarks were common: "I'd rather get good grades, but I'm

not going to worry about it if I get a "0" or something." "As long as I try my best, it's okay." "As long as it's a passing grade, it doesn't really matter that much to me." "If I understand h.-:w to do it that's the important thing." On the other hand, dropouts whose grades had been poor often showed

a preoccupation with grades as a measure of achievement. Some said grades

were really important to their parents, and they were under considerable

pressure to bring home a good report card. Several years after dropping out,

some were still actively upset over what they considered to be unfair grading

practices:

If we came home with lower than a "C", we used to get in

big trouble. In some classes, I would get lower grades

than I really deserved. Like I was doing "B" work, and

when my report card came, I would get a "C-" or something. Some teachers just didn't like me, and they'd

grade me down for no reason. Lynn Hazelton
115

I would change that school's rules about grading. Like

I'd be getting a "B-" in Algebra, and they'd give me an

"F"--just because of unexcused absences. I think if a

person's responsible and knows what they're doing, they

don't need to come so often in a certain class. They

shouldn't just grade you down.

Peggy Bromfield

Grades were a big thing with my parents. They liked to

brag about my brother and all. If we got good grades,

we got money; like for each "A", we got a dollar, and a

"B" was fifty cents. When my grades started sliding, I

didn't get any money of course. By that time I didn't

really care...only sometimes it bothered me, cuz I didn't

think the grade I got was fair.

Sven Latoka

Social life and acceptance or rejection by their peers is another aspect of school experience with which many dropouts seem to have problems.

When Elvira Taylor, who reported hating high school, was asked what could

have improved her school experience, she answered, in a defeated tone:

"There's nothing that could be changed up there. Cuz it's just the people

theirselves, the students that go there. There ain't no way you can change

that. Not unless people change their minds about the way they feel." Most

of the dropouts had somewhat less negative impressions of their former fellow

students, but relatively few were satisfied with the position to which they

had been relegated in the social fabric of their school.

Nearly a third of the dropouts indicated that they had been somewhat of

a "loner" during the year or two before leaving school. Though most claimed

that this role was adopted by choice, there was evidence of dissatisfaction

in several cases. The following types of comments were not unusual among

the dropouts in the case study group:

I've always been a loner. No really close friends, just

acquaintances. I got hassled some in school. Like I

never went to my English class because they harassed me.

These boys in there called me Wilma Flintstone, because

they said my teeth looked like the stone age. I talked

to my counselor about it once, and she said, "Do you

think that might be their way of expressing that they

like you?" And I said, "That's crazy really. I don't

like that at all."

Peggy Bromfield
116

I didn't like being around too many people in high

school. I don't like to be in the public eye. And I

don't like to associate with people when I'm against

their principles.

Douglas Discard

I was pretty far removed from others--at my own choice.

There was a big social thing at both schools I went to,

but I didn't choose to have any part of it.

Sven Latoka

Many high schools seem to be extremely athletically orientated, and involvement or lack of involvement in sports can have a major impact on where

a young man fits in the high school social hierarchy. In some schools, not

being a "jock" automatically limits the social status a young man can hope

to achieve among his peers. Bobby Jones says the only time he really enjoyed

school was when he was a star on the junior high school basketball team.

Being eliminated from the junior varsity football squad for poor grades in

his freshman year was a major blow to his ego. Todd Clinton talked about the

discrimination he felt from the high school athletes:

That school was really big on sports--which didn't

impress me coo much because they were always trying

to impress everybody else. I wasn't a real long-hair

or negative person, but I didn't play ball. I would

talk to jocks and everything, but I just didn't like a

lot of their attitudes. You know, "I can do anything,

and you're nothing." I didn't like that attitude. Because I treated them as, you know, as well as they would

have treated me--if I'd have been a jock.

The comments of Tina Middleton, a non-dropout, about the role that

athletics played in her school, tend to corroborate Todd's view of the social stratification in a sports oriented high school:

We're always first in the league. I think we have a

good school. But people who come from other schools

say we're a bunch of dummies. We're known as jocks,

but I still think we learn a lot. We have a lot of

school spirit. It's definitely an athletically oriented school. It's starting to change, but for a

while there, either you were an athlete or you were

a nothing.
117

Students who transfer during their high school years sometimes have

difficult time making the transition to a new social environment. Among

the case study dropouts were several transfer students who had not been

able to make a successful social adjustment to a new school. Patty Monson

felt that she wasn't accepted by the young people in her new Kitsap County

school, whose socio-economic status and academic skills were more advanced

than those of her former classmates in Utah. "The kids were just more stuckup, and they liked theirselves a lot more. I guess it was because they were

so much better and they knew it." Since she couldn't seem to find a place

in the mainstream, Patty associated with the kids who were fooling around

and cutting classes. Another participant who had been a transfer student

said, "If I had stayed at West, I would still have been in school today. I had so much fun there. But there was nothing at East. The cafeteria was

small, you don't get any privileges, and the people were all stuck-up."

Intexration and Violence

South Boston High when they was integratin', that was

a rough time! It was like being a nigger in the fifties. It was dangerous. They all say they hate niggers,

you know. Couldn't hardly walk down the corridor but

what you'd get jumped. They started all that. Ain't

nobody wanted to be bused.

Adam Sledge

Among the case study participants whose high school experiences were

disrupted by inter-school transfers was a small group of young people in Boston. These students did not move from one neighborhood to another, not did

they or their families decide upon a change in school. They were assigned

to new schools as part of a court-ordered, city-wide desegregation plan.

For the young blacks and Hispanics who were bused into formerly all-white

high schools, like South Boston, and the young whites who were bused into

predominantly black schools, mandatory transfer meant more than a change in

social environment or academic standards. It meant leaving their neighborhoods each day to attend school in alien territory, where they encountered

the active hostility of their new classmates and the wider community. Forced

integration in Boston triggered acts of violence from adult members of the

community, who feared and opposed desegregation. It also triggered violence

in the schools and disrupted the lives and education of many students, who

scarcely understood what was happening or why.

South Boston High School was the scene of the most explosive desegregation confrontations. South Boston is a close-knit, white, working class

community. Its residents tend to see their neighborhood schools as vehicles

for educating their young and passing on to them the values that reinforce

community stability. Racial fear and prejudice run high throughout South

Boston. Federally directed busing was viewed by many residents as both an
118

immediate threat and as a direct challenge to the principle of local autonomy over the school. In the minds of many "Southies", several bus loads of

black students represented a serious threat to the order and quality of their

schools and to the security and well-being of their community. Whites in

South Boston opposed busing for the increase in violence and crime, and the

educational deterioration they felt it was bound to bring. In their opposion, they created a climate that spawned violence and made the effective

delivery of educational services nearly impossible.

The integration of South Boston High School began in 1975. The minority case study participants who received their busing orders for the 1976-77

school year had ample opportunity to hear reports and rumors of the kind of

treatment they could expect, as non-whites, to encounter at South Boston High.

They knew that the white community didn't want them there, and they were

frightened.

When Felisa Santana discovered, upon her family's return from Puerto

Rico, that she would be assigned to South Boston, she made the decision not

to return to public school. "I knew there would just be riots every day,

cuz they're so prejudiced there," Felisa says. "The white people didn't

want us Puerto Ricans or'blacks to go up there, cuz they thought it was their

school." She decided to enroll instead in a bilingual community based school,

even though it meant sacrificing instruction in some subjects and managing

her own transportation from Dorchester into downtown Boston each day.

Genetta Burke was in the tenth grade when she received her "busing

papers". She said:

Even though I was too old to cry, I stood outside near

the buses and cried, cuz my mother made me go to school.

I'd seen all the reports on T.V., and I just didn't want

to go there.

Adam Sledge said that he felt "terrible" the day his papers arrived:

I knew it was gonna be bad, because they had had the idea

that we did it to 'em, you know...like we made the rules or

somethin'. But we didn't want to come to their school as

much as they didn't want us to be there, you know.

The experiences of the black participants who were bused into South

Boston confirmed their negative expectations and fears. Genetta Burke was

transferred during the early period of desegregation when community reactions were especially violent. Four years later, her memories of this time

are still vivid:

Everybody called us niggers. And they'd hold up bananas

and stuff when you'd come down the hill by the school.

I mean, there were grown people, shouting, waving bananas at us...sayin' stuff like, "Hey, monkey, want

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119

your food?" They were bombing the buses and throwing

stuff. Yeah, I was scared. Sure I was.

I think the teachers cated--same of 'em anyway. But

you know, it was like you couldn't hardly study. Because if there was like a bad group of white people

behind, you know, they would start trouble. Because

in the classrooms, there was like only two or three

blacks and all the rest white. And you know, there

was nothin' you could do, really. Sometimes they'd

just start throwin' chairs and stuff at you. Stuff

Like that.

I got trapped up there the day that they trapped everybody up in the school. A white guy got stabbed. Yeah,

I was right behind him when he got stabbed, too. And

they trapped us all in the school. We couldn't get

out...We was in there, um, well, for hours. We finally

got out through the side door. They almost got us

though. Cause they had hockey sticks and rocks and bats.

And we didn't have nothin'.

Harold Thomas was assigned to South Boston High in 1977, when he moved

to Dorchester from Virginia. Harold had attended an integrated high school

in the South, where, he says, "there were never any real problems." "Sure,

each group tended to stick to their own some," Harold recalls. "But at

school, it didn't really matter to no one whether you was black or white."

Harold was not prepared for the hostility he encountered in South Boston:

It just didn't make any sense at all for people to feel

like that. I tried to walk away. But I couldn't help

it. When somebody jumps on me, I can't just sit there

and let them beat me up. So I fought back.

Adam Sledge attended South Boston during the same year, and he too felt

that he had to "fight back" to protect himself and his family members:

When they said nigger this and nigger that, I just walk

by 'em--until they put their hands on me. Then I had no

choice but to fight, cuz I wasn't getting myself hurt.

I had to watch my brother and any sister, you know. They

was goin' there too. If they know your family is there,

they try to get to you by getting to your family. It got

so I was fighting every day up there.

Integration is supposed to improve the quality of educational services

for non-white students, but integration in Boston's schools seems to have had

a largely negative impact on those most directly involved. None of the black

case study participants assigned to South Boston stayed there for more than

one year. Harold Thomas grew tired of fighting. He dropped out of school
120

and joined the Army Reserves. Cenetta Burke became pregnant toward the end

of her first year at South Boston. She was able to transfer into a special

maternity school, but after the baby was born, she dropped out of school

rather than return to South Boston. Adam Sledge requested a transfer to a chnical high school, where he spent three months in the eleventh grade

before dropping out. His sister stopped going to school midway through the

year. She stayed at home until she was able to get a transfer for the next

school year. Adam's brother left school for good during his first year at

South Boston High School.

Reasons for Leaving School

Economically disadvantaged students are more likely to drop out of high

school than are their classmates from higher income families; does this mean

that most students who become dropouts leave school for financial reasons?

Among the YP case study group, none of the 20 dropouts left school primarily

because of economic need. Although a number of the case study dropouts felt

they would rather be out working and earning money at the time they dropped

out of school, each was also motivated by non-financial considerations. Most

of the dropouts cited a combination of reasons for leaving school before

graduation. About half said they left primarily for school related reasons. For the other half, personal considerations and family problems were a major

factor in the decision to drop out.

Some of the case study participants had a difficult time articulating

their "reasons" for leaving school, but their patterns were similar and distinct. Though participants like Carrie Green, Lynn Hazelton, and Sven Latoka

believed that "education is important", they were not able to stay interested

in school. They began to skip classes frequently. Typically their grades

dropped dramatically during the period before leaving school. The prospect

of academic failure seemed to erode whatever positive connection they may

have felt in their role as students. Several participants made conscious

decisions to leave, but most just spent more and more time away from school.

The longer they stayed away, the more problems there were to face, so eventually they stopped coming to school altogether. Few of the participants

who "lost interest" in school went through any formal process of dropping out.

Well, I don't know. I never liked school very much. My

girlfriend, Michelle- -I've known her for years--every

time she'd see me, we'd go off together to the parking

lot and just sit. If it was a nice day, I'd go along

with her when she skipped...My grades had been "B"'s

and "C"'s before. Then I went down to "Du's and "F"'-

It was bad news. It got to be too much pressure. So

I finally just said forget it.

Carrie Green
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I didn't really drop out...1 just didn't go. Me and my

girlfriend were in all the same classes, and she always

wanted to skip. So I'd skip with her. I wasn't passing

in any of my classes so I stopped going.

Lynn Hazelton

It's hard for me to relate to this now, but it was just

lack of interest. I hated the school I went to, but if

I could turn back time, now I would keep going. I didn't

just drop right out. I...well, some days I'd be there,

some days I wouldn't. Then finally, I just didn't go

at all.

Sven Latoka

None of the young dropouts who are quoted above liked school. They

felt no connection to school beyond their attachment to one or two likeminded

friends. They never bothered to confront school authorities, and one wonders

if their slipping away from school went entirely unnoticed.

There was another group of case study dropouts whose dislike of school

was more actively expressed during the period before they dropped out. They

became involved in conflicts with school authorities, and their final exits

were more abrupt and dramatic. Jack Thrush was considered to be a discipline

problem by his teachers. He was punished by suspension several times and

spent a number of short stints away from school before he finally decided to

"drop out for good" in the eleventh grade:

School always seemed really weird to me. I didn't like

bein' in class or anything. Most of the time, I'd come

to school and end up leavin' and skip. Just come there

and meet all my friends and leave. When I did go to

class, I'd usually get in trouble. I had a hard time

talkin' to the teachers. They all seemed so rigid or

somethin'. The first time I quit for awhile, it was cuz

I had got kicked out for ten days. I was busted for

grass, and that blew the rest of the tenth grade.

But I went back to school. I was gonna go back and try

harder in the eleventh grade. I went about the first

three days. My schedule was mixed up, and I missed two

days on my Math class. I hadn't been there yet, and it

was on the third day of school. And I went to the class.

The teacher was still talkin' to the students, gettin'

to know them and all this. And he started sayin' stuff

like, "When you're in this class, I want you to forget

all about your other classes." He said, "Forget all
122

about your other classes; this is the only important one."

Then he started sayin', "In here, I'm God..." And he

started talkin' like he had all the power in his hands,

and I just...He said somethisC like, "If anybody thinks

they can get up and leave this class, they're gonna have

to deal with me." I raised my hand, and I said, "I'm

getting up and leavin'. And I'm never comin' back." I got up and walked out of the school. And I never did go

back either.

Sandy Bonds and Douglas Discard were also involved in authority conflicts

at school for several years before they dropped out. Sandy had been referred

to juvenile court a number of times for truancy and gang fighting at school.

Douglas had been reprimanded many times for failure to obey the rules in the

strict Catholic school he attended. He was a good student, but he believes

he was singled out as a troublemaker because of his conflicting values. When

he decided to drop out, Douglas says:

I told them one last time exactly what I thought about

that school, and then I just left and did not return.

I guess they assumed I was no longer going to be back

in school when they heard no word from me after left.

Both Sandy and Douglas decided that there must be other things they

could do besides going to school, but neither had a job or any definite plan

for getting one. Douglas says, "I didn't really know what I wanted. I was

at a really radical stage." Sandy says:

I saw some people that...their parents would support 'em

since they didn't go to school. And I thought I'd try

it. I just never wanted to go to school. I wanted to

do other things, like writing songs and tryini to get a

job. Found that was impossible. Our social make-up

actually forces you to go to school. I guess they figure just because you have ideas and have read a couple

books, that doesn't tell me you're smart enough to work.

While most of the dropouts had no definite plans when they left school,

there were a number of exceptions. Some participants were dissatisfied with

their school experiences, but they were more cautious and pianned more carefully than the other dropouts did. They didn't leave their high schools until

they had worked out other alternatives. Three case study participants left the

public school system, but they didn't discontinue their education; they transferred into GED programs.

Luanne Clawson left West Roxbury High School to enroll in a "YES" project,

operated under Boston's YIEFF program. She wants to be a secretary and plans

to go to junior college. But she wasn't doing very well in school, and she

was dissatisfied with the way things were going at West Roxbury:

I
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That's the reason I left because I wasn't really learning nothing. In my classes, the teacher would just pass

me over. If I be absent, she would say, "I can't go back

to that work right now. I give it to you later." But

when later comes, she never give it to me. So I just

say, you know, "Hey, just go the YES program." I heard about on the radio and all, and I knew some kids

there that liked it. I thought maybe, um, you know, I

could get more out of it than school.

Luanne had to get a waiver signed by the West Roxbury principal in order

to enroll in the YIEPP project. He advised her not to transfer, but he told

her she could come back if it didn't work out. The YES project in which Luanne enrolled operated out of a Dorchester community center. She attended

GED preparation classes in the morning, and did clerical work in the office

during the afternoons. She aad been in a vocational business program at West

Roxbury, but she says that she learned more about office work from three

months in her part-time job than she -had learned in two years at West Roxbury.

Harold Thomas says that he knew he had to get out of South Boston High

School. He requested a transfer, but it didn't come through. He thought

about going back to Virginia, but didn't feel that he could abandon his sisters. He didn't consult his school counselor when he finally decided to join

the Army Reserves:

I didn't want to talk to nobody up there, cuz I didn't

want to adjust to it. The way things are up here...I

just don't want to be like that. I felt they would talk

to me in a way--they'd been living up here and all--I

felt they would try to change my mind or change the way

I lived. I was goin' only about once or twice a week...

working and trying to figure out what to do. And I decided that I'd be better off joining the Army Reserves.

So that's what I done...If I hadn't come up here, I know

I'd still be in school. I would be graduating this year.

Elvira Taylor wanted to complete high school so that she could go to

Mount Hood Community College in Portland and take a cosmetology course. Elvira didn't like the public high school, where she was enrolled as a tenth

grade student. "I didn't get along with the people there," Elvira says.

"They gossip. I mean people just go around telling things that's not even

true, and I didn't like that." Elvira believes that, "when I don't get along

with people, it's best for me to leave." In order to transfer into an alternative education program, sponsored by a black community-based organization,

she had to obtain a "release" from the principal at the public high school.

Elvira attended classes at the alternative school for six months, but

became dissatisfied when she realized that, at the pace she was working, it

would be over two full years before she obtained a high school certificate.

"I didn't have enough credits," Elvira says, "and I knew I couldn't bring 'em
124

up before next year, so I just decided to go for a GED instead." With a

recommendation from her school counselor and YETP program advisor, she left

the alternative school and enrolled in GED preparation program at Portland

Community College. She didn't like school any better there, but she hoped

to be able to complete sooner.

Four weeks before she planned to take her first GED examination, Elvira

discovered that she was pregnant. She dropped out of the GED program, and

quit her YETP job. I asked her why she was abandoning her education plans

after she had gone through so much trouble and when there were still alter

natives open to her. But Elvira didn't have a clear answer: "Just seems

like it's all wrong, and nothing's gonna work out anyway, so I might as well

quit now."

Like Elvira, most of the case study participants who dropped out of

school for personal reasons like pregnancy, parenthood, or family conflicts,

had also had problems in school with academic or social adjustment. Lynn

Hazelton was skipping school with her friend and failing most of her classes

during the semester in which she became pregnant. She stopped going to

school altogether soon after her pregnancy was confirmed. Peggy Bromfield

says she spent most of the ninth grade "taking drugs out on the hill and

skipping classes." She met her husband-co-be during the following summer.

By September she was pregnant, and she decided to marry and not go back to

school for tenth grade.

Carmeletta DeVries never liked high school much. She got "C"'s and

"D"'s in most of her classes. Carmeletta stayed in school for several

months after she became pregnant.

I was goin' most days, but I wasn't doing too good. Then

I just get to that point where I was lazy. I didn't want

to do nothin'. I was gettin' into so much trouble. My

mother told me she's tired of coming up to school for me.

And if I wanted to quit, then quit, cuz she's tired of

it, you know. So I quit--like a dummy.

Patty Monson left school in the eleventh grade, soon after she realized

that she was pregnant. She says she left because "My baby's father was in

that school, and he would have given me a bad time. I wasn't getting good

grades there anyway." Patty says she never intended to leave school for good.

She planned to finish later, after her baby was born.

Two of the young mothers in the case study group stayed in school through

most of their pregnancy. They didn't decide to drop out until later, when

they had small infanta to care for. Genetta Burke liked the maternity school

to which she was transferred much better than South Boston High. During the

last month of her pregnancy, she was assigned a home tutor. When she felt

ready to go back to school, Genetta says that she knew she would have to go

back to South Boston. "They didn't register me, and I just didn't feel like

goin' through the hassles of tryin' to get registered. Plus I hated goin'

to South Boston High anyway." During her pregnancy, Yvette McDermott was

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enrolled in a special school program in Portland. But she decided not to

go back after her baby was born:

I could have stayed at Continuing Eduction for Girls.

They had a child care where they took, uh, kids who

were...They took the students' kids, who were going to

that school. But I was just the type of person...I

just didn't want anybody keeping my baby but me.

Adam Sledge dropped out of a technical high school in Boston soon after

his girlfriend, Cindy, became pregnant. He makes the following comment about

his reasons for leaving:

Last year I liked school a lot. I liked to do Math a

lot. I liked everything, all my subjects. Last year I

was learning, but this year I wasn't doing nothing. It

was just getting to me. Finally I took it upon myself

and told my mother, "I'm not going." And she said, "You

better go on back there and take care of yourself." But

I told her, "I'm tired of waking up every morning just

to do a little fighting"...I used to cove there every

morning, you know, just sit there. And, you know, my.

girl was having a baby. And I started to say while I'm

sitting there I could be out working. So I just stopped

going to school. So that was that.

Todd Clinton and Jean Ansel were having problems with their parents and

)ersonal lives when they decided to drop out of school. Both of these particLpants left school at the same time they were leaving home. Jean, at age 15,

as ejected from the house by her father because of her heroin addition. But

"odd took it upon himself to leave his parents' home, at age 17, after years

>f struggling with his father. He says, "I left school because I had to get

may. Basically, I had just had it with my father, and I couldn't live there

inymore. It was either me or them; I had to go." Todd was less than three

ionths away from graduation when he joined the National Guard.

la icizant Views on High School_ Completion

High school graduation is not the answer to all, or even most, manpower

Toblems, but youth employment and training programs rest on the assumption

hair some type of secondary credential is probably a prerequisite for obtainng adequate employment. Programs offer incentives to encourage young people

o complete high school. But do they really need convincing?

All of the continuous school attenders in the YP case study group beieved in the importance of a high school education. Several had gone through

eriods when they considered dropping out of school. Most had never waivered

n their intention to graduate. Over half of the high school students in the

ase study group planned to go on to college--if not immediately after gradution, then sometime in the future. Not all of the continuous attenders

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viewed high school completion in such glowing terms as Tina Middleton, who

said "High school graduation's like the shining castle- -it's the big diploma thing. The way everyone talks about it, you know you have to have

one." But all of the continuous attenders were certain, on the basis of

what they had read and heard from their families, teachers, and others, that

a high school diploma is a necessity if you want to have a good future. The

following comments were typical of this group:

I think it's important, because if you drop out, you

won't be getting the necessary education or training

to go on to college or to get a job. Because a person can't go onto a job site and be expected to learn

things with only a grade school education or even two

or three years of high school. That last year probably

makes a lot of difference.

Mark Gurney

I want to graduate and go to college, because I want

become an accountant. I want to make money. Live

comfortably.

David Anderson

My mom and dad have always wanted me to stay in school.

They always said it would be worth it. And I really

think it will be worth it when I graduate. I plan to

get a good job.

Joy Tippets

My grandmother cold me I had to graduate. And I want to

for my own reasons. I need an education. I need that

diploma in hand, before I can go out and accomplish anything!

Jessica Jackson

Research indicates that young people whose parents attended college are

more likely than others to do well in high school and go on to college. Many

researchers equate higher educational attainment of parents with the maintenance of home environments that encourage high school completion. The inference is that young people whose parents completed less year's of schooling will

receive less encouragement at home to complete their own high school education.

But among the YP case study group families, parents with low educational attainment were usually strongly committed to higher educational objectives

for their children. Within the low income case study group, there were a

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number of participants, both continuous attenders and dropouts, whose parents' experience with formal education stopped short of high school. These

parents tended to use'their own experience as an object lesson to spur their

children on to further education. Here's what some of the continuous attenders said about the influence that their parents exerted on their education

plans:

My mother's family was always moving from one spot to

another. Her father was a logger, and loggers have to

move around quite a bit. So she had a hard time getting

to school, and sometimes she'd get put back a grade. She

said she wanted me to have a better chance than she did.

She said she'd like for me to finish college.

Richard Nielsen

My parents, well, since I was young, they always kinda

stressed going to school. They were especially interested in my education, because they have been...both my

parents have not been educated well.

Lui Heuyen

My mother left school to get married, and my father only

finished to the seventh grade. He had to work cuz his

mother and father had died. He had to help his little

brothers and sisters so he had to work. But they always

talked to me about my own education. My mamma said,

"Make something out of your life. I want you to be happy."

As I got older, she would say, "If you finish school, you

can be a doctor or a nurse. It's up to you. Just as long

as you make something out of yourself. It's all up to

you."

Tina Middleton

Within the case study group, there were few differences between dropouts

and continuous attenders in regard to their parents' educationP1 backgrounds

or the extent to which high school completion was stressed within the family.

Among both groups, there were young people whose parents had less than 10th

grade educations as well as a few whose fathers or mothers had graduated from

college. In general, the parents of dropouts had made it clear to their

youngsters that they wanted them to finish high school. Only one difference

was apparent in the educational orientation of the dropouts' families corri

pared to that of non-dropouts. Whilr the parents of continuous attenders

tended to stress high school completion as a tool for gaining access to college or further training, the parents of dropouts were more apt to promote

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graduation as an end in itself. The parents of case study participants who

dropped out had placed a strong emphasis on high school performance, but most

of this emphasis had been focused on simply obtaining a diploma. Most of the

dropouts don't remember their parents talking much about the possibility of

going to college or about the general benefits of education.

My mom always used to say, "You gotta graduate, you

gotta graduate," and stuff like that... "I'll be so

proud of you if you graduate." Yeah, I was going for

that all the way up to about 10th grade. Even then, I

still wanted to graduate pretty bad, but things started

takin' a different course. I started changing my mind,

quit school and stuff.

Jack Thrush

My parents expected us to graduate. They tried to get

it into our heads to study, try to do as best you can in

school--so you can graduate. We never talked about going to college. I guess I never got to that stage.

Peggy Bromfield

All my parents ever wanted was for me to graduate. They

never said so much about why, but I figgered they were

worried. Cuz back then they could just get a job easy,

you know, without a degree or whatever, but now i

getting where you got to get something before you can

get a job.

Sven Latoka

There were some dropouts in the case study group whose parents wanted

them to go on to college. Douglas Giscard remembers that college graduation

was stressed the major objective in his middle class home:

They wanted me to finish college. That was the big

thing. They knew I was bright and all. But when they

found out I was dropping out of high school, they begged

me just to stay until graduation.

Though most dropouts in the case study group knew that their parents

wanted them to graduate, and many were convinced that education was an important factor in getting ahead in the world; at the time of leaving school,

most of them were too alienated by circumstances in their school or family

lives, or too preoccupied with personal crises to seriously consider the possibility that they were jeopardizing their future. Though most had been

warned about the trouble in store for them as dropouts, they felt that leaving school was something they had to do.
129

My dropping out got a kla reaction at home. They all

told me I shouldn't have done it--my sisters, my grandma, my dad...I didn't really care what they said at the

time. Later I thought about it. And of course they was

right. I guess I should've listened.

Carrie Green

I heard all the bad stuff about dropping out, but I

didn't really care about it. I just wanted to get out

of school. When I got out and tried to look for a job,

it was hard. Now I know better.

Jack Thrush

Nothin' that anyone told me at the time really ©t to me,

you know? Now I realize that it is hard...it is...tryinl

to get a job without an education.

Carmeletta DeVries

Even at the time, I didn't really feel it was a good

choice. But, you know, it was just something I felt I

had to do. There wasn't nothing happening with me and

my school anymore.

Adam Sledge

Most of the case study dropouts had grown up in homes where personal

success was equated with high school graduation. Several admitted that after

leaving school, they had to wrestle with their childhood fantasies of graduation night. Dropouts, like Todd Clinton, felt a sense of personal loss over

missing an anticipated rite of passage. Three years after leaving school,

Todd has completed a GED and obtained occupational credentials as a hair

stylist, with help from the YETI' program; but he still regrets missing the

experience of high school graduation:

I wanted to be able to say I did it, and no one else in

my family could. Since then, I've got diplowas...but

there's something there about high school graduation.

When you graduate, there's four years of your life, and

it's all over with. Now you've gotta go out and make

it or break it, you know. When you go up there--with all

your friends and all your family--it's just...like...I

can't express it. But I never got to feel it, and I

never will. I always wanted to do that.
130

The decision to drop out of school was typically propelled by a sense

of desperation or necessity. Most of the case study dropouts viewed this

course of action as an immediate solution to their dissatisfactions or personal crises. But they did not believe that in leaving high school they

were giving up their only opportunity to get secondary educational credentials. At the time they left school, all of the dropouts in the case study

group were aware that GED or other credentials could be obtained outside of

regular high school programs. Six of the 20 dropouts said their parents had

returned to school as adults to earn high school diplomas or GED certificates.

Several participants enrolled in GED programs directly upon leaving regular

high schools. Most of the case study dropouts hoped they could get jobs or

get by for awhile without further schooling, but the majority planned to obtain a high school certificate or GED credential at some time in the future.

Effects o Dropping

What effects does dropping out of high school have on a young person's

life? Many of the dropouts in the youth perspectives case study group left

school with no specific plans. All experienced some difficulties finding

employment and making the adjustment to more adult roles as workers or parents. The period following their departure from school was typically a trying time for these young people. The unmistakable messages of anti-dropout

publicity and their own difficulties were enough to convince most dropouts

they had made a grave mistake in leaving school early. But can we assume

that their lives would have been smoother and their work transition more

successful if they had remained in school until graduation?

Taken as a total group, high school graduates seem to have an easier

time making a successful transition to adult status in our society. But it

is faulty logic to compare the circumstances of all dropouts and all graduates and to conclude that the dropouts could improve their lot simply by

remaining in school. Bachman and his associates believe that dropping out

is a symptom of other problems rather than a problem in itself:

The "after only" comparison of dropouts and stayins

(sometimes all stayins, including those who go on to

college) can be terribly misleading, for the implication is clear that if the potential dropout only stays

in school then he can be just like the rest of the graduates. In fact, it simply is not so; by the time he

reaches tenth or eleventh grade the potential dropout

usually has basic problems that will not be "cured" by

another year or two of high school.

Bachman, J. et al, (1971) Drapping Out7-Froblem or Symptom
131.

In their longitudinal study of a young male sample, YIT researchers

found ample evidence that dropping out of school, in itself, did not have

the effect of worsening the disadvantages or prospects of those who leave

high school before graduation. In regard to dimensions of self-esteem,

satisfaction with his own performance, commitment to accepted social values,

and rates of delinquency, YIT researchers found that dropouts.began high

school at a disadvantage. They found nothing to support the view that dropping out caused young men to suffer further harm in these dimensions.

The interview comments of most of the YP case study dropouts indicate

that they had feelings of low self-esteem during the time before leaving

school. These feelings were typically related to, and exacerbated by, their

experiences in school. Some of them saw dropping out of school as a sign of

failure, but, paradoxically, it did not seem to make them feel worse about

themselves. They may have wished that they were the kind of person who could

do better in school, but most felt relieved when they stopped going. The

dropouts who found new roles to fill, and were busy being mothers, soldiers,

or workers, typically experienced increases in self-esteem as they practiced

new skills and discovered new dimensions in themselves.

Not all of the case study dropouts found acceptable new roles when they

left school. The experiences of young people like Sandy Bonds, Douglas Gis-

:ard, Bobby Jones, and Jean Ansel seem to confirm the popular image of dropputs as people who fail to find jobs, become drifters, and turn to drugs or

:rime. But it is important to note that each of these young persons started

its or her socially unacceptable behavior pattern well before making the de-

:ision to drop out of school. It also seems pertinent to note that all of

:hese participants, within several years time, realized that their behavior

as self-defeating; and when given an opportunity, they were able to re-channel

:heir energied-in more productive and socially acceptable ventures.

Dropping out of high school does not appear to cause a reduction in selfesteem, trigger juvenile delinquency, corrupt values, or otherwise lead to

nadesirable character changes. But what about its effect on employment and

Labor market experience? YIT researchers collected data on the employment

rxperiences and wages of dropouts compared to those of high school graduates.

rhey found few short term differences in measures of job satisfaction and

!arnings.

Those differences that were found tended to be in the favor of dropouts

rver high school graduates without further training. They did find that unemployment was higher among dropouts, but low family socio-economic level

ras found to be a stronger factor than the lack of high school diploma in

predicting unemployment. Project TALENT results, reported by Combs and

:coley (1988), showed that, in 1964, the employment rates of dropouts and

nigh school graduate controls were quite similar. Project TALENT also found

hat not only were male dropouts earning as much as the controls, but they

led been earning for longer. Thus, economically, the dropouts had a short

:ern advantage over the students who stayed to graduate.
132

Both Project TALENT and the YIT study followed their sample groups for

only a limited period. Consequently, they were not able to draw conclusions

about the longer term employment and earning consequences of leaving school

before graduation. Other research indicates that dropouts, as a group, experience employment and income disadvantages in their twenties and continue

to fare worse than high school graduates over time. Moreover, the unemployment rates of youth in general and dropouts in particular have risen considerably in the years since the Project TALENT and YIT studies were completed

It appears that the use of the high school diploma as an employment screening

credential is much more prevalent now than it was even 10 years ago. The

tendency of employers to use high school graduation as a prerequisite for

hiring may have been accelerated by national anti-dropout campaigns. In any

case, it is difficult in today's labor market for any teenager to obtain a

permanent job with career attributes.

Despite these circumstances, most of the case study dropouts who actively sought employment were able to find some kind of work. The jobs these

young people found typically paid low wages and offered little employment

security or opportunity for advancement. Carrie Green lied about her age and

got a job in a factory operating a machine for molding plastic. When she was

laid off at the factory, she obtained employment as a "salad girl" in a restaurant. Jack Thrush worked as a bell-hop in a large hotel, but he was laid

off when they found an older youth to take his place. He had a hard time

finding another job but finally found work as a dishwasher.

About half of the young mothers in the case study group found part-time

or temporary jobs to augment their welfare checks or their husband's earnings.

Peggy Bromfield worked in a garment factory as a seamstress for several months

before her second child was born. Yvette McDermott worked as a cashier in

a grocery store for a year and a half and in a department store as a stock

clerk during the Christmas season. Lynn Hazelton sold flowers on the street

and bagged groceries at a Navy commissary. Genetta Burke worked as a receptionist for six months and put in several brief stints as a factory worker.

Several young men were able to get occupational training after leaving

school. Sven Latoka's father told him, "If you're not going to go to school,

you're definitely going to get a job." He offered to take his son on his con

struction jobs as a carpenter's helper. Sven worked with his father for

nearly two years. He became proficient in basic construction techniques

and learned how to use tools effectively and how to price jobs. Harold Thomas went through a six week mechanics training program in the Army Reserves.

Todd Clinton earned a third class disc jockey license in the National Guard.

Employed or unemployed, most of the case study dropouts discovered a lot

about themselves during the period after they left school. They also learned

enough about the world to be dissatisfied with their immediate prospects and

to seek out further training, education, or work experience. Some of these

young people could probably have been spared considerable hardship if they

had been aware of employment and training alternatives earlier or had better

access to these opportunities when they left school. But it seems doubtful

that their circumstances would have been relatively better had they chosen

instead to continue their problematic high school careers.

14:7
133

V. LOOKING AT Ti RLD OF WORK

I'm not going to be a waitress or some dime store clerk--

that's for sure. After I graduate, I want an interesting

career. That's why I have to go to college. The good

jobs, they're more or less just for college graduates.

It used to be that you didn't have to have anything but

a high school diploma to get a good sob. But there's no

way you could do that now. If you don't have more schooling, you might just as well kiss it good-bye. Cuz you

won't make it.

Jessica Jackson

I want a good job...money...security...prestige...the

works! But it's gettin' harder to break into the working world. Most of the time they don't want to hire

you unless you're 21. Or they say they want experience.

But how are you supposed to it anyway? That's why

a lot of kids go to college for a couple years and then

go out and get a job. I don't have the money or the

grades for that. But if I could get on somewhere...

just get someone to give me a chance, I know I could

work my way up.

Mark Gurney

When the young people in the case study group talked about what they

wanted from life, a "good job" or an "interesting career" was usually at the

top of the list. Some of the case study participants were already in the

labor force, seeking full -time jobs, when they entered YEW% programs. Others

were looking forward to high school graduation, or even to college enrollment.

Most were eager to make the transition from dependent adolescence to full

adult status. Their interest in the working world was strong; but their employment experience was limited, and their immediate job prospects were discouraging. Most had little idea how to go about successfully establishing

themselves in the full -time labor force.

Though the institutions of childhood--the family and the school--may

provide protection, instruction and guidance to help youth develop into productive adults, they typically offer no direct connection to the world of

work. The majority of Americans, historically, have learned work roles and

developed vocational skills on the job. "Working your way up" is thought of

as an American tradition. But entry level jobs with opportunities for training and advancement are not accessible to most teenagers today. Young people,

like Mark Gurney and most of the other case study participants, who confront

the full-tine job market in their teens with 12 years or less of schooling

144
134

are generally in for a difficult time. An estmated one-quarter to one-third

of the young people in our country face major hurdles in making the transition

from school to work.

Changing Patterns

The transition'from student to full-time labor force participant has

traditionally signaled the passage from youth to adult status in society.

Prior to the 1950's, formal education for most young people stopped short of

high school completion; and while it was typical for those who left school

in their teens to work in lower paying, less skilled jobs and to change jobs

more frequently than other workers, most were able to achieve at least a toehold in the full-time labor force by age 18. After a period of employment

adjustment or military service, young men expected to establish themselves

in permanent jobs that would provide the income and security to marry and

raise a family. Young women went to work in fewer numbers before World War

II, and they were more likely to view employment as a temporary activity.

Most female workers expected to leave the labor force by the time their first

child was born; and while many returned when their children were in school

or grown, as wives, most women workers considered themselves only secondary

wage earners.

Labor force participation patterns have changed dramatically in the

three decades since 1950. The relative affluence of the post war years allowed middle class parents to prolong childhood for their offspring. Changing parental attitudes,toward adolescence combined with technological change,

frequent labor surplusses that became chronic with the youth population explosion in the late 1960's, rising educational attainment, and decreasing

differentiation of male and female roles have substantially altered the traditional patterns of transition from youth to adult status in our society.

Perhaps the most significant change has been the postponement of full

participation in the labor force for the majority of young people. Both young

men and young women are spending more years in school. Among middle class

youth especially, college, rather than high school graduation, is viewed as

the norm. Those who don't go on to four years of college are advised to seek

other kinds of schooling or vocational training after high school graduation.

Employers, conditioned by prevailing attitudes and proliferating credentials,

tend to reserve the kind of entry level jobs that confer adult status for

older and better educated youth only.

The circumstances and expectations of young women making the transition

to adulthood have changed significantly. Females can no longer be viewed as

only secondary wage earners. Young women have increased both their educational attainment and labor force participation. In general, they are marrying later and bearing fewer children. But the number of families headed by

young females has expanded dramatically, and more women with small children

are choosing to remain in the labor force. Young women today have employment

expectations and income needs similar to those of young men, and, increasingly, they expect equality of opportunity and treatment in the labor market.

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135

While the majority of young people, both male and female, are making a

later transition to adult status and full labor market participation, the

proportion of the youth population that is working has actually increased.

This expansion in youth employment is almost wholly accounted for by the

rising number of students working in part-time and seasonal jobs. Traditionally, the majority of young people entered the labor force as full-time

workers early in life, while the minority who received more education stayed

out of the labor force altogether until their schooling was completed. With

higher educational attainment, the more privileged minority, historically,

entered the working world on advantageous terms. Today, most young people

are staying in school longer, and more of them are combining work and schooling.

The jobs held by most young student workers are temporary. "Student"

jobs typically have lower skill requirements, offer lower pay, and lack the

career attributes of "adult" employment. Such jobs, however, do provide an

introduction to the working world, and they enable many young people to re- main in school until they secure the credentials and skills that will allow

them to compete effectively for entry level adult positions. While many may

be discouraged to find that in today's job market their college degrees or years of post-secondary training will afford them access only to the kinds

of employment that their parents secured several decades earlier with a good

deal less education, most young people who enter the permanent labor force

at age 20 to 24 are able to make a fairly smooth and successful transition

from part-time student worker to full-time adult employee.

But what about the others--the millions of young people who lack the

financial resources, parental support, personal interest,or academic prerequisites to participate effectively in extended schooling? Is there any

place in our economy for youth who leave school at age 18 or younger and

want, or need, to support themselves with full-time work? In most states,

free public education stops with high school graduation at age 17 or 18. For

young people who drop out of high school, formal education ends even sooner.

Yet studies confirm that the majority of employers do not want to hire young

people for regular jobs with substantial training opportunities or career

attributes until age 21 or over. Where do out-of-school teenagers go?

Some experience such difficulties in their job search that they become

discouraged and leave the labor force altogether. They may rely on the welfare system, particularly if they have dependents to support, or they may

get by on the marginal or illegal income they can hustle on the streets. The

majority, however, do work. The most ambitious, best educated, most skilled,

or luckiest manage to secure the limited number of better jobs available to

teenagers entering the labor force. The high school diploma seems to be a

necessity for obtaining employment from the relatively few major companies

that hire younger workers for entry level jobs with built-in career ladders.

Knowledge of the world of work, basic job seeking skills, previous work experience, and vocational training during high school years give some early

labor force entrants a competitive edge, Some young people have the additional advantage of being able to establish employment connections through
136

family members or friends who are working. Most youth who leave school at

an early age without any of these advantages or attributes experience periods

of unemployment before, or in between, finding jobs with limited skill and

educational requirements. The jobs they find are usually in the clerical,

tail, craft, or service occupations. They typically offer low pay, poor

job security, limited training opportunity, and little potential for promotion.

For some teenagers in the labor force, particularly those with high

school diplomas, the cycle of dead-end jobs is broken after several years of

work experience and with advancing age. Others, who are less successful in

building a record of work experience or who lack basic interpersonal, academic, or communication skills, remain trapped in the secondary labor market.

They may experience long stints of unemployment and welfare dependency, or

they may work steadily but never work their way "up". Without remedial services or outside intervention, these young people face a lifetime of inadequate

earnings and unchallenging work.

Pre-YEDPA Employment_Experiences

Many participants enter youth employment and training programs with some

kind of prior employment experience. In a survey of economically disadvantaged 16 to 19 year olds conducted just before the implementation of the youth

incentive entitlement program, researchers found that over half of the respondents had been employed during at least a portion of the previous year. Over

20 percent of those surveyed had held two or more jobs during the year; an

additional 37 percent held one job; and only 42 percent had no paid employment during the twelve months before the survey was conducted. Within the

Youth Perspectives case study group, most of the 32 participants had some

paid employment experience prior to their YEDPA program enrollment. Younger

participants and those who were continuous high school attenders were likely

to have had less work experience before becoming YEDPA enrollees. Only two

case study participants had never worked, or even applied for any kind of

job, prior to program enrollment. But a number of others had received their

only previous work experience in CETA summer jobs.

Eleven of the case study participants had held CETA summer jobs, which

provided them with temporary income and kept them occupied during school vacations. Bobby Jones worked two summers as a kitchen aide in a neighborhood

community center. Felisa Santana was a youth counselor at a summertime day

camp, operated by a community based organization in Boston. Luanne Clawson

was a first aid nurse at a similar camp. The Summer Program for Economically

Disadvantaged Youth (SPEDY) gave these case study participants their first

introduction to work, but most of the subsidized summer jobs consisted of

routine project activities.

As "SPEDY" workers, most of the 11 participants performed only a narrow

range of work tasks, received little training and only sporadic supervision,

and learned few marketable skills. Luanne Clawson says she spent her summer

as a first aid nurse "mostly sitting around and sometimes putting bandages
137

on kids who got hurt." Of all the participants, Genetta Burke had what was

probably the most negative SPED? experience. She was assigned to the Victoria Point Community Center as an arts and crafts aide the summer she was

15. She says the teacher who was supposed to supervise never came all summer. So each day Genetta would walk over to the worksi e, sign in, and then

go home again.

Unlike Genetta, other participants in summer CETA projects had performed

work while on the job, Most of the 11 former SPEDY participants thought the

experience was probably worthwhile, but they did not generally consider their

summer positions to be "real" jobs. Carmeletta DeVries' description of summer spent as a clerical aide is typical of the impressions with which case

study participants seemed to come away from SPED? experiences:

I was working at the County Building, but, uh, it wasn't

really like a or anything, you know. They put me

down in the basement on the copy machine. Nobody really

talked to me much. I would just be down there in the

basement, copying all day. I'd either work on the copy

machine or sort mail - -just real easy things.

Two-thirds of the case study participants had held some kind of nonsubsidized job before applying to YEDPA programs. The amount and kinds of

employment experience varied widely. While some of the young people, like

Sandy Bonds, Linda Larsen, and Patty Monson, had put in only very brief employment stints before oecoming participants, others, like Todd Clinton and

Sven Latoka, had spent most of the time from age 16 to 18 working. As a

group, high school dropouts reported more private sector employment experience than did continuous school attenders. All of those with non-subsidized

employment experience had worked in secondary types of jobs, with few skill

requirements, low wages, and high turnover. Most had worked only part-time.

Few participants had held any one job longer than six months. Several IS

year old dropouts had worked in as many as eight different jobs during the

two to three year period before their YEDPA participation.

Young people who had been able to secure jobs working directly with the

public, like sales clerk, movie usher, or cashier, generally reported positive

feelings about their early work experience. But the majority of jobs held

by case study participants were described as uninteresting and tedious. Participants who had worked as fast food handlers, waitresses; bus boys, dishwashers, flower sellers, housekeepers, day laborers, or factory tempo's often

felt they had been exploited by their employers. Most said these kinds of

jobs taught them a lot about what they didn't want to do and very little about

what they could do.

Case study participants said they had not expected to earn high wages

in their initial jobs. Most of their pre-YEDPA jobs paid below minimum wage.

High school dropouts responsible for their own support were more apt to complain about low wages than were those who lived at home and worked part-time

while attending high school. But in rating the quality of pre-YEDPA jobs,
138

most of the case study participants did not seem to consider wage rams as

important as some other factors. In general, white collar jobs were more

highly rated than blue collar work, and participants placed the highest value

on jobs that involved direct contact with the public in a non-menial capacity

and a clean working environment. Within the case study group, the handful of

continuous school attendees with good academic records, neat appearances, and

pleasing personalities had been most successful in securing what were considered "better" part-time jobs. All but one-of the participants who had held

such jobs were white, female students.

Heidi Clark worked part -time in a movie theatre in California for three

months before moving to Portland, and she feels this Was a positive experience:

It was a real nice job. I really liked it. I sold tickets, was a cashier, sold candy, and walked up and down

the aisle like an usher. I really enjoyed dealing with

the public on that job. It got me out to see what it's

like to work with other people and get along with people.

I found out I could do that and I enjoyed doing it.

Joy Tippets, a Kalamazoo County participant, had a pre-YEDPA job as a

clerk in a dime store in the small to where she lives. Joy also enjoyed

working with the public, but she believes her employer took unfair advantage

because of her age and lack of experience:

What I liked best about the dime store was working with

people and being around people. You get used to people

coming in. You're working at your job, and they come in

each week. You have to help people. When I did that,

I really knew that I wanted to work with people. It was

nice to have people coming in...You could get to know

them and help them.

I got the job in the summer. And I got $1.50 an hour,

which was okay at first--I was only part-time. I worked

all that summer, and I worked all day Saturday and then

evenings for over a year and a half. I was the youngest

person there. I was a good clerk, but I think they took

advantage of me. I had a work schedule like everyone

else, but sometimes they would call me at the lait minute and tell me I had to cote in for an hour or two. I

didn't think it was fair cause they didn't do it with

the others. Quite often they would call up and say,

"We need you here in a half-hour; it's really importan '"

And you couldn't say no, really, or they'd get upset.

So I kept going in on short notice--even when I had

something else I wanted to do. After a year, I finally

asked for a raise, because I was getting paid less than

anyone else. I mentioned it to the boss, but he said

because I was part-time, he didn't think he could do it.

Fla
139

Other participants had worked in a variety of less interesting part-time

jobs while they were enrolled in high school. Most students said they felt

lucky to have secured work that would fit in with their school schedules, but

they usually found their early summer and after school jobs to be menial,

boring, or unrewarding. Before she left school, Lynn Hazelton bagged groceries and worked as a part-time telephone solicitor. She says, "What I found

out is that I don't want to be either of those." Patty Monson and Elvira

Taylor both got summer jobs cleaning motel rooms. Patty says, "I knew for

sure that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life doing that." Jessica

Jackson worked as an orderly at a rest home and as a coat checker in a dancehall. She says, "I decided pretty quick that I didn't want to do those kinds

of work. Too cheap. Too boring."

Participants who dropped out of high school had generally faced even

more difficult early employment situations. High school students who found

their part-time jobs tedious or unrewarding could console themselves with the

prospect of better employment opportunities after graduation from high school

or college. But many of the dropouts feared they were facing a lifetime of

menial and meaningless work. During the worst period of her alcohol dependency, Jean Ansel worked on the streets as a 16 year old prostitute. While

rehabilitating herself, prior to becoming a YETP participant, Jean worked in

a discount store and as a waitress. "I got a good idea of what that kind of

life is like," Jean reports. "It was bad...terrible, really. And I knew what

I didn't want to do in the future." Until he was arrested, Douglas Giscard

got his income largely from illegal activities. He also worked briefly as

a dishwasher and as a delivery boy before enrolling in YETP. "I saw people

who were thirty, thirty-five years old working in those kinds of jobs," Douglas says, "And I knew I didn't want that to happen to me!"

Sven Latoka found himself without a job when his father left the construction business to work on a fishing boat. Sven was trained as a carpenter, but he couldn't find anyone to hire him in this occupation at age 17.

During the next year and a half, Sven went through a number of different employment experiences:

I wanted to work and I needed work. So I was looking for

anything, really. I did everything...physical work, washing dishes, pick up papers...I bounced from job to job,

but I don't think I was ever out of a job more than a week.

Most jobs I just plain got sick of. Fed up with it. Tot

little pay. Too much work for the money. I couldn't fird

any job really interesting. Once I went down to a labor

pool...on Albany Street, I think it was. They had me out

unloading hundred pound sacks of flour off a train for

12 hours straight. I got minimum wage for that, and I've

never had as hard a day's work in my life!

When Tien Van Chin came to Portland from a refugee camp in Thailand, he

was able to find work almost immediately through contact with other Indochinese

refugees. But he wasn't able to find a job that offered lay opportunities
140

for advancement. In addition to his age and lack of credentials, Tien faced

considerable barriers of language and culture differences. It was a difficult

adjustment:

When I was growing up in my country, I don't have to

work. But here I work all the time. I sometimes do,

like, dishwasher, car washer, bus boy--things like that.

I never keep those jobs long, because I just don't want

to be doing that type job. So I quit, to get another.

I want better job, but I would end up just with a dfferent job. I realize that if I don't continue my education, I will be unable to get better jobs. I will be

always bus boy and stuff like that--always get the menial

work. So I don't forget that.

A number of the participants who dropped out of school at age 15, 16,

or 17 said that working in a factory fit their early idea of a really good

job. Most were unable to obtain this kind of work, because the majority of

manufacturers, particularly those whose employees are covered under collective

bargaining agreements, do not hire workers under 18. The experiences of the

few dropouts who were able to get factory jobs call to mind reports of children exploited in nineteenth century sweatshops.

Carrie Green spent three months working in a plastics factory. She was

paid $2.90 an hour. "I thought the money was real good, at the time," Carrie

says. "But it wasn't worth it. It was summertime and they had big machines

for molding hot plastic. It was a lot of hard work, and it was like a hundred

and thirty degrees in there:" Carrie was laid off after she became ill and

stayed home from work for a week.

Peggy Bromfield found work in a women's garment factory in Portland when

she was 16 years old, She had a five month old son, and she was pregnant

when she started work:

I've always been pretty good at sewing, you know. So I

went in to this factory and really caught on quick. I was the best sewer in the factory. After only a few

weeks, I was putting out more ponchos than anybody else.

They gave me a merit raise, but they said you had to

work overtime there or you couldn't keep your job. I was away from Jared, my baby, for fourteen hours every

day, and I just couldn't do that. So I quit.

Then I went to work for another sewing factory down the

street. I walked four miles a day to get there and back.

I told the guy there, "I'm experienced. You pay me $2.75

to start, and I want a raise in a month." But when a

month came, he just gave me a line, saying I did this and

that wrong and wasn't doing any good. He said he always,

saw me ripping out all these seams. But, you know,

15,
141

everybody always passed their errors to me, cuz I could

rip 'em out fast. I'd been doing all these errors for

everyone. He knew that too. But he wouldn't give a

raise, so _ just quit that job.

Lui Hueyen lives with her parents in Portland. Since her father is employed as a tailor, she has been able to attend school instead of working

full-time like Tien Van Chin. But, as is common in refugee households, all

members of the Heuyen family who are able to work hold at least part-time

jobs. Until she secured her CETA job as a computer operator trainee, Lui

worked each day after school in a ceramics factory.

I work as an assembler--not like you stay in one place,

but you go and get things from the warehouse. It's a

company--mostly Vietnamese there--that sells all kind

of ceramics...bowls, decoration, table lamp, ash tray

things like that. I get the orders and go get them

down from the shelves. Much lifting. Get the boxes

and carry them down. I got $2.65. And condition of

place was very bad. As you know, factories and warehouses are usually not very good places to work.

The pre-YEDPA employment experiences of the case study participants can

be viewed in a number of different ways. The interview material suggests

that some employers discriminate against and exploit younger workers. While

only a few of the participants felt they had fulfilled worthwhile roles and

learned useful new skills in pre-YEDPA jobs, most were happy to have found

employment of any sort at age 15, 16, or 17. The experience of the case study

participants indicates that there are still some employment opportunities available for even the very young, if they are diligent in pursuing them. Young

workers have historically earned less than older workers and have started out

on the bottom of the ladder. But it is also worth noting that not one of the

case study participants was able, on his or her own, to secure full-time work

that offered much training or opportunity for advancement.

0101p5150 the World of Work

Inexperienced young people have a difficult time getting started in the

working world, particularly if they have no knowledge of the range of occupational opportunities, job requirements, hiring practices, and employer expectations that are operative in the labor market. Youth who have little understanding of what's available and no idea of how to prepare or present themselves

may never get the opportunity to learn work roles and develop job skills. In

their analysis of the labor market experience of 16 to 21 year old non-college

graduates (based on data collected in the National Longitudinal Surveys),

Parries and Kohen found that the more a youth knows about the world of work,

other things being equal, the smoother the transition to employment and the

higher his or her wages and occupational status are likely to be.

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Without a realistic understanding of occupational alternatives and related education and training requirements, young people are not likely to

make optimal or even workable plans for their own careers. At the time of

program enrollment, most of the Youth Perspectives case study participants

had very limited knowledge about the world of work. The majority felt that

they lacked sufficient information to make really good choices about their

own career preparation or employment objectives. The following comments were

typical:

I know that I need to learn a lot more, you know, to be

sure what kind of job would be right for me, and to know

what I need to do to get ready for it.

Well, I like to think I could make good choices about my

own career, but I really don't think that I know everything that I need to know.

I've learned some things about the working world, you

know, but not necessarily the things I want. I don't

have enough information about the things I want.

I don't really know much about what's out there

I haven't planned college or anything. Before

the program, I didn't really think about

o do.

got in

I haven't worked much yet. I'm not sure of myself, and

I'm not sure what I'll work at. I just plain don't know

very much about it. I don't know what I could do with

myself or what skills I need.

Most of the case study participants believed that the best way to learn

more about the working world was to go out and get a job. Participants who

had been able to find some kind of work on their own before enrolling in YEDPA

programs usually felt that they had more information and a better understanding of basic work roles than most teenagers who hadn't worked. Some participants felt they were more aware and more interested in employment related

information because they knew they would have to go to work and support themselves early in life. These young people did not generally believe that their

families or schools had really prepared them for labor force participation.

But their circumstances had encouraged or required them to find jobs, and they

believed that they had learned about the working world by being a part of it

I think I

fence, I knew that

myself of

getting a

To get my

that way.

know a lot of thing s from my own job experprobably know more than other kids, because

I would be going out and working, supporting

er graduation. So I was more interested in

job. I kinda wanted to learn as I go along.

feet wet, and, you know, get the experience

Heidi Clark
143

I would say that I know quite a lot. I've worked some,

and compared to like most kids in high school, I know

more than they do about the world and working.

Le Green

I know about the working world, cuz I've had a harder

time finding jobs. From going out and trying to get

jobs for myself, and getting several jobs, I know what's

a good job and I know what a lousy jab is. I know what

good pay is and I know what bad pay is.

Sven Latoka

While some participants felt that their own experience had given them

a good idea of what it's like to work as well as enough exposure and confidence to be able to get another job of some kind in the future, they also

acknowledged a lack of information about the wider range of opportunities

in the labor market. The exposure of most of the case study participants

to occupational information was haphazard and inadequate for career planning

purposes. The majority of participants did not think that school taught them

much about analyzing career alternatives or how to prepare for and obtain

employment. Their own job experiences typically offered them only a narrow

view of occupational roles. The greatest portion of the case study participants said that most of what they knew about career opportunities and requirements, at the time of program enrollment, was learned through casual observation, television viewing, or conversations with friends awl relatives.

In his analysis of data from the 1974 National Assessment of Educational

Progress survey, Ralph Tyler concluded that most 17 year olds are knowledgeable about some of the features of occupations that they have had the opportunity to observe firsthand or that are depicted in the media but few know

much about a wider range of work characteristics or opportunities. During

the youth perspectives interviews, case study participants were given a

number of different occupational titles, and they were asked to describe the

basic job functions each kind of worker would perform, the educational or

skill requirements an entry level applicant would probably have to meet, and

the amount of pay or other benefits a beginning worker could expect to receive in each type of job. Fewer than half of the participants were able to

give a fairly complete and accurate summary of the hiring requirements, wages,

and job functions of workers in even very common occupational categories, such

as high school teacher, carpenter, clerical worker, assembly line operator,

retail clerk, and licensed practical nurse.

Case study participants with little or no employment experience, especially those who were continuous high school attenders, often had particularly

vague or inaccurate impressions about Occupational roles and requirements.

Some underestimated prevailing pay scales for all types of work and apparently

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144

believed that most workers earn between $2.85 and $4.00 an hour. Others with

Limited work experience, including several high school dropouts, had a tendency to overestimate both educational requirements and rates of pay for common

types of jobs. When asked how much a licensed practical nurse was likely to

earn, Carmeletta DeVries said, "They make the same as grocery checkers, I

think...about $20,000 to $21,000 a year." Richard Nielsen believed assembly

workers in a large electronics plant near his home in Portland, "probably

earn about $18,000--with an associate degree, but if they have a higher degree, they get more." When questioned further about the educational requirements for assembly line work, Richard said: "I'm sure a college education

would help you there, because they...I think, they like to have people with

a broad knowledge of electronics and how it fits in the world."

Case study participants with previous job experience were likely to have

more accurate general occupational knowledge. High school dropouts who had

spent a year or more in the labor force were typically knowledgeable about

prevailing pay scales and hiring requirements for lower status occupations,

but they generally knew less about the requirements or attributes of technical or professional jobs. Interestingly enough, a majority of the case study

participants underestimated the income of teachers. A surprising number of

both students and dropouts believed that high school teachers earn only minimum wage or slightly above. Whatever else they did or didn't learn in school,

most of the case study participants came away from their educational experience convinced that their teachers need a raise.

The public school system attempts to provide students with the academic

skills and self-discipline to become productive citizens and workers. Some

students receive skill training in high school vocational education programs

in addition to academic instruction. But traditionally, the role of the school

has not included the transmission of realistic knowledge about the working

world in terms of the functions of various economic sectors and institutions,

the roles of different people who work in them, and the ways in which an individual can secure employment of .2 cfArnnt types and achieve personal career

objectives. In the past decade, how-ter, many schools have developed career

education courses or career information centers to help students learn more

about occupational alternatives, explore their own vocational interests and

aptitudes, and develop realistic plans for their future work lives.

Nearly half of the case study participants remembered receiving some exposure to occupational information or career planning while enrolled in high

school. The kind of exposure reported by these participants varied from a

few brochures received in an information counseling session at the school

guidance office to participation in a 16 week career education class.

Over one-quarter of the case study participants said there was a career

information center in their high school or that they had access, as students,

to some kind of career research facility. Eight participants had visited the

high school career- centers at least once and received instruction on how to

use computer terminals or microfische viewers to broaden their knowledge of

different career areas. The comments of these case study participants suggest
145

that high school career information centers were viewed more as a novelty

than a widely used resource. Most of those with access to such a facility

had used it only once or twice in conjunction with specific class requirements. When asked what occupations they had explored, six out of eight indicated that they had only researched career areas in which they had some

previous interest and knowledge. Several continuous school attenders in the

case study group said they had used the career center as a source of information about colleges and post-secondary training programs. But none of the

dropouts who had visited their school career centers as students could remember any specific information they had gained there. As Sandy Bonds said,

"How can I remember now? I never really paid attention to that school stuff

when I was there."

The handful of case study participants who had been involved in career

exploration classes generally had a more vivid memory of their experiences.

But while each believed the class that he or she attended had been interesting and worthwhile, their verbal descriptions indicate that they received

only a limited exposure to a few different career alternatives. All but one

of the six case study participants who received some kind of formal career

education in school seemed to focus personal interest on only one occupational area. The timing of career education classes seemed to be a factor in

limiting participant learning. Several participants were provided with career

education in the ninth grade, before any serious interest in career goals had

surfaced. On the other hand, several tenth grade dropouts missed the opportunity for career education, because, at the school they attended, that class

was reserved for juniors and seniors only.

Lori Wozisky's ninth grade Vocational English class included a six week

unit on the world of work. This unit focused on job search techniques as

well as exposure to different work roles. But its impact on Lori was limited:

We learned how to fill out applications. How to dress.

That you shouldn't dress all up to see about a job interview, but you should look decent. Not to put on a

show; just be yourself. I remember we filled out lists

of what was important to us--like good pay or a pleasant

job. Whether you liked working with a small pay, or with

a job you completely hated but it had good pay. We had

different speakers come out about different jobs. There

was a stewardess that came in. A lawyer came in, and a

policemanall different people. It was interesting. I

liked the class. But I didn't see anything and say,

"Boy, that's what I'd like to do," or anything like that

It was in ninth grade. Before I was really looking. I just thought of being a secretary then.

Patty Monson says that the students in her career education class each

got to pick a job that he or she wanted to learn more about. She picked restaurant work:
146

They set it up for you to work at a job for a few hours

during two weeks. They took me down to this place called

Larry's, and I worked in the back room cutting lettuce

and making salads. Awwk! By the end of the two weeks,

I was going crazy. I decided that I didn't like that at

all But I hadn't really thought of any other kind of

work. If it was now, I would've picked an office job.

Vivian Lincoln was a junior in high school during the time she participated in the Youth Perspectives Project. She got the idea of pursuing a medical career through her experience in a ninth grade career education class:

They taught you different things about, you know, how to

act and what it's going to be like, and if it's gonna be

hard or not hard. It shows you what career you want to

go into and everything. I chose "medical" first to find

out about. Then later I thought about business and modeling, but that's just about as far as I got. I went back

to medical, cuz I didn't think I'd like the rest of 'em.

So now I think I should stick to medical. I looked it

up on the machine--I forget what they call it, the occupational something--anyway, I liked what I saw there and

everything...It looked like a good profession.

The orientation to the world of work training that some of the young

people received in conjunction with YEDPA program participation was more intensive and specific than most school based career education classes seemed

to be. In most cases it was focused primarily on the development of job

seeking skills, although some participants had the chance to research different occupational alternatives. By the time they became YEDPA participants,

most of the young people were interested in their own career futures and

eager to gain any knowledge that might help them to improve their employment prospects. About half received some kind of job search or career research training while enrolled as program participants.

I took the job prep class at the community college. It

was part of CETA, but it was an optional thing, and I

thought it would be a good thing for me to have. They

taught us quite a bit about what the job world is like.

How to dress. How to write resumes and cover letters--

all that stuff. And how to manage yourself in a way

that would be appropriate on different kinds of jobs.

We had some good discussions about that.

David Anderson

We had a workshop where we took aptitude tests and then

looked at different kinds of jobs that might fit your

abilities and stuff. We talked about the kinds of jobs
147

we wanted, and what we were going to be doing to get

those jobs and to keep them. And the pay, we talked

about how much you could get paid for different kinds

of work.

Yvette McDermott

In Career Research, we took these tests that CETA gives

you. They run 'em though the computer, and you get to

see what you're likely to be good at...what you like and

what you don't. We picked out a couple things that the

computer said we were good at and that we also thought

we were interested in, and we did research on them.

Went out and talked to schools and employers...people

in the field...like we were trying to get a job. We

found out as much about it as we could before deciding

our training.

Peggy Bromfield

Job Skills was very helpful for me. I learned how to

look for a job, ways to prepare yourself for one, and

how to write a resume and do a job interview.

Jack Thrush

I learned a lot from the job survival class. Because I

had never realized before what you needed to know just

to ast a job. Like filling out applications...how you

should think of the skills and experience you've had

for each different kind of job. Who to talk to when you

go see about getting a job. I learned a lot there.

Jean Ansel

To compete effectively in the labor market, young people need comprehensive and accurate information about different job opportunities, employee

hiring practices, occupational functions, and potential job rewards that they

can then measure against their knowledge of their own employment needs, preferences, capabilities and qualifications. The majority of young people' do

not develop this kind of knowledge while in school. Most of the case study

participants came into YEDPA programs with very limited information about

the world of work. Program participation offered these young people an opportunity to try on work roles and develop employee skills. In addition to

gaining firsthand knowledge about the working world, some participants received instruction and practice in job search techniques and career planning.

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148

But the case study group experience suggests that there are many participants

who leave youth employment and training programs with large gaps in their

knowledge of different occupational roles and requirements and their awareness of broader career alternatives. One-third of the case study participants approached YEDPA program completion with no formal exposure to occupational information and no effective career counseling.

What Does It Take to Succeed in the Working World?

Different case study participants had different definitions for what

constitutes success in life, but all agreed that a good job is a key element.

Some equated employment success with the ability to be independent, or with

job security, stability, and enjoyable work. Others felt that high income

and status are the most important ingredients in career success. A small

number placed highest priority on challenging work that provides the opportunity to learn new things and develop creative abilities, But whatever their

criteria for success, nearly all believed that it is getting harder for young

people like them to compete in the working world.

The young people in the case study group talked a lot about the "competition". They felt their chances of getting a "good" job were less than

those of earlier generations because more people are vying for the jobs that

are available. Many agreed with Mark Gurney that lack of experience was the

most serious disadvantage that young people had in competing for employment.

Richard Nielsen pointed out:

The competition has grown. There's other people that're

more qualified for the good positions. The employers

don't want to take a chance on the person without much

experience. Most employers won't hire kids. They'll

pick someone that already knows how to do the stuff instead of training some kid to do it.

Other case study participants felt that, while lack of experience was

a handicap, the major obstacle they faced in getting a good entry-level job

was simply age. "Employers don't even want to look at you unless you're 18

to 21 years old," Carrie Green complained. David Anderson agreed that it was

becoming harder to get a good start in the working world. He felt that "your

chances really depend on how oLL 'ou are and how much education and experience

you have." Most of the dropout !mew from first hand experience that the lack

of a high school diploma can be a serious disadvantage in competing for even

unskilled work. And a number of participants, like Jessica Jackson, Mark Westgate, and Linda Larsen, felt that completion of, at least, several years of

college was a prerequisite for getting a job with career possibilities.

Other participants weren't so sure that even a college education was the

answer. Todd Clinton felt that the job market is getting tougher for college

graduates too, and he had his own ideas about what was causing the problem

and what it would take to salve it:
149

I think it's harder than it's ever been. They say it's

important to get a college education. But now I see a

lot of people who are getting their college educations

and going nowhere. Maybe because they don't apply themselves to any specific job, it just doesn't work out for

them. As a nation, I think we're in a lot of trouble.

We got an over-abundance of people and not enough jobs

for them. They ought to come up with something--there's

lots of possibilities. If we pulled together as a nation, I think we could get back on our feet. But I don't

think we're going to do that, because there's too many

individuals, and everybody wants to make a buck off of

everybody else. That's where it's at.

Most of the participants believe that their personal circumstances and

the conditions that prevail in the outside world will make it difficult for

them to get a good start in the working world. Lack of money--to finance

education, training, or relocation, or to support themselves while they are

learning skills in low paying jobs--is viewed as a major obstacle by many.

The unwillingness of employers to hire younger workers, the proliferating

demand for credentials, the scarcity of entry level jobs with good training

and promotion opportunities, and the accelerating cost of living were all

seen as immediate barriers to career establishment. Some of the case study

participants were also combatting individual learning deficiencies or facing

the barriers of racial or cultural discrimination.

In spite of these barriers, almost all of the participants believed that

it would be possible for them to succeed in the working world. Several pointed out that there were resources available now that didn't exist in the past

to aid young people in career preparation:

It's real hard. But there's a lot more opportunities.

Like I get all free education. My parents had to pay

for theirs. They had to learn it the hard way.

There's new teaching methods now, better text books, more

classes on different subjects...There's just more opportunity to learn things in high school than there used to

be.

They have a lot of special programs now, that they didn't

used to have. Like this project and other training programs...There's places where kids who don't go to college

can get special help getting ready for a job.

Most of the case study participants felt that the achievement of career

success ultimately depends upon their own performance. The majority of the

participants believed that they will eventually succeed if they can keep themselves motivated enough to follow through with their education and employment

plans. The following kinds of comments were typical within the case study

group:

1 6,
150

There's nothing really that stands in my uay but myself.

Sometimes I just gotta give myself a kick in the butt to

get up and do what I have to do.

The only way I could fail is just by stopping...period.

Not gotn' to school, not studyin', not doin' what I say

I'm gonna do. That's the only thing, really.

I'll make it if I keep my head together. If I don't

lose it. If I work hard and don't get fired from my job.

Whether you succeed just depends, you know, on yourself.

How you do in school, and how you prepare yourself. A

Lot of people get pregnant, drop out of school, get into

drugs...if you can stay away from that stuff, you can

make it.

You have to pick a skill or a goal and then just make up

your mind what you have to do and how you're going to do

it. I don't think it's so hard if you can do that.

The case study participants thought that experience, skills, education,

and age were the most important factors in getting hired for a good job. But

they believed that ultimate success in the working world depends more on personal qualities than on credentials or external qualifications. Nearly all

of the participants though that inter-personal expertise was the key factor

in career success. They agreed that employers are favorably impressed by

workers that avoid trouble, follow directions, are dependable, reliable, and

able to carry out responsibilities on their own. But beyond this, the participants were convinced that abilities to communicate, tolerate, present a

positive image, and interact well with other people are really the most important traits if you want to get ahead in the world. Their comments on this

subject are worth reiteration:

What do you need to succeed? Just knowledge and personality, really. You have to know how to talk to people.

You don't really have to have education, I don't think.

If you know how to relate to people and, you know, communicate, I think you can get over.

Genetta Burke

I think you have to be able to put up with a lot of stuff

from a lot of different people. That takes determination.

And you have to be a "people" person. I don't care what

you do, if you're going to get anywhere, you have to like

people. You have to get along with people well. You have

to be able to relate to other people well.

Todd Clinton

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151

I've learned the hard way that you gotta have the personality to put up with people. You gotta handle the

situation, even though sometimes you feel like gettin'

so mad and_screaminl. You gotta hold that back, you

know--that's really part of any job. There's just a lot

of things you gotta be tolerant with. You gotta learn

how to handle yourself and other people.

Carrie Green

I'd say you gotta be pretty positive and outgoing. You

have to be able to reach out to others, make yourself

clear, to get what you want. Almost any kind of job,

you're gonna have to work with other people. So you

have to be able to communicate with them--and put up

with them too.

Adam Sledge
152

VI. G A

I wanted to work, and this program sounded like a real

good idea to me. I want to be ready for life. You km,

a lot of kids, they get out of school and they don't know

what to do with theirselves--they're lost, really. I know some people don't like the idea of the government

running all these programs and stuff. They think it's

like a give away thing...you know, like welfare--people

just taking money and not doing anything. But we're all

working here for the money we get. And we're learning

stuff so that we can go out and get a good job when we're

done. I couldn't get a decent job without some experience and some training--and that's really what this program's for.

David Anderson

There have always been some young people who have a difficult time getting started in the working world. Finding a job and establishing a productive work life has never been an easy process, but, historically, most American

youth have made the transition to adult employment roles without the help of

special programs. America has relied on families and schools to prepare her

youth for labor force participation; and, for generations, most Americans

have been confident that ample employment opportunities exist for those who

want to work and are willing to make the effort to find jobs.

The youth population explosion of the 1970's, and the employment problems

it spawned, shook this confidence and caused many Americans to question their

assumptions. With over 3 million youth unemployed, it became apparent that

the economy was not generating enough employment opportunities for all of the

young people in the country who wanted to work. It was also clear that families, schools, and other institutions that had traditionally helped young

people prepare for adult life were not effectively meeting the employment

preparation needs of some segments of the nation's youth population.

David Anderson wasn't alone in thinking that YEDPA programs were a "real

good idea". During the 1978-79 school year, nearly a half million young people participated in YEDPA funded employment and training programs. These programs were designed to provide immediate income and work and longer range

career development services to young people, especially those from low income

households, who would otherwise be unemployed or idle. The magnitude of response from youth applicants was an impressive confirmation of need for these

services. But what did program participation actually mean for David and the

thousands of other young people who were involved in YEDPA activities?

As a demonstration effort, YEDPA encouraged experimentation. While the

majority of YEDPA participants were involved in work experience of some sort,

there was no single service model. Program design, delivery mechanisms, and

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objectives varied widely. The quality of work experience, intensity of training, occupations focus, and career development potential of MOW+ program

activities also varied. The experience of 32 case study participants in four

local prime sponsor systems clearly does not encompass the full range of variation found in the broad universe of program activities. But their stories

can help us to understand what participation meant for some of the young people who were enrolled in these programs. What kind of work did the case

study participants do? What did they learn from their jobs and training experiences? What problems did they encounter? In this chapter, we will look

at YEDPA activities from a participant's perspective.

Getting Started

How did young people learn about YEDPA programs? What were they looking

for when they enrolle-"? All of the case study participants were interested

in working or in finding out more about work when they applied to YEDPA programs. But there were important differences in their circumstances and expectations at the time of enrollment.

Half of the case study participants were enrolled in school when they

first heard about YFDPA programs. They learned, from school bulletins or

guidance counselors, that part-time jobs were available for low income students. For students, like Lynn Hazelton, Linda Larsen, and Mark Westgate,

who needed money and were having a hard time finding parr-time work in their

communities, the YETP program seemed tailor-made. Their employment concerns

were largely immediate; they were looking for income and wanted jobs that

were conveniently located and could be flexed with school schedules and other

activities. They were not particularly concerned with the type of work they

would be doing or with its career development potential.

Several students, like Tina Middleton and Vivian Lincoln thought that

a YETP job sounded like an interesting and fun way to earn credit for graduation. But other students in the case study group had longer range interests;

they were looking ahead to high school graduation and wanted experience and

training before entering the competitive labor force. Richard Nielsen said:

I felt that since I would be getting out of high school

soon, and I would need to get a job and work my way through

at least a few years of college, I needed some kind of

job related experience. In other words, I thought I'd

better get started--find out what it was all about and

learn what I could do. This CETA program was supposed

to give a person the responsibility and learning experience while on the job, so I thought it would be a wise

choice for me.

Some of the case study students, like Lui Heuyen and Joy Tippets, were

already working part-time when they heard about the YETP program. Eut they

were not satisfied with their current jobs. They were attracted to the YETP

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program because it offered better paying work that could be more closely related to their future career interests. Joy said:

We have a morning announcement at school that the teacher reads. Andone morning she read to us about this

program for career related jobs. At the time, I was

really discouraged about my job at the dime store. I wanted to-quit real bad, but I needed the money. This

program sounded real interesting to me. I wanted to

work when I got out of high school, but I didn't want

to just be stuck at the store. I needed some better

work experience--something different to give me a better

start. So I went into the office and got the application.

Most of the students in the case study group had only a general impression of the kind of work they might be assigned as YETP participants, but

Heidi Clark applied to the YETP program with a specific job in mind:

I read in the school bulletin that there was a part-time

opening with the Forest Service. It was a CETA clerical

trainee job. I was real interested in working with the

environment after I got out of school. I didn't especially want to be a secretary, but I figured if I could

get itito a big agency like that--get some training and

experience - -it might work out so that I could stay. Then

after graduation, I'd have a job and a chance for more

training.

Half of the case study participants were out of school when they heard

about YEDPA programs. Some participants who were on their own and unemployed,

like Jack Thrush, Carrie Green, and Sandy Bonds, had no alternative sources

of income and their financial needs were acute. As high school dropouts with

limited work experience, they were having a difficult time finding work. They

were looking for full-time jobs when they, more or less, "stumbled" into YEDPA

programs.

These out-of-school participants typically viewed YEDPA as an alternative

job source rather than as a training or career development program. Carrie

Green, Carmeletta DeVries, Jack Thrush,. and Sven Latoka heard from friends

that CETA agencies had jobs for young people. The application that each of

these young people filled out at the CETA office or project agency was one

of many work applications they filed. Most of the out-of-school participants

were surprised at the responsiveness of YEDPA staffs and were delighted to

learn that jobs were actually accessible to them. Sandy Bonds' description

of her introduction to Portland's youth career training program illustrates

the pre-program perspective of this segment of the case study group:

Me and Chris had just come to Portland. We were living

more or less on the street and had no money. I met this

girl. I didn't know anything about her at all; she was

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just a stranger on the street, really. But we started

talkin', and I told her we needed a place to work. She

suggested we go to CETA. She said it was really a great

deal and they do a lot of good things.

We went there and filled out these papers. And we were

real shocked when the guy there said he did have some

jobs, and he actually asked us what we wanted to do. I was just thinkin' of any kind of work at all. But I

started to realize that I could maybe get a better experience here--a better, more dependable job--something

I could build around for the future.

Some participants, like Sven Latoka and Jack Thrush, were convinced that

YEDPA programs were their best, or only, immediate employment alternative.

They were impressed by the relative security of 12 months work at minimum

wage, but they were not particularly enthusiastic about becoming program participants. "I wouldn't have come to work here if I'd have known I could get

a better job--no way," said Sven. "Cuz this is a learning program. I wasn't

real sure what that meant; but I already knew how to work, and I thought it

might be too boring." Jack had a similar perspective:

I just wanted a job. They told me this program was to

get you work experience, you know, and some kind of income and maybe finish school and all. I just listened

to all that. They said a bunch of things, and I listened

to 'em, but I didn't really think much about it. My main

objective was just to get a job.

Not all of the out-of-school participants were motivated primarily by

-immediate income and employment needs. Young people with other employment

options or sources of income could afford a longer range perspective. Participants like Yvette McDermott, Patty Monson, and Todd Clinton had specific vocational objectives in mind, and they were interested in training opportunities.

Todd turned to the YETP program for financial support after he had quit his

construction job and enrolled in cosmetology school. Yvette wanted training

so that she could be a key punch operator like her sister-in-law. Patty wanted

to become a secretary. She said:

When Jared was six months old; I figured it was time to

start getting ready. I knew I'd have to work, and I wanted to get some experience and some training in a field

I liked. When my home study teacher told me about this

new CETA program for kids, it sounded just right. I knew there was a chance that the money would get deducted

from my welfrre, but I still wanted to work part-time and

learn some cl$)rical skills.

Finally, there were a handful of case study participants who were neither

actively looking for work nor seeking opportunities for training or career

development. Participants like Genetta Burke and Bobby Jones did not come

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into CETA youth offices on their own; they were recruited by project staff.

Bobby had been out-of-school and out-of-work for the better part of two years

when John Falk, the director of a Boston YIEPP project, called him in to his

office:

John seen me just hangin' round the community center, and

I guess he figgered I was vastin' my life. He told me

about this program here and sort of urged me to join up.

I knew I had to do somethie--to better myself and get

me a little education. This was close to home, and I

knew John and everything, so I did it.

Genetta was recruited by Henry Jones, the supervisor of a Boston YCCIP

weatherization project that operated out of the Victoria Point housing pro ject. She said:

I didn't really know Henry well, but I had met him last

summer, right? One Sunday, I went over to the store to

get a newspaper, and I saw him there, He asked me did

I want to get in this program they was openin' up. They

was tryin' to hire 18 people, and he asked me did I want

to come to the office the next day and sign up. So I

just came...because I was tired of sittin' home. I was

bored, you know, sittin' home every day doin' nothin'.

And I thought that makin' a little extra money that I

didn't have, you know, would do me good.

Work Experience

For most of the case study participants, involvement in YEDPA programs

included some type of paid employment experience. High school students, like

Heidi Clark, Vivian Lincoln, David Anderson, and Mark Westgate, combined

part-time YETP jobs with regular school attendance. Students in alternative

schools or high school equivalency programs, like Patty Monson and Felisa

Santana, also participated in part-time work experience. Most high school

dropouts, like Genetta Burke, Sven Latoka, and Douglas Giscard, worked fulltime in YCCIP or YETP jobs. Bobby Jones and Luanne Clawson were enrolled in

a YIP project, which combined educational instruction with part-time work

experience. Only three of the 32 case study participants received no work

experience while enrolled in YEDPA. (All three were participants in Portland's

YETP program, and they received vocational training in institutional settings.)

Whether part-time or full-time, work experience was the major program activity for most YEDPA participants; and while many received additional services,

like counseling, occupational information, job search training, or remedial

education, there were others for whom work experience constituted the sole

program service.

What is work experience? In a program context, it can be defined as the

temporary placement of an enrollee in a work environment with wage subsidization. Work experience positions can be set up on an individual or project

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basis. Participants may be integrated with regular (non-subsidized) employees or assigned to work in crews with other program enrollees. Most work

experience takes place under the auspices of public or private non-profit

agencies. Direct wage subsidies are not generally allowed for workers in

private, profit oriented corporations or businesses. The placement of participants in private sector jobs usually requires an OJT contract, whereby

employers are reimbursed for some or all of the costs of employing new workers and training them on the job. On-the-job-training constituted only a

very small portion of most prime sponsor YEDPA activities, but private sector

work experience was encouraged and expanded in prime sponsorships with YIEPP

grants.

As a basic youth service model, work experience dates back to the 1960's,

when the Neighborhood Youth Corp provided subsidized jobs for both in-school

and out-of-school youth. Early work experience programs were criticized by

many for their reliance on unchallenging "make-work" job assignments, their

lack of training content, and their poor quality supervision. YEDPA mandated

improvements in the quality of youth work experience. But long before .the

legislation was passed, many prime sponsors had begun to upgrade work experience components by selecting job opportunities with more career development

potential, focusing job content more on individual training objectives, and

exercising more stringent standards for work site supervision. While there

are still great variations in the quality and design of CETA youth work experience components, case studies of YEDPA implementation in local prime

sponsor systems, directed by the National Council on Employment Policy, show

evidence of improvements in the quality of supervision, amount of training

content, and career relatedness of youth work experience activities in most

regions of the country.

What factors determine quality in work experience activity? Ralph Tyler

believes that, from the standpoint of learning the skills, habits, and attitudes important in productive work, the quality of work experience is not a

function of setting or job type, but depends instead on the way in which the

work situation is perceived by the participant. In his 1976 policy paper on

the competencies of youth, Tyler lists a number of criteria that he considers

essential for meaningful youth work experience: Does the participant view

the situation as one in which he/she can do adult-type meaningful work? Do

participants find things they need to learn as they get involved in the work?

Do participants perceive what they need to learn clearly enough so that they

have goals in mind to achieve? Do the learning tasks appear to participants

to be things that they can do successfully? Do they get satisfaction when

they carry through the learning tasks successfully, and feedback and encouragement when they don't? Do participants have many opportunities to practice

what they learn in actual job functions?

The Youth Perspectives case study material suggests that different participants have different needs in regard to work experience. Some participants

enter programs with occupational preferences and objectives already in mind.

They may need to develop vocational skills and gain occupationally specific

experience. But the majority of participants seem to begin program involvement

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with no clear career objectives, and research indicates that roughly twothirds of them_will_eveetually_compete for jobs that do not require specialized vocational training. Most of these jobs, however, do require basic

interpersonal skills, productive work habits, and a previous record of

satisfactory performance, as well as some reading, writing, and computation

competence. Participants who enter programs with previous job experience and

few basic skill deficiencies may be ready for individually challenging work

experience assignments that provide a springboard or direct bridge to career

oriented employment. Other participants have little or no previous work experience and substantial behavioral or learning barriers to overcome before

full adult-type employment can be considered as a reasonable objective. While

some participants function best in work experience placements where job functions, requirements, expectations, and supervision closely parallel those

encountered in normal employment situations, Others will fail to make a satisfectory adjustment to any work environment without special training, close

supervision, and sensitive counseling.

ogram Assignments

What kinds of work experience and training opportunities were available

to the young people who enrolled in YEDPA programs? How were participant job

or training assignments determined? The experience of the 32 case study participants suggests that there was a wide range of variation in the local

methods and mechanisms that determined program assignments, as well as substantial differences in the extent to which participants were able to choose

assignments on the basis of individualized needs or preferences.

The design of prime sponsor intake and referral systems for YEDPA activities was a critical factor affecting case study participant job assignments

and service choices. Portland participants, like Peggy Bromfield, Tien Van

Chin, and Douglas Discard, entered YEDPA programs through a city-wide, consolidated intake and referral system. They went through a brief counseling

and career research process that helped them to focus on occupational objectives and employment and training needs before being assigned to service

components or worksites. These partiCipants had access to a range of different training, education, and work experience options. Their income needs,

career interests, immediate employment objectives, and personal circumstances

were taken into consideration before they were placed in projects, training

components, or individualized work experience assignments.'

Peggy Bromfield was interested in physical therapy. She had no previous

training in this field and her only prior work experience was as a sewing machine operator in a garment factory. She was placed in a medical careers

exploration project, which provided exposure to a hospital environment, an

opportunity to learn about different medical occupations, and work experience

and training in physical therapy techniques.

Tien Van Chin had worked in a variety of low-skill, low-paying jobs. He

was looking for a way to break out of the secondary labor market. Tien decided that training in computer programming would enable him to compete for
159

a better paying job, that would provide him with adequate financial support

to pursue a university education on a part-time basis. Tien was placed in

a 12 month computer programming course at a private business college. His

tuition was paid through the YETF program, and he was given a training stipend.

Douglas Giscard needed a full-time job. He wanted to work with people

and was interested in launching a career. But he had little prior work experience and no high school degree. Douglas was placed in a full-time work

experience position at a community based, youth service agency. He was also

enrolled in a GED instruction program.

In each of the four prime sponsorships, high school students who were

seeking only part-time work typically had a narrower range of choice in regard to work and training options. Some students, like Heidi Clark and Vivian

Lincoln, were able to make a good match between their individual career interests and the work experience opportunities that were available to them.

Vivian was considering a career in medicine, and she chose a work experience

assignment at a hospital near her school. Heidi was able to secure a parttime position at the u.,p. Forest Service, which she hoped would further her

progress toward a career in environmental management. All of the case study

students were allowed some choice regarding job assignment, but individual

career objectives were not necessarily the primary criteria governing work

experience placement. Richard Nielsen's experience illustrates the circumstances that seemed to influence job assignment for many students:

I didn't have anything particular in mind that I wanted.

My counselor said that they could give me something that

was in their CETA job files. Most of the jobs were like,

maintenance type work...secretarial jobs...warehouse type

jobs. I didn't care. Mainly, I didn't want anything too

far from school. And I wanted it close to my apartment,

because I don't have a car or anything. So I picked out

a few of the janitorial or maintenance jobs that were

nearby. I think I had two interviews before I got hired

on as a janitorial assistant down at the senior citizens

center.

Transportation considerations were a key factor in participant job assignment, particularly in the rural areas of Kitsap or Kalamazoo counties,

that had little or no public transportation. Proximity of the worksite was

a major criteria in the placement of case study participants who attended

high school, GED instruction classes, or YIEPP educational components on a

daily basis. Nine of the 18 case study participants who were enrolled in

daytime school programs were given part-time jobs within the same facility

where they attended classes. Most of the other students worked in public or

private non-profit agencies located on bus routes or within walking distance

of their schools. Though a number of the case study students worked as medical, educational, or social service aides, clerical and janitorial, jobs were

the kind of part-time work most often provided by schools and other non-profit

agencies.

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Some participants, like Mark Gurney, had career interests that could

not be readily linked with locally available work experience options. Mark

was initially placed in janitorial work at his high school. He grew dissatisfied with this job after several months and requested another work assignment. Mark wanted experience and training in retail management, surveying,

or graphic design, but his CETA counselor was not able to develop a part-time

job that would meet any of these interests, within the limited range of worksites available in the small, rural community of Rexburg. Mark tried out an

audio-visual assignment at the local community center. But he decided to

leave, because the agency was not able to provide training or adequate supervision, and he wasn't able to handle the work on his own. Mark was finally

given a daycare aide assignment at the community center.

While several case study participants had occupational interests that

could not be linked to existing work experience opportunities, others had no career goals or particular job preferences when they entered YEDPA programs.

some participants, like Carmeletta DeVries and Jack Thrush, said they "just

wanted any kind of job", and these participants were typically given less

challenging job assignments. Here's how Jack Thrush described his job assignment:

I had a little bit of experience in janitorial work. So

that's more or less what I told 'em I'd like to do. The

first job interview they could line up for me was a maintenance job. I went to the first interview, and when they

offered me the job, I took it.

Case study participants who had a good idea of what they wanted from

YEDPA work experience were most likely to get a satisfactory job placement.

Patty Monson wanted clerical experience and training in an office environment.

She turned down the first work experience assignment that was offered to her:

They set up an interview for me at the courthouse. It

was in the license plate division. I felt really strange,

turning it down, but I didn't think it would be any good.

I was just going to be sitting at this one little desk,

sorting license plates all day. They said maybe in a

few weeks I could sometimes work on the phones. The reason I went to CETA was to get experience...to learn different skills. I couldn't see how this would help me

for the future at all. I didn't know what to do at.

first. But I explained it to my counselor, and she

agreed with me. She helped me get a much better job at

Grant Elementary School--one where I'd be doing all different secretarial type things.

The case study participants who had the least control over the determination of their work experience assignments were young people from Boston who

applied directly to YCCIP project operators. The job functions and training

activities for these projects were pre-established, and the only choice that

the participants had was whether or not to enroll. While participants from

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Portland and Kalamazoo, like Sandy Bonds, Peggy Bromfield, and Carrie Green,

chose project jobs from a variety of prime sponsor employment and training

options, Boston participants, like Genetta Burke, Adam Sledge, and Sven Latoka, were typically not aware of the other employment and training options

that were available in their area.

Whatever their job assignment, only a minority of the case study participants had the skills or experience to function from the beginning as full

fledged workers. Participants were placed in YEDPA positions to receive work

orientation and training as well as job experience. How well did different

work experience assignments meet developmental objectives? Were participants

able to define appropriate learning objectives and accomplish meaningful work?

Let's examine the experiences of case study participants in different types

of jobs.

Cie ical Work

Clerical jobs accounted for the largest number of work experience placements within the case study group. Ten of the 32 participants were placed

in full or part -time clerical trainee positions. All but one of these participants were young women. Only half of the female case study participants

received initial placement in non-clerical work experience. While some people may be uncomfortable with the reinforcement of occupational sexual stereotyping implied by the assignment of young women to clerical work, it is apparent that these job assignments are viewed by many female participants as

highly desirable. Many of the female case study participants had been enrelied in high school business courses, and they wanted a chance to practice

the secretarial skills that were introduced in school. Of4ce environments

were generally viewed as pleasant places to work in compaRson with other

alternatives. A variety of clerical jobs are accessible to entry level workers, and even limited experience in clerical work can serve as a basis for

full-time employment after high school graduation.

A number of case study participants said they liked their clerical

jobs because the tasks were diversified and they had the opportunity to fit

into a "real" working environment, Patty Monson and Joy Tippits, who were

both assigned to work in school offices, offered the following comments about

their part-time jobs as clerical aides:

I like my job very, very much, because I'm never bored

with it. I always have different things to do. I don't

sit and do the same thing every day. I could never work

on an assembly line cause it's, you know, the same thing

every day. Here I do different things, all day long,

every day. It keeps me interested...I type memos and

announcements. Sometimes I type up dittos for the teachers to use in class. I go to the district office to use

the laminating machine. During lunch I work at the desk,

giving kids lunch money and recording the charges. The

thing I probably like least is working in the library.

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It's boring there. I don't like to be bored, cause the

time drags on. When I'm interested in something, the

time flies. I like to be kept interested...I feel that

I'm learning all that I would have to do in this kind of

job situation...working in a school...It might be a lot

different, you know, in a school than anywhere else. But

I'm still learning a lot of different types of things.

If I didn't think it was preparing me for a real job, I

probably wouldn't stay at it.

I feel I'm learning how an office really works. That's

the best part of this job, I think...You know, seeing

how the office works and the routine of it all. And I

really like the people I work with. I've learned a lot

from them...about the job and about how they see the

world too. The people that I work with I knew from when

I went to junior high, and they are really understanding.

I like it all...typing, filing, running things off, or

doing stuff for the teachers. The only thing that's been

sort of bad is handling phone calls from the parents.

Sometimes they're upset, and they are really rude. That

was shocking at first.

While most clerical aides liked their work experience positions and felt

they were learning useful skills, several participants said they grew bored

with routine secretarial tasks and would rather have worked in some other occupational area As a SPRY participant, Lori Wozisky spent three consecutive

summers doing clerical work in the high school office. She was assigned to

the same worksite and job functions as a YETI' participant. After four months,

Lori left her YETP clerical job to work as a cashier at a nearby Jiffy Market.

Lori says:

When I first started working as a clerical aide, it was

a lot of fun. I felt so grown up, and I really liked it.

But after three years, I guess it just got boring...I did

get more responsibilities over the time I worked there,

and I got better at my job. But I was still answering

the phone, filing--things like that. And typing! I did

lots of typing. I don't like it. Once I had it as a

class in school, I didn't like typing anymore...I was

planning on being a secretary, right up 'til this year.

But I don't know. It seems the more clerical work I did,

the more I disliked it. I got to where when it was time

to go to work, I didn't even want to. I didn't want to

go in and sit at that desk. Just to look at those same

four walls and type and things like that. It was too

boring. I don't like to sit around. I like to be active.

The job I've got now, that keeps me running.
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Lori Wozisky could have requested another job assignment, but she felt

her choices as a YETP participant were pretty much limited to office work,

daycare, or social service aide--none of which held much interest for her.

Since she was 18 and close to high school graduation, she decided to try her

luck in the regular labor force. Her new job paid minimum wage and required

35 to 40 hours work per week--a difficult schedule to coordinate with high

school attendance.

Maintenance and Janitorial Work

Some jobs are intrinsically more mundane than others and are viewed by

most participants as less desirable work assignments. Of the six participants

originally assigned to routine 'janitorial, maintenance, or clean-up jobs, two

-requested and received alternative job assignments, and one eventually dropped

out of the program. All of the case study participants who worked as janitorial or maintenance aides were young men. While these participants were

more apt than most to describe their jobs as boring, not all of them viewed

their work in negative terms.

Richard Nielsen received his first work experience as a janitorial aide

in a community based agency. For six months he swept floors, cleaned offices,

hauled trash, stored supplies, sorted mail, and replaced light bulbs and worn

fuses and did other minor repairs. Richard says he liked his YETI' job because

it -4as the "first time that other people really counted on me for anything."

He feels he learned a lot from watching the people around him work. His supervisor encouraged him to enroll in community college after high school completion. Wien he left the program, Richard was able to find a job as a anitorial assistant for a private company.

David Anderson, who was assigned to part-time work at his high school

bus garage, liked some things about his job as an automotive maintenance aide

and disliked others. But, overall, he found it to be a positive experience:

Most days I do greasing, airing tires, checking cables...

stuff like that When times get slow I clean up the shop,

wash down jacks, floors, windows, cars and buses. There's

some things I dont Like about the job, but a lot more

things that I do like. Sweeping floors and washing windows don't really turn me on that much. But I do that

on the average only about a half-an-hour to an hour a

day. Um, I like working with my hands. And up there

do a lot of working with my hands. I like working with

people too--not a whole lot of people, though--and this

has given me a chance to know more people. I really get

to know who I'm working with and how they feel about different subjects, cuz during coffee breaks we can talk and

stuff like that. I get to learn to be a mechanic. I can

watch them and learn from what they're doing,. And I can

go out and do it for myself and learn from that too...

learn from the mistakes that I make.

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Weatherization and Construction Work

Building weatherization, repair, and construction activities constituted

the third largest occupational grouping for case study participants involved

in work experience. Five participants, two of them young women, were enrolled

In special projects that provided worksite experience and instruction in basic repair, winterization, or carpentry skills. The exposure of youth participants to building trades is generally accomplished under a project format,

where participants work in crews with close supervision and receive related

instruction either on the job or in classroom settings. The value that such

activities held for case study participants seemed to depend upon the relative quality of supervision and amount of training emphasis in individual

projects as well as the kinds of expectations and career objectives with which

participants, themselves, entered the project. (Some of the problems and limitations peculiar to the project approach are discussed later in this chapter.)

All of the participants who were involved in-construction related projects

were high school dropouts. All worked on the projects full-time, or close

to full-time, and they tended to view these jobs first as immediate sources

of income and only secondarily as the means for developing skills to enhance

future employability.

Each of the young men involved in construction related work entered the

project with some skills and previous experience. Harold Thomas, who viewed

his YCCIP job as a way to earn money while completing his GED, said that his

three month stint in home weatherization project taught him few new skills.

He found the work to be "really boring". But Adam Sledge, who was enrolled

in the same weatherization project, found the work interesting and hopes that

his YCCIP work experience will lead to regular employment in the home weatherization and construction business. Adam had helped his mother to remodel the

family apartment, and he says that he did not find it difficult to perform

tasks like insulating walls and ceilings, wrapping pipes and water heaters,

weather stripping and repairing windows and doors, and doing other weatherizing functions. He enjoyed his work on the project and feels he has learned

"at least SUM4 new things."

Sven Latoka was more skilled in construction techniques than most of the

other participants on the YCCIP renovation in which he enrolled. Only three

weeks after joining, he was made a project crew leader. Though Sven was initially not enthusiastic about being a "program participant", as his termination date drew near, Sven said:

I like most things about this project. And I have learned

new things. With my dad, it was mostly small remodel jobs.

But here we're doing renovation on public buildings. I've

learned how to put up inside walls, how to read blueprints,

and more about estimating materials for jobs and stuff like

that. I expect to do regular construction work when I get

through here.
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Sandy Bonds was enrolled in a home repair project operated by Portland

Public Schools. Though Sandy had no career goals and very little experience

when she entered the YETP program, she opted for participation in the home

repair project because she thought that construction work "sounded interesting" and she needed a full-time job. Five months after enrollment, Sandy

was enthusiastic about what she was learning from her project job:

This is almost the first time I've worked really. Other

things have been like babysitting, or a little while at

McDonalds or something. It's the first real job I've

had, and I like it a lot...Right now I'm working sheet

rock and concrete. I've worked linoleum, formica, and,

uh, roofing. They have five crews here who do general

carpentry. One crew does mostly roofing. Another does

mostly little things, like putting guard rails in an

elderly person's home, adjusting the house for them so

they can get around better...I learn so much every day.

It kind of gives me a sense of responsibility, when someone says, "Go do this," and I can do it!

Hospital Work.

Four case study participants were assigned to health care aide positions

in hospitals. All of these participants agreed that hospitals were good places to observe workers filling different professional roles and to learn about

life in general. But there were considerable differences in the job tasks

and learning potential of hospital-based work experience positions. The job

activities of those working in hosptials ranged from part-time work as an

orderly to full-time participation in a six month program that included medical career exploration and intensive training and experience in physical

therapy.

Vivian Lincoln's YETP job as a hospital aide is the first work experience

she's ever had. She works ten hours each week, splitting her time between

Saturdays and Sundays. Vivian says that she likes everything about her job,

which includes a number of different tasks:

I take care of the babies. I take their picture. Put

on the little camera and take the pictures. I ask the

mother if she wants to buy a packet. If wants a

packet, you explain the procedure and everything and

tell her there's no obligation. All that takes 'til

about 11:30. Then after that there's discharges. You

help discharge patients from the hospital, wheel them

down to the car, and take the wheelchair back. That

takes 'til about 12:00. Then you work at the admitting

desk--with paper work--stamping discharge on the papers

and taking the names off the bedboard and things like

that. That's to about 1:00. After lunch you come back

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and make charts. Maybe you make about 150 of those. Then

you go upstairs to admitting and help people there or go

visit patients. The part I like best is visiting the

children in Pediatrics.

My job is health care and working withpeople. At first

I didn't understand some of the people there, but now I

do. There's a lot of pressure there, and you _learn to

take orders and things like that. Doctors, patients,

their families, all of them are under pressure. Sometimes people treat you really bad, and you might not

understand why they do that. But when you work in the

place and see how they're run around and everything,

then you understand why they get like that,

Jessica Jackson worked as a part-time health aide in a Kitsap County

hospital. Jessica said her daily tasks were: "getting records, answering

the phone, taking down messages, getting lab results, mounting EKG's, taking

them out of the wards, and copying them." When asked if she ever grew bored

with these tasks, Jessica said:

Uh uh. I just keep trying to do it better and faster.

You can never get to the point where you've got this

procedure down pat. Never. Like mounting an EKG--

everyone thinks it's easy. Running it, I've got down

pat, but mounting it is a different story. It's easy to

get the little things upside down. I have to watch what

I'm doing...Last week I got to observe an operation.

Watching it was interesting, but it made me sure I don

want to be a nurse or a doctor. I wanted this job to

help me decide if I want to go into the medical field or

if I want to work with people in another way, like maybe

social work. Working with the people around me has been

the best part. I really like my co-workers. And the

patients...I get acquainted with a lot of older people.

It's helped me to realize that I can really accomplish

something and I'm good at working with people.

Lynn Razelton works at the same hospital as Jessica Jackson. Lynn thinks

she might like to be a nurse someday, and she hoped her part-time YETP job

would give her some nursing experience. She likes her job, but much of her

time seems to be spent doing menial work. Lynn thinks that some of the regular hospital staff leave the more tedious tasks for her because she is a

"CETA" worker:

I make beds lot. Usually I'm pretty fortunate and don't

have to empty bedpans. It's really strange...the first

few days that I worked there, I emptied all kinds of bedpans. But since then I've only emptied two or three of

'em. I make coffee. I pass out water, and pass the trays,
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and a lot of stuff like that. Oh, sometimes I run errands,

go to the laboratory and stuff...One thing that really

bothers me is if that day shift leave their beds for me

to do. It kind of makes me mad.

Jobs With Career Potential

Through individually developed work experience placements, some case

study participants were able to learn job roles that would have otherwise

been inaccessible to them. As a YETP participant, Lui Hueyen was able to

leave her part-time job in a ceramics factory. Lui is a good student, who

excels in mathematics. She wanted challenging part-time work that would

help her to develop marketab/e skills but was unable to find this kind of

job on her own. With the help of tier school work experience counselor, Lui

secured a YETP position in the compuf.er center of a U.S. Forest Service facility. After several weeks of iatetIsive training, she was able to function

as a regular worker, programming and correcting data files.

When Jean Ansel became a YETP participant, she knew what kind of work

she wanted to do, but she had no idea how she could actually get started.

Jean learned how Lc "sign" for the deaf from a friend when she was still in

junior high school. She wanted to work with handicapped children, and she

was interested in using her signing skills. But, as a 17 year old ninth

grade dropout and rehabilitated heroin addict with limited work experience,

Jean was not a likely candidate for a responsible position. Shortly after

being accepted in the YETP program, Jean heard about a public school in

Portland that was being established to provide education services for handicapped children. Teachers had been hired for the program, but few had the

skills to communicate with deaf pupils. Jean did not meet the school's

qualifications for a regular position. But, -at the request of her counselor,

school officials were willing to take on a "free" YETP worker who knew how

to sign.

Jean was not sure what her role was supposed to be at the school. At

first she had a hard time fitting in. But she was eager to work, and her

signing skills were in great demand. Within weeks, she was filling the role

of a teaching assistant, working directly with deaf children in the classroom.

While involved in full-time work experience, Jean was able to pass her GED

examinations and complete several community college courses in rehabilitation

and special education. Ten months after she started her work experience,

there was a job opening at the school, and Jean was hired as a regular teaching aide. She was elated with her success:

You can't imagine how proud I was! It was great to be

able to tell my family and friends, "I'm really working

now." Some of my friends had high school diplomas and

they weren't working. But even though I had dropped out

and had so many problg-as, I was able to get this really

good job. I was proud of myself, cuz I knew that I had

really worked for it.

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168

Several case study participants were able to turn routine work assignments into challenging, individualized jobs. Douglas Giscard had developed

few legitimate job skills before he was assigned to a community agency that

provides services for runaways and other juveniles living away from their

arents. His job there was to provide clerical support to the counseling

staff. Douglas says r at whenever he finished his work, he would talk to

his supervisor and other staff members and find out what else needed to be

done. He soon proved himself to be a valuable asset in the office. After

four months, Douglas was put in charge of coordinating the youth volunteers

who serve as support staff for the agency. In his new role, Douglas make2,

up the weekly assignment sheets that detail each volunteer w3rker's function.

He also supervises the juvenile workers, handles any problems they might have,

and acts as liaison between the professional and volunteer support staff.

Douglas clearly enjoys his work and he does it well. He was promised a permanent placement when he terminated from the YETP program.

When Felisa Santana enrolled in a bilingual community based school, at

age 15, her only previous job experience was part-time agricultural work in

Puerto Rico. After attending the school for several months, Felisa was placed

in a YETP clerical position at a nearby neighborhood health Ilinic. She had

no clerical training and few skills that could be put to use in an office environment. During the first few weeks on the job, Felisa says that she had

a hard time handling even the routine filing work to which she was assigned.

But the secretaries and medical assistants at the clinic were friendly and

willing to work with Felisa while she learned. Felisa developed many practical skills during the 18 months that she worked part-time as a YETP aide

at the clinic. She took typing and bookkeeping at school, and her job at

the clinic was expanded to include new functions. By the time shc_ passed

her GED examinations, Felisa was handling much of the clinic's billing and

account work. She was offered, and accepted, a full -time job at the clinic

as a billing clerk.

Heidi Clark also started out as a part-time clerical aide. As a high

school junior, she was placed in a work experiflce position at the U.S. Forest Service. Heidi had some office skills when she started her YETP job, and

she was interested in career training because she cUdn't plan to go on to

college after graduation. At first Heidi felt that she wasn't being fully

utilized at the Forest Service:

It started out real. .well, it was pretty slow at first.

I was doing a lot of typing, but it was mainly practice

stuff. I was pretty confident of my skills. One of the

things I realized was that I could keep up with the other

typists, and I was also learning about their style of

form letters. I had learned form letters in school, but

they were different. So I studied up on the different

styles and way of doing things in the government...reading manuals and things like that. So that was okay...1

needed to learn those things. As time went on, it got

to be more friendly and comfortable around the office
169

for me. And they started giving me other things to do,

and I got to have more responsibilities. That went on

for nearly a year, and I enjoyed my job. But towards the

end of that time, I started to feel kind of like, "I'm

not doing a whole lot here. I'm still just sorts doing

Little jobs." I felt like I could handle other kinds of

work.

Heidi finally talked to her supervisor about the way she was feeling.

They discussed her progress as a clerical aide, and her supervisor agreed

that she was ready for a more demanding assignment. On the recommendation

of '%er supervisor, Heidi was hired by the Forst Service as a public information trainee. She was allowed to work part-time for three months while she

completed high school and was promised full-time employment and career training after graduation. This is what Heidi says about her new job:

I really like it here. The job that I have now is different from the CETA job I had, because in this job,

there's a lot more different things to do. I feel I've

got a lot more responsiblity. I don't really do very

much typing now. I read and respond to letters from the

public, asking questions about the Forest Service. I answer questions, send out information, maps, and things

like that. I do some xeroxing and typing. I also answer

phones, and I greet the public coming into the office.

We're always trying new things in the office. In my job,

I have to be really up on what's going on, cuz the public

thinks that we know it all--so I try to know as much as

I can.

Non - Traditional Work nce for Female Participants

The majority of 'young women who enroll in youth programs and projects

receive work experience and training in occupational areas that have traditionally employed high percentages of women workers. Job openings in service

occupations, like clerical worker, beautician, food service worker, social

service, medical, or dental aide, are fairly plentiful and can often be accessed-lwith relatively little advanced training. But jobs in traditional

"women's" occupations typically pay considerably less, and may offer fewer

opportunities for advancement and self-sufficiency, than other occupational

roles that have been more heavily identified with male workers. CETA prime

sponsors have been countenanced by national directives to provide non-traditional training opportunities for women and to encourage female participants

to prepare themselves for better paying jobs in occupational fields that are

currently male-dominated. Three of the young women in the youth perspectives

case study group received work experience that was physically intensive and

involved the development of skills or capabilities usually associated with

male workers. What were their reasons for choosing non-traditional work assignments?

is
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When Sandy Bonds started working on the home repair project, she had no

firm career goals in mind, but she was hoping for "good experience" that she

could "build around" for the future. After working several months on the

project, Sandy grew interested in becoming a carpenter. As a young woman,

who weighs less than 100 pounds, Sandy realized that she might encounter

serious barriers in realizing her occupational goals. Sandy considers herself a feminist, but she doesn't think that she really has a need to "prove"

anything on the job:

I took a chance, really, with this job. I was interested

in it, but I took a chance at the same time...You know,

on jobs sometimes people just get carried away with themselves...start testing the people around them. I don't

like being in a little game--some trip around, "I'm bigger than you are and stronger than you are"--that just

bothers me. I don't know why people want to do that.

There's no reason for it. If he's a man, he's a man.

If she's a woman, she's a woman. You don't have to prove

that to anyone, we already know that. A lot of people

feel they have to prove the-7elves, but there's no reason

to do that.

I don't like offending people at all. I try not to. But

I don't like holding myself back either. So if I have

to prove something, I...well, I try to do it in the nicest way I can. I'm not trying to show anybody anything,

but if they want to see it like that, fine. If it's a

matter of doing good work, that's fine too. I'll show

to 'em if I know that I can do it.

Genetta Burke did-not select her weatherization project work from a

spectrum of training or work experience opportnities; she was recruited by

project staff. When the project supervisor, Henry Jones, first told Genetta

about the weatherization work, she was not particularly interested. Genetta

said: "It didn't sound much like me. But I'd already tried workin' in an

office and in a factory; and I needed to be doin' something, so I figured,

why not give it a try?" Her decision to participate in the project war partially motivated by the desire to prove that she could handle a male oriented

job:

You know how men are always acting so tough? Well, I

just wanted to show them that I could do their work.

When I first came here, they be sayin', "uh, uh, look

at her She think she can do it." I say, "Yeah, you

know I can!" Cuz when you takin' out the windows and

stuff--you know, like takin' the frames loose and puttin' 'em back together--cuttin' glass for 'em and stuff...

They didn't think I could dp it. But now they see me do

it.
171

When Tina Middleton signed up for part-time work on a YCCIP fisheries

project, she had no idea that the job would involve strenuous physical labor

on an all -male, work crew. Compared to some of the other female participants

in the case study group, Tina is particularly "girlish" and rather shy. She

had no intention of launching a non-taditional career when she accepted the

position at the state operated fish hatchery in Kitsap County:

I'm interested tn animals. I'd really like to be a zoo

technician, but there's not much call for that around

here. When I heard from my counselor about the job at

the fish hatchery, I thought, "Marine biology's a good

field; I'd really like to have a job like that." So I

took that assignment. But it didn't work out like I

expected. I had no idea that the work would be so hard,

or so boring. I thought that I would be working in the

lab there. I took advanced zoology, and I was really

good in the lab portioa--dissections and things. That's

what I thought I was getting into at the fisheries.

As young men are growing up, many of them learn to use tools and tackle

basic construction projects or household maintenance chores. Young women are

much less likely to become involved in such activities. None of the three

female participants knew much about basic construction techniques or how to

effectively use even common tools at the time she began non-traditional work

experience. How difficult is it for a young woman to learn to function effectively in an unfamiliar work environment? The experience of these three

women indicates that the quality of initial training and the supportiveness

of the supervisor can make a big difference in a female participant's ability

to adjust to new work roles.

Both Sandy Bonds and Genetta Burke were able to learn new skills and

techniques in a relatively supportive environment. Genetta says, "The way

they taught us, it was rather easy, you know. Because they took the time to

show us, and they had patience. They got different people to teach us things

andshow us how to do it." Sandy found the adjustment period trying, but she

f els that her instructors did a good job:

It was pretty confusing at first. The work, itself, is_ not so hard, but learning how to do it right is what

hard. I doubt if you could pick somebody up off the

-treat and ask them to hammer a nail and they would do

it right--without bending the nail. There's a little

technique to everything we learned. The first instructor I had was a woman. She was kinda new to the whole

thing and she was kinda learning along with us. She was

a good Instructor, though. The second was an older man,

and he was really super good. He had us do classwork.

We were the only crew that did it, because he wanted us

to learn vocabulary. Because, like, we would be working

along and he would ask somebody to get him a jack plate.

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172

And we would turn around and look at him and say, 'That's

a jack plate?" So finally, he said, "Look, I'm making

this vocabulary list for you. This is what you've got

to learn to do the job. You have to know what things are

first, that's pretty clear." So that's what he did, and

it turned out to be real good.

Tina Middleton's fisheries job was mainly routine physical work. Though

her job required less technical skill than either Sandy's or Genetta's job,

Tina had a much harder time adjusting to the work requirements. Her adjustment problems were compounded by a personal lack of interest in the work and

an unsympathetic supervisor, who "didn't really want women on his crew."

Tina's supervisor was not willing to provide her with much in the way of orientation:

One day, when I was still new there, he just really went

for me. See there was this valveit's called a low

gauge, shut-off valve. And I'd only heard this term maybe once at the time. I just remembered that it was a

valve, but not what kind of valve. Anyway, it was lost.

Ron was looking for it, and I found it And I say, "Hey,

Ron, I found this valve thing." He goes, "What kind of

valve do you mean?" He knew just what I meant all right.

I said, "It's the valve you wanted. I don't know what

kind." And he got really mad. He said maybe I should

go home and read the Sears Roebuck catalogue before I

came back to work so that I would be more aware of these

things. That just hit the wrong nerve with me, but I

just walked away.

Later that day, I hit my finger on a nail, and it really

hurt. When it happened, I said, "Ow My fingernail!"

Ron was standing_ behind me and he went, "O000h! My fin7

Aernaik!" Then he said, "Stop worrying about your fingernails and get to work!" I felt madder than ever. At

first I thought maybe it was just his bad day. But he

did it all the time after that.

One day I was talking to someone else on the crew, and

I said something about "fishies". We were working with

fingerlings, and I don't know why, but I just called them

"fishies". Ron heard me and he said, "Fishiest That s

a feministic term. You're not going to get by with that

on crew. Try that one out on someone else, Tina."

I stomped off. I was embarrassed, and_i was pouting.

Ron was laughing at me, and I said, "Well, excuse me!

I'll just take my femininity home and hide it under a

jar!"
173

Tina was not the only female participant who encountered problems with

a male supervisor. Sandy Bonds says that the third instructor she had in the

home repair project gave the two women on his crew a "pretty hard time." She

found it difficult to work with him and eventually asked to be transferred

CO an ther crew.

He thought that you gotta be tough and rough in the construction business, so he's gonna give the women a hard

time. He said we should learn that we're gonna be hassled on the job. One of those little philosophies...

and I don't agree with his approach at all. I think

he's just playin' games, myself. A 35 year old man,

playin' games on teenage girls--some instructor:

Once they learn the basic skills, how hard is it for young women

function in non-traditional jobs? I asked each of the three participants how

she felt about the work itself, what it was like for her on the job, and whether she would continue doing non-traditional work after she left the program.

Genetta Burke was not very enthusiastic about her wea herization tasks

or work environment, and she did not plan a career in this line of work:

If they ain't pushin' me too much, it's okay. Like yesterday, they had me weatherstrippin' a door. And they

wanted me to weather! .rip a window and paint the boards

on the bottom and the basement windows--all at the same

time. Now that made me mad. I just told 'em I wasn't

doinl all that. I'd just weatherstrip the door, but forget all this paintin' and stuff:

I wouldn't mind going out and workin' every day, long as

the houses we go to are nice and clean, you know. But

the people's houses we been workin' on lately ain't clean

at all. I don't like workin' in places like that. But

just cause I don't like it, seems like they gotta take

me to those jobs.

But you know, it's pretty easy cause the guys are all

there, you know. And if I don't want to do somethin',

then 1 can get them to do it for me! Even Henry. Some

of the guys think that I'm...that I think I'm better than

them. Because I don't like to joke around or play a lot.

...I think I'd do better with older people, more mature

people. Men are babies until they're 30!

Only way I'd work in weatherizing is if I didn't think

of another trade, or if there was nothing else left. I guess I would take it then, you know? But sayin', like,

am 1 gonna jump right into it? No. No, I just wanna

learn how to do these things. So, you know, I have a

skill aside if some other kind of trainin' don't work

out for me.

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174

Tina Middleton quit her fisheries job after four months end requested

reassignment to a clerical position. Though she didn't like the job and

never really adjusted to the work, Tina doesn't feel that her stint at the

fisheries was entirely without value:

It did n.7ch me a lot about some things. It taught me

how to deal with an all-male situation. I'd never done

that before. I was the only girl out there, and I felt

super out of place At first I was really ill at ease

all the time. It 1i,-; just like, "Oh, God! They're all

looking at me. My hair's our of place!" But I finally

got used to that.

But I still felt weird, because I couldn't do the phys -

cal work, like the guys were doing. I'm not a feminist,

really, or a big liberated woman or anything. But I felt

I should be doing as much as they were, because I was being paid the same thing. So I would try to do as much

as they would. And I would be sore as sore when I got

home. About half the time, I just couldn't do it. It

was so embarrassing to have to say, "I can't do this. I

just can't move it, I'm sorry."

At first, I was just

needed the credit to

first it was just me.

ing too picky here."

down here and try it

I rind but it still

going to try to keep going. I really

graduate. And I thought maybe at

I thought, "Maybe you're just beSo I told myself, "Okay, let's calm

And I worked as hard as I could.

snit working.

Then Ron called me in and said, 'You really aren't working

out too good here." I said, "I know." Then he proceeded

to criticize everything I did. I got really hurt. I mean, he found everything I'd ever done wrong and criticized me for it. I finally decided that's enough! Even

if I couldn't get another job, I was still going to quit

this--just flat out quit. The hell with graduation. I just couldn't take it. But I was lucky that they gave

me another job. I got put back in the courthouse as a

clerical aide:

Unlike the other two young women, Sandy Bonds plans to continue doing

work that has traditionally been reserved for males. She enjoys carpentry

work and would like to find full-time employment in this field after leaving

the home repair project. Sandytfeels the project has been a good experience

for her, and she is philosophical about the problems that she may encounter

in her chosen career!

It's real hard for women. Because all of a sue'en, what' s called "femininity" is not there anymore when you try to

lift up l6 feet of two by fours or something. You've been

1
175

taught that if you have any muscles in your arm, you're

gonna look like a little bc_;y...that they're gonna call

you a butch and all that stuff. I mean, women'll freak

out on that. Cuz they know that society doesn't like it.

They are Caught that, and it's a shame; it really is, I think. But men that are gonna stay macho cuz that's what

their dad taught 'em are just as bad off. A man working

in a feminine job--like a flower salesman or something--

he's gonna be defensive too, you know?

feel sorry for the kind of guy who thinks, "This is a

macho job, and I'm not gonna give no woman no slack on

my construction site." That's crazy. You don't have to

do what you were taught. You don't have to dress like

you were taught to dress. There's a big difference between male and female and how they were taught to grow

up.

Women have to wear grubby clothes when they work construction and they have to do heavy work. I think it's

hard for most of them. Sometimes it's not just that they

get so much shit an the job; it's more like they expect

a lot of shit. To some extent, it depends on who you are, ---

how you act, in terms of how much garbage you get from ---

other people on the job. I can see why some women back

down, because they weren't taught that they shouldn't

back down. I don't know, it's kinda complicated.

Personally, if I can't do somethin', I just speak up and

say I haven't done it before, you know. If that's true,

then sameone'll usually show you how to do it. Um, like,

see that door right there? Hollow core door, just a

piece of veneer plywood in it. It wouldn't weigh more

than about 25 pounds. But it's real big and wide, and

you wonder how somebody could carry it, you know, without hurtin' themselves. Well, I've learned how to carry

things without killin' myself--how to pick things up.

It's simple, really. Most things that are heavy, if you

know how to balance them with your weight, then you can

pick them up. I stacked four ten foot pressure treated

two by four pieces of wood on my shoulder this morning.

It was maybe 70 pounds, but if you just stick it up on

your shoulder and have the weight towards the back and

hold the front end with your arm to balance it, there's

Just no problem. You know the legs on a person are awful powerful. When you lift you use your legs anyway--

not your back. Once you learn how to pick things up,

there's no problem. You can learn anything...just depends on what you want.
Fittin YEDPA Workers Into anizations

176

Some participants were able to expand their knowledge of the working

world and define and develop a number of different skills through YEDPA job

placements, but other participants encountered substantial barriers to learning and achieved only limited growth from their work experience. Some of the

limitations in work experience were the result of inter-personal problems or

communication barriers. Others were more a product of the way in which work

assignments were structured.

A number of case study participants experienced, at least, init: uifficulty fitting themselves into ongoing work environments. As work experience participants, their roles in organizational structures or informal

working networks were not always clearly defined. This proved to be an

advantage to participants like Jean Ansel, Lui Hueyen, and Douglas Giscard,

who were able to identify needs at the worksite and prepare themselves to

assume broader responsibilities than those to which they might otherwise have

been assigned. But some participants were confused by an unfamiliar network

of profcqsional roles and auxiliary responsibilities and had a hard time figuring out how they, as YEDPA aides, could or should function at the worksite.

Peggy Bromfield's description of her experience in a unversity medical center

reflects some of this confusion:

I was in the Medical Careers Exploration Project. Two

hours out of each day, we would go and observe different

medical fields, like psychiatrist, speech therapist,

physical therapist, paramedic instructor, and so on. They

would tell about what they do, what they get paid, how

much schooling is needed, how they got there, and what

they think the benefits are and what the disadvantages

are. It was really good for me, because wanting to be

a physical therapist, you have to understand what all

the other medical fields are, because you're going to be

working with them.

The other six hours I would be working--mostly in the

hydro room. I learned a lot there. The people I worked

with were really impressed with me at first, because I

had so much energy. I really wanted to get things done

and to learn. After a few months, I was working pretty

much as a ,hysical therapist assistant. The girl that

was training me went on vacation, and she gave me two

weeks to prove myself by working on my own.

But I ran into problems, you know. Cause I cared about

the patients. The physical therapist was too busy concentrating on the physical abilities to even bother with

the mental abilities. I figure if a person is going to

help herself, she's going to have to use her mental abilities. So I would talk to the patients a lot. Reassure

them while they were getting therapy and try and distract

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177

them from the pain. But the therapist got pissed off and

told my supervisor that I was being too friendly with the

patients. My supervisor said, "Why do you think the therapist would tell me these things? Think about it over The

weekend and see if you can figure out what to do about it.

I was pretty confused, and I didn't think she was being

really straight with me. When I thought about it, I decided that one thing was that they were worried about me

being too friendly--especially with the men--worried that

the patients might get the wrong impression. I also think

they might have been mad, because I was doing half their

job and I'm just a CETA trainee. Anyway, I finally figured out that I could be a little more professional, you

know, but still be friendly and be myself. And I still

tried to help the patients understand what they were going through and explain the things that were happening

to them when they're in the hydro room.

Going through that experience helped me realize that I

want to work in physical therapy, but I don't want to be

a physical therapist in a hospital. I'd like to be a

therapy assistant and work with like a clinic or a chiropractor. I learned a lot from the hospital. Some of the

staff there really helped me. But they look down on you

too. I mean they introduce you to patients and new staff

by saying, "This is Peggy Bromfield. She's on CETA. I don't know what CETA means, but she's on it." You know,

they treat you like you're just part-time help and don't

count for much. I was working there full-time and doing

a lot of good, but the regular therapist assistant, Donna,

she always took all of the credit.

Besides Peggy Bromfield, several other case study participants complained

about experiencing discrimination at the worksite because they were program

participants rather than regular employees. Carmeletta DeVries spent six

months working as a food service aide in a state operated hospital cafeteria.

Though the work was routine, she liked it well enough to nurture hopes for

transition into a permanent position. But Carmeletta felt that, in her special status as a program participant, she was not always treated fairly:

We would hand meals out to the patients. You know, wipe

the tables. Sweep the floors. Everybody would get out

and help. Then later we would pour the milk for dinner.

Serve the dinner. Then go up on the un -s and put laundry

away. I liked it quite a lot...But, you 'ow, sometimes

I was treated different because I was a C. , worker. I didn't think that was right. There were signs up that

Said, "Don't let CETA workers use your keys," or "CETA

workers cannot answer or use the phone." God: I felt

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178

I was treated like a patient or something...you know,

"Don't let patients or CETA workers..." I couldn't use

anyone's keys. And everywhere you go there's a lock.

When I got ready to leave, I might have a minute or two

to get across the street to the bus stop. I'd have to

run all the way back to the cafeteria to get somebody to

unlock the door for me. I didn't think that was right.

And they had me wash windows. There were big cafeteria

windows that they don't wash but every year or so, you

know. They said, 'You're a CETA worker, and all the CETA

workers have to wash the windows." And I said, "If I

wasn't here, who would wash these windows?" You know,

I was really mad People was sitting around on their

coffee breaks, and I'm sitting up there washing windows,

you know. Everybody else was sitting around and talking.

I didn't think that was fair.

While several case study participants felt they were singled out or

overburdened at the worksite in comparison with regular employees, there were

other cases where participants had so little responsibility that their presence or absence at the worksite was scarcely noticed by other employees.

Bobby Jones was employed part-time at the community center where he attended YIEPP remedial education classes. Because of his interest in sports,

Bobby was assigned to be a sports reporter for the center's monthly newsletter.

He was supposed to attend all recreational activities and write descriptive

reports. But the work didn't keep him busy for the four hours a day for which

he was being paid. During his working hours, Bobby came and went pretty much

as he pleased. He attended some events but only wrote three or four short

items each month. He spent a lot of his time hanging around the center watching regular employees do their jobs. And while he didn't develop any marketable skills of his own, he does believe that he learned a lot about how people

function in a community organization:

I been up here a lot. Watchin' these people. It's all

different kinds of work in this building. I know. I ask

people how they do it...watch what they do. I know how

to work the switchboard upstairs and things like that.

You know, bein' up here and knowin' all the executive

dudes of the building real good, I see a lot. Mostly,

a lot of jobs they do have paper work. I see a lot of

people get real mean from that kind of work. You know,

you can see it...you can just see it. They come to work,

and they all tight...tense, you know...mean. It shows.

It shows. Eight hours a day really zi,2 to them people.
179

Supervision

During the case study research, most of the problems that were observed

in work experience components were related in some way to the supervision of

participants at the workaite. There is no single formula for effective worksite supervision. Different participants need different things from a supervisor. And different work assignments and learning objectives imply different

levels of supervisory control. Sometimes close supervision, maximum direction,

and considerable support are necessary. Other times, less intensive supervisory approaches seem to work better. But for work experience to yield effective results, participants need to feel that there is someone at the worksite to whom they are responsiLle, and that this person is both willing and

able to provide direction, advice and assistance. Participants need feedback

from their supervisors, both positive and negative, in order to determine how

well they are performing on the job and what kind of improvement is possible.

To facilitate maximum growth and learring, participants should know whether

they are meeting employer expectations and they should have the opportunity

to articulate their own needs and establish individual learning objectives.

The establishment of clear communication channels between supervisor and

worker seemed to be a key factor in determining the value of work experience

for case study participants. Several participants had especially close relationships with their supervisors. Mark Gurney feels that he learned a lot

from his supervisor at the daycare center:

I liked my work best on that job, because I got along

real good with my supervisor. He's taught me about a

lot of things--not just for that job, but for the future.

He's been real straight in telling me about the way

things are.

Heidi Clark feels that her supervisor made it easy for her to learn and

progress in her job at the Forest Service. Heidi says:

Certain people have a way of making you understand what

is really going on. You know, some people can just teach

you easier and better maybe they just have a gift for

it or something.

While many of the participants were able to make an adequate adjustment

to whatever kind of supervisory arrangement prevailed at the worksite, the

case study material suggests that some participants could have learned more

from work experience and had far fewer problems if supervisory roles had been

more clearly defined and more conscientiously and consistently exercised.

Less than half of the case study participants felt they received enough feedback from their supervisors about their performance on the job. After a formal introduction to their supervisor and a brief discussion of job functions,

some of the participants were left to work pretty much on their own. In this

situation, a number of participants were able to define their roles and learn

new skills by establiShing more informal working relationships with others

at the worksite. But some participants had difficulty communicating effectively

19
180

with their co-workers and remained isolated and without any clear sense of

direction through most of their period of work experience. Several participants who had communication problems and little feedback from their supervisors eventually dropped out of YEDPA programs.

Jack Thrush was placed in a work experience position as a janitorial

aide for a non-profit agency. At first he liked his job, which included painting, repair, and maintenance tasks. But Jack says that he never really knew

whether the people at the agency thought he was doing a good job. When he

started having problems with the work, there was nobody with whom he felt he

could discuss them. As he had done earlier when he had problems in high school,

Jack started skipping days and finally stopped showing up altogether. This

is what Jack says about his experience:

I thought the job at Neighborhood Center was pretty good.

It was the most I'd ever been paid, and I was working

nearly full-time. But I had, uh, a communication problem

with the boss. She seemed like a really nice Perian.

really smart and thoughtful toward others. But I think

she had a lot to handle or something. I don't know, to

me it seemed she didn't quite know where I was at at all,

and I didn't know where she was at...The work that I was

doing right before I left was sanding. And I, uh, well,

I started feeling it was hazardous to my health. I don't

know, I just started getting a real negative attitude

about the job. I didn't want to bother anybody. But I

stopped coming in on time, or coming in at all, and stuff

like that. They didn't say anything to me. But I felt

I was in a spot. My counselor started calling me up...

asking me would I like a different job. I guess I wanted

a different job, but I felt that I'd be lettin' a whole

lot of people down at Neighborhood Center. The pressure

got to me, but I couldn't seem to do anything about it.

I wish now that before I quit I'd have talked to someone

or done something instead of just screwing up there.

As a 17 year old single mother, Carmeletta DeVries had a hard time juggling new job responsibilities with the demands of the welfare office and her

infant son. Carmeletta never got a clear picture of her supervisor's expectations, and she decided to quit her job when she had a conflict that she

couldn't resolve on her own:

I never talked too much to my supervisor, but a couple

times she said that I did good work. On my time card,

there was a place for remarks, but she never evaluated

me. So I didn't know what she thought, but I thought I

was doing pretty good there. Then after my baby had been

sick and I had to miss work a couple times, she got mad

at me for not callin' in. I did call up once, but nobody really told me that you were supposed to call before

9:00 every day you weren't comin'. She said if I missed
181

again I would have to be dismissed. A while after that,

I got this card that I had to be at the welfare office

Monday morning. I tried to call them up and change it

to another time. But they said it was about medicaide

or something and I had to come in or I might be cut off

it. I knew it meant I was going to lose my job. And I

was thinking I would try to get hired on there, cuz the

pay is good, workin' for the state. But I couldn't afford to lose the medicaide, so I quit my job,

Mark Westgate's first YETP assignment was on a maintenance work crew at

his high school. Mark says all he wanted from his part-time job was the

chance to earn a little money. He expected hard work, but he grew disgusted

with the lack of supervision and discipline on the maintenance crew. Instead

of quitting, Mark requested a change of assignment:

A lot of times we weren't really sure what they wanted

us to do. Some days there'd be a lot of work, and other

days--zilch. There were six to eight of us on the crew,

but only myself and two or three others really did any

work. The rest of the kids--we called them the "Critters"

--they'd be out behind the gym, smoking and pitching pennies...or doing whatever it is they like to do. You know

the type? They didn't do any work in class, and they

weren't going to do any work on their job after school

if they could help it--even though they were getting paid.

I got tired of it pretty quick, and I worked out a deal

with the Band Director, where I could be assigned as an

aide in the Music Room.

Poor supervision in an individual placement situation can negatively

affect the progress and outcome of work experience for a single participant.

But inadequate or insensitive supervision in a project situation affects an

entire group of participants and may result in general demoralization and chaos

at the worksite. Carrie Green was assigned to a university based YCCIP project

to receive work experience and training as a clerical aide. From the -eginning,

Carrie experienced difficulties in her work assignment. And she was not alone;

six of her co-workers, who were interviewed during the initial screening for

-he case study research, were also having problems handling their project jobs

at the university.

Dr. White, who wrote the initial proposal for the university and later

b came project director, had little contact with participants once they were

installed in project jobs. Though Dr. White was the only person with authority to provide direction, settle disputes, or make final decisions about project functions, he delegated responsibility for the daily supervision of 12

full-time project participants to his 19 year old secretary, who, herself,

wls a CETA public service employment participant. This young PSE worker lacked

the experience, preparation, and personal skills to provide effective supervision to a crew of inexperienced workers in addition to handling her regular

job tasks.

19'1
182

Inadequate supervision was not the only problem with this project. Participant job functions and learning objectives were never clearly defined.

Training was administered only on a haphazard, task-oriented basis. There

were no formal policies governing the assignment or rotation of tasks. These

kinds of decisions were left to the secretary, who--no doubt through confusion

and frustration--often acted arbitrarily and sometimes reversed assignments

at the last minute. The participants had little respect for their young acting supervisor, and they frequently challenged her authority and questioned

her judgment. When things got out of hand, Dr. White's response was usually

to support his assistant and penalize "disruptive" participants. Carrie was

more outspoken than most of her co- workers. By the time she terminated from

the project, Carrie felt she had been labeled a troublemaker:

When I first came on, you know, there was a pile of work

just backed up in the office. I had to say, "Hey, I

can't do all this This is too much for me," So they

tried to divide it up better, but Susan, she would get

so hassled.you never knew exactly what you were supposed

to do. Dr. White would say one thing, but Susan would

change it. She's his secretary. She'd come around and

check on you, you know. Her attitude was really bad...

like, "I'm the boss here. So do as I say or you'll lose

your job." It was like you were a little kid. It was,

I don't know...degradln. It was She didn't really

Pare about us. This one girl was pregnant, mind you,

and she told her to get up on a table and put something

away on this shelf up by the ceiling.

Shd didn't act like a boss, cuz she'd go running to Dr.

White and tell him everything we did. Even if we went

to the bathroom, she thought we were running around or

something. Dr. White knew she had this cocky attitude,

but he'd back her up. He didn't like me, cuz at this one

meeting--we had a meeting with all of us about our attitudes and stuff -and I just told him how it was there.

He got upset that I spoke up. He got real offended, cuz

I told him how the attitude was, and how I think it should

change. He looked at me, and his face got red, And he

said, "Well, if you don't like your job, you know what

you can do." And I said, "You're asking us what's wrong,

and we're supposed to be telling you. But when you hear

it, you can't handle it."

After that, it was like they were just looking for me to

make trouble. If I was one minute late, they would deduct it from my pay. But everyone had a hard time. Terry

and Anita quit. Sheryl got in a fight with Susan, and

she got fired over it. Betty was suspended for five days,

cuz she had watched the fight and didn't do nothing about

--- it. Finally I just had to quit. Practically the only

people that stayed there were the ones that had kids or

something and couldn't afford to lose the job.

1Qt4 tJ
183

Project Problems and Limitations

I've encountered relatively few projects that were as mismanaged and

poorly supervised as the university based YCCIP project to which Carrie Green

was assigned. But the case study material suggests that project jobs are more

prone to problems and limitations than individual work experience assignments.

Keeping participants productively occupied seemed to be a particular problem

on school based work crews, like the one on which Mark Westgate worked.

was also a problem on projects involving weatherization and construction activities. Participants in these kinds of projects were generally assigned

to crews that work on low-income homes or pudic facilities. Several project

operators seemed to have chronic difficulty lining up enough work, scheduling

it, and coordinating crew assignments so that everybody was working. Participants like Genetta Burke, Harold Thomas, and Adam Sledge complained that

they spent too much time "just sitting around, waiting to go out on the job."

Sven Lemke reported that work in his YCCIP renovation project was sometimes held up when they ran out of materials or had to wait for another crew

to finish their part of a job. But he said that he didn't spend much time

sitting around:

I've been busy. You know, it's up to the individual.

If you want to keep yourself busy. Some people are just

lazy. If there's nothing else to do, you can always pick

up a broom, clear away the trash...stuff like that. Sometimes there's just certain things that come up, not everybody can work all the time. That's just the way this business is.

Both Genetta Burke and Harold Thomas said that "waiting around" was the

thing they liked least about the YCCIP weatherization project in which they

were enrolled. They felt that their supervisors did not always plan activities well or provide enough direction. Both also reported that the participants in the project "fooled" around a lot and sometimes acted like children.

And, though Genetta at least felt she had learned some new skills, neither

thought their project activities constituted a "real" job. Genetta says:

The guys in this project are just too young. And they

play too much. They gang around, and they tell too many

jokes and stuff like that. Some days they fool around

all day. Sometimes I think this job is a joke. I come

here if I wanner laugh. They really like to kid around.

Sometimes the staff treat us like babies. A while back,

I was thinkin' about quittin'. I was gonna go, because

they was makin' up some stupid rules. They come off

sometimes, and they have us doin'this and doin' that

But we never know about it until it happens. I figure

when you work, they should let you know before. But

they always tell you, you have to wait. One day they
184

just left us on a job. It was at tile end of the day.

They needed the van for something, and we just goc stuck..

And nobody hardly had any money to get home. Everybody's

trying to bum money from each other, cuz they just left

us. I didn't like that. But they haven't done it again

since everybody, you know, got together and talked about

it.

Project work crews can be supportive environments for participants with

little previous work experience, but some feel that they are held back by the

limitations of others on the crew. Sven Latoka said that he didn't mind helping and instructing co-workers who were slower or less skilled than he, but

he resented those who "held things up for everyone, cuz they don't really want

to work." Harold Thomas grew exasperated with participants who "couldn't seem

to get the hang of it" after several months on the job, and he felt working

with them slowed him down on the job.

The project approach seems to work well in providing initial orientation

to a vocational area and teaching basic skills. But participants who want

to refine their skills and develop more sophisticated vocational competencies

are sometimes disappointed with what the project experience can offer. Project

formats may limit individual participants' abilities to move at their own

pace, and supervisors or crew leaders may be too involved in group dynamics

to perceive individual needs or structure special learning experiences.

After eight months on the Emergency Home Repair Project, Sandy Bonds

wanted to improve her carpentry skills for finish work, which she didn't get

much chance to develop on crew assignments. She talked to her crew leader

about a special assignment. But Sandy was disappointed with the way her crew

leader responded to her request:

That whole deal about finish work just really blew up

today. Let's see...about two months ago, I asked my crew

leader if we could do some more in-depth work, making

patterns. And he said sure, fine. They set it up for

our crew to get the next cabinet job, and I could do it

like a special project. Well, the cabinet job has been

going on for about two weeks now. I've been in there to

work on them. But as far as physical labor, all I've

gotten to do on 'em was put a couple staple guns to 'em

and put a little glue on. I didn't get a chance to do

any, you know, cutting out and putting together, or any

figuring for it. I was really unhappy about that.

As far as I can understand, it's because my crew leader

decided that he wanted to cut it out and put it together

himself. That really screwed me around, cuz I thought

that he was gonna teach we how to do it, and he ended up

doing the whole thing. Well, we had a little argument

about that. He contradicts himself. And it's confusing
185

cuz ya can't understand what he's tryin' to convey to you.

I heard him say this morning that he didn't think we were

capable to do that kind of work, and that's why he did

It And I thought, here's a public school teacher tellin'

me that I'm incapable to do this work, and that's what

I'm here to learn. It kinder pissed me off, you know. I've

been there over eight months, and there's nothing that

he did to those cabinets that I couldn't have done.

It really upset me a lot. So I brought this up to the

supervisor, and they just decided to take me off his

crew. I thought maybe I should try to stick it out, you

know. But I've been doin' this crew three months, and

I'm tired of doin' so much screwin' around with him. It

pisses me off though, cuz I feel that he's held me back.

I.earnip on YEDPA Jobs

How well did YEDPA work experience meet different participant needs?

What do participants think about their temporary program jobs? The predom -

nant response of the case study participants to YEDPA work experience was

positive and enthusiastic. Though it is clear from interview material that

work experience was not of equal quality or benefit for all the participants,

the large majority of case study participants believe that, apart from the

income it provided, their YEDPA job was a worthwhile experience that enhanced

their ability to secure better employment in the future.

Within the case study group, the major benefit reported to be derived

from work experience was the opportunity to observe and work with others.

About two-thirds of the participants felt that they wore able to learn a lot

from other workers, both in relationship to specific job skills and to more

general perspectives on adult work life. Only three participants believe

that they learned little or nothing of value from those with whom they worked.

The variation in training focus and skill development potential of YEDPA

jobs seemed to be as great as the range of differences in pre-program skill

levels and work readiness among the case study participants. Interview material indicates that while the match between participant needs and type of

work experience placement was not often perfect, most case study participants

learned some skills and developed capabilities that should enhance their future employability. Over half the youth perspectives participants believe

that their YEDPA jobs were very effective in teaching them new skills and information that could be applied in non-subsidized work environments. Nine

of the 29 case study participants involved in work experience felt their jobs

were only moderately effective in this regard. Only three participants felt

their work experience in YEDPA programs did not teach them any new skills or

give them any new information that could be effectively applied in their future work lives.
186

Do YEDPA work tasks engage the interests of participants and challenge

them to expand and diversify capabilities? Or does job structure merely encourage the development of a disciplined but restrictive approach to a narrow

range of functions? Participant work experience positions, like "real" jobs,

ranged from one end of this spectrum to the other. But in comparison with

most jobs available to teenagers in the regular labor market, YEDPA work experience seemed to offer more opportunity to engage in diversified and expanding job tasks. While most of their pre-YEDPA jobs were characterized by

participants as tedious and boring, nearly two-thirds of the case study participants said they found their YEDPA work to be very interesting. Nearly

a third of the participants felt that the work they were assigned in conjunction with YEDPA jobs was at least moderately interesting. Only two participants said that the work in which they had been engager'_ held little or no

interest for them. But while almost half of the case study participants said

that their jobs included a variety of different functions and learning opportunities that encouraged them to grow, the slight majority of participants

felt that their jobs could have provided more variety and autonomy and more

opportunity to develop individual skills.

Motivation and 'Icijustment Problems

Nearly all of the case study participants reported that the first few

weeks on YEDPA Jobs or in training classes were the most difficult period in

their program participation cycles. Getting used to new situations and unfamiliar roles and expectations was not easy, but most participants were able

to make the adjustment without serious problems. Students who worked only

10 to 20 hours a week and participants who were enrolled in vocational training components typically adjusted quickly and successfully to program schedules and responsibilities. But high school dropouts in the case study group,

particularly those with limitedprevious work experience or conflicting family responsibilities, were more apt to experience motivation or adjustment

problems.

Dropouts, like Sven Latoka, who had already developed a strong work orientation generally had little difficulty making the transition to YEDPA employment. But young people who had been both out of school and out of work

for some time usually had life styles that did not accommodate easily to work

schedules and regimens. Jack Thrush found that working seven hours a day left

him with "no time to socialize at all." He got in the habit of "taking a day

off, without calling in, to go see friends and stuff like that." During the

early period of her participation on the home repair project, Sandy Bonds also

often failed to show up for work. The motivation and performance problems

she experienced were not unusual:

I had problems Just getting there at first. I wasn't

used to it at all, and I was

reminded one of school--where

that made me not want to go.

up physically. I'm somewhat

been eating right. I'd been

absent a lot. It kind of

you had to get up. And

Also I was a little screwed

of a diabetic, and I hadn't

eating mostly popcorn and
187

potato chips, and I was feelin' tired all the time. So

I'd be late a lot...or when I stayed home, I wouldn't

call in.

I got in trouble about that. They put me on probation

for a month. And they said, "If you come in late or

don't show up, you're fired." And then I realized, "If

you don't go, dummy, you're not gonna have a paycheck

or a place to live." Since that time I've had an almost perfect record. I've worked more hours than anybody there. And the more I worked, the more I liked it.

If the work held enough interest and challenge, case study participants

were usually able to overcome initial problems and make a successful adjustment. Jean Ansel said:

It was really hard at first to get m'self up and get going each day. I'd never thought of having a job like that

I didn't have too much clothes, and I felt I couldn't wear

levis there. But the work was just so exciting for me.

That's what really kept me coming. And when I got some

money finally, I was able to go ont and buy a few clothes,

and my appearance improved. I got so I didn't want to

ever quit. After awhile, I wouldn't miss work for anything'

Young mothers in the case study group had a particularly hard time coordinating household responsibilities with their new work schedules. Carmeletta

DeVries had only been a mother for eight months when she started her YEDFA

job, and she had never worked full-time before. She couldn't figure out how

she was "supposed to get everything done." She frequently missed time from

work:

Well, I wouldn't go when I had to take my baby to the

doctor. You know, they only have certain appointment

times at the clinic and you can't get right in. Then a

couple times, I had to go and get my food stamps. There

was always somethin': Like I would need to go to the

store. I wouldn't have no money. And I wouldn't get

out of work till five and the bank closes at five, so

I'd have to leave early.

The responsiveness of supervisors in understanding the circumstances and

difficulties of individual participants and in setting guidelines to help them

make an adjustment was an important fact-or in program success or failure. Carmeletta received little feedback from her supervisor. She continued to miss

work, without ever discussing her problems, and she eventually lost her job.

Jack Thrush also left his job--with his problems undiscussed and unresolved.
Peggy Bromfield's difficulties as a single parent were compounded

drinking problem. But with the understanding of her supervisor, Peggy

able to work out her problems and still remain on the project:

I was still drinking heavy when I first started there.

I'd turn off that alarm automatically in the morning,

and then I wouldn't go in. I wouldn't even call up. I felt bad, but I was ashamed to tell my supervisor, Lila.

I thought, if you got bad personal problems, you shouldn't

be working at a hospital. But finally, I had to tell her,

and she was pretty understanding. I took off work a week

and quit drinking.

Then right after that, the kids got the measles and

couldn't get anyone to watch them. I started crying at

work cuz I knew I'd have to stay home. Lila said, "Don't

worry, we'll let you make up the time, and you won't lose

any pay." I said, "I'm more worried about losing the experience than the pay." But she said, "You'll get through

it okay." And I did. After that, things started to work

out better.

Earning While Learning

188

by a

was

Paying participants wages, rather than training stipends, is one of

the ways that YEDPA work experience helps to prepare young people for regular

labor market participation. Most of the case study participants were enthusiastic about the fact that they were earning, money in their YEDPA jobs.

While some participants applied for YEDPA positions primarily, or only, because they would receive a steady, if temporary, income; others valued the

opportunity to gain experience and develop new skills that would improve

their future employment prospects. These participants thought that getting

paid for learning was a "pretty good deal."

YEDPA jobs typically paid only minimum wage, at least during the initial

period of work experience. The majority of participants in the Youth Perspectives case study group felt that the rate of pay for YEDPA work experience

was fair. As Sven Latoka said, "If you were doing more skilled work, then

maybe you should earn more money. But you're getting trained there so you

should be willing to accept minimum wage." Some participants were more than

just "willing to accept" minimum wage; they were excited about the opportunity

to earn that much. Many participants had previously worked in jobs that paid

considerably less than minimum wage. Joy Tippets said, "Compared to my job

at the dime store, I'm working more and making more money. Going up from $1.50

to minimum wage was quite a nice difference:"

This research suggests that as participants spent more time in work experience positions, and as their skills improved and responsibilities increased,

they were more apt to become dissatisfied with the rate of pay for YEDPA work.
189

Some work experience components were structured so that those who did well

and took on new functions would receive "merit raises". And while such pay

increases were typically small (10 to 25 cent per hour), they seemed to have

a highly positive effect on reinforcing a participant's sense of progress and

accomplishment. But participants who were able to fulfill the same job functions as regular workers in employing agencies were apt to question the fairness of the difference between their CEA wages and the pay their co-workers

received.

Carmeletta DeVries says that she couldn't help comparing her paycheck

with those of the other workers in the hospital cafeteria: "They was getting

our or five dollars an hour, doing the same thing I was doing. And I had to

wash those windows, you know!" Tina Middleton felt the same way in regard

to her secretarial work at the county courthouse:

Last summer, I was doing the exact same work they were

doing in the office there. And they were getting paid

four or five dollars an hour, and I was only making $2.65.

That seemed a little strange, you know.

Lui Hueyen also compared her own job performance with than of a co-worker,

but she wasn't so sure that she had a basis for complaint:

There's a lady who works in there with me. I have the

ability to do more than her--learn quicker and understand

faster. But she only works part of the time with me.

Maybe she's better at other things and is worth more money

to the employer. I don't really know.

Though they would like to have earned higher wages, some participants

were bothered more by the fact that their CETA paychecks were often late.

One participant said, "You never know exactly when they will actually show

up, so you can't really count on it." Heidi Clark jokes that the best thing

about becoming a regular employee at the Forest Service was not the $1.25

pay increase she received but the knowledge that, when everyone else in the

office was paid, she too could be sure of receiving a check.

Participants who worked full-time, particularly those who were engaged

in strenuous physical labor, were more likely to feel they were underpaid

than were students, who worked only part-time. Genetta Burke thought that

she should earn more for her work on the weatherization project: "For all

the work we put in, we don't get enough. Cuz we don't even make but about

$75 a week, and I don't think that's good enough for all that we been doin'.'

All the participants who worked full-time, or close to full-time, were high

school dropouts. Most needed more money than high school students did, because they were living away from their parents and had to support themselves.

Participants who viewed work experience participation primarily as a job,

rather than as a developmental program, were more apt to complain about "low

wages". But Sven Latoka said, "I'm willing to do a job at low minimum wage

as long as I'm getting something out of it,and I enjoy doing it."

2G
190

Although students were generally very satisfied with the prevailing

rates of pay for part-time YEDPA work, most said they would like to be putting in more hours at the worksite. High school participants are often restricted to 10 or 15 hours of work experience per week. The majority of the

high school participants in the youth perspective case group said that they

would like to work at least 20 hours a week. Most claimed they would have

no trouble balancing more hours of work with their current high school schedules. A number of the high school seniors said that they had already completed most of their graduation requirements and were only taking two or

three classes by the time they reached their final semester. Lynn Hazeiton

said, "I could work easily from 11:00 to 4:00 every day, and I'd still harp

all night to get my homework done."

Though most students said that they didn't find it hard to manage both

work and school, others acknowledged that they found it more difficult to

study when they were working, particularly during the early adjustment period.

Patty Monson? said, "At first it held me back from getting much school work

done at all. But now I think I've got it down. I'm doing well, now." Felisa

Santana found it hard to work and study at first, but says that she got used

to it quickly. "I still want to go to college, and I'm going to have to be

working all my life." Lui Hueyen felt that her job at the computer center

"distracted" her for a while and made it harder to study. But she says that

her grades didn't suffer.

Participants who worked more hours and those who worked in strenuous

jobs seemed to have a harder time studying. Some of them said that they were

tired all the time. Lori Wozisky left her 15 hour a week work experience position for a 35 to 40 hour a week non-subsidized job as a cashier. To manage

her work schedule and complete her studies, Lori says she had to stay up until

about 2:00 a.m. each night and get up at 6:00 each morning. Tina Middleton

said her job at the fisheries tired her out so much that she would sometimes

fall asleep while doing her homework.

The two participants who were enrolled in Boston's YIEPP program worked

a 20 hour a week schedule in addition to attending special education classes

for five hours each morning. They reported having little difficulty managing

dual roles as students and workers. Bobby Jones, who entered the YIEPP project after spending nearly two years out of school and unemployed, said: "It

feels good to be workin' at something and learning. I like knowin' what has

to be done." Although remedial education can be an intensive experience for

participants like Bobby, with serious academic skill deficiencies, the pressures did not seem too great since most studying is done in the classroom,

rather than at home, and the classroom and worksite are often in the same

facility.

Most of tLe high school dropouts, who were working 30-40 hours per week

in YEDPA jobs, were also enrolled in GED preparation programs. Participants

who worked all day and attended GED classes at night seemed to have a more

difficult time than those who were given released time from their project or

work experience jobs to attend classes in the afternoons. Those for whom
191

GED completion was a personal goal had more positive perspectives on the man- agement of work and school responsibilities than did those who were required

or pe:suaded to attend GED instruction. As_one participant said, "You can

make the time and energy for anything that you really want,"

Some participants were enthusiastic about working in YEDPA jobs even

though they received no income advantages from program participation. Peggy

Bromfield received $30 per week while enrolled in the Medical Careers Exploration Project, but the welfare office subtracted $30 a week from her AFDC grant.

Patty Monson was allowed to keep $100 a month from her YETP job, with no cut

in her AFDC check, but she used all of the extra money to pay her mother for

child care. Jean Ansel was on the Independent Living Subsidy Program when

she first got her YEP job, so she experienced no immediate improvement in

her financial situation by virtue of program participation. But Jean says:

I didn't even think of it like that. I never thought of

the money situation in terms of how much I should get from

CETA. I knew it was a good break for me to get that kind

of job, and I was just thankful to be in the situation

where I was.
192

VII. WEE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

I'm feeling good. I got a job I really like. It doesn't

pay much yet, but I know there's a future in it for me.

I've worked hard for this, and the program is what made

it possible. Maybe I could've gotten here on my own--I

really don't know. One thing's for sure, without CETA

it would've been tougher--a whole lot tougher!

Todd Clinton

I think about the future all the time. There's so much

I want to do! But I'm worried, because I don't know yet

what I'll be. I'm not content with what I'm doing now.

Really, I'm scared to death! Cuz I'm alone now--on my

own. There's no going back to high school. I can only

go forward. Oh, god, I feel...the world...it's ou

get me! And I'm out to get it!

Linda Larsen

Youth employment and training programs have two major purposes: (1) to

provide income and work for young people who would otherwise be unemployed,

underemployed, or idle, and (2) to improve the labor force transition and

long term employment prospects of participants from disadvantaged target

groups. The Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act (YEDPA) allocated

new funds, mandated cooperative arrangements between employment and training

agencies and schools, and authorized a variety of services that could be applied toward these ends. How effective were YEDPA programs in meeting their

objectives?

Although a considerable body of research and assessment findings is being amassed on YEDPA outcomes and performance, it is still too early for any

final verdicts on program effectiveness. The majority of YEDPA participants,

like Todd Clinton and Linda Larsen, are just beginning their work lives. For

many, it will be years before relative employment success or failure becomes

apparent. The full impact of YEDPA programs on the lives and career outcomes

of the young people who participated will never be formally assessed. The

documentation of long term career outcomes and the isolation and tracking

of program effects present staggering technical problems. Though the labor

market experiences of some participants will be followed and recorded over

time, theoretical and practical constraints will limit our ability to assemble

conclusive evidence on the relative effectiveness of different program services in improving long range employment and earning outcomes.

The immediate employment impact of YEDPA is much easier to gauge. Of

the four new programs authorized by YEDPA, all but YETP emphasized immediate

job creation and income provision over a more diversified range of employability
193

development services. Even under YETI:1, which focused more heavily on training and developmental objectives, subsidized employment, in the form of full

or part-time work experience, accounted for the major portion of progzam activities.-, The benefits of YEDPA job creation were enormous. The total number

of employment opportunities accessible to the nation's young was boosted substantially during a period in which millions of youth were jobless. During

its first two years, YEDPA served nearly 750,000 young people. The large

majority of these participants were economically and otherwise disadvantaged.

If YEDPA jobs had not been available, many of these young people would, undoubtedly, have been without work and income.

While few would contend that participants were not better off for the

work and income provided by YEDPA programs, it is clear that job creation

offers only a temporary respite -and not a permanent solution to youth employment problems. Even if youth job programs are continued on a massive scale,

subsidized employment, alone, cannot meet the longer term needs of young people from disadvantaged target populations. For the participants in the case

study group, YEDPA enrollment was an only temporary alternative to regular

labor force participation. Most program completors reentered competitive job

markets that had changed little during the four to eighteen months in which

they were enrolled in YEDPA programs. For the individual leaving YEDPA programs, the critical issue was whether she or he was better prepared, by virtue of program participation, to face the realities of the working world.

Beyond temporary work and financial support, what did the case study

participants gain from their involvement in YEDPA programs? Did participation offer them only short term advantages or did it help them to prepare

effectively for a life time of labor force competition and independent career

management? In this final chapter, we will look at program outcomes and effects from a participant perspective, and we'll consider what the future

might hold in store for the 32 case study participants.

Em to ent Outcomes and Job Readiness

Promoting participant job readiness and economic self-sufficiency is a

key focus of all employment and training activities. For decades manpower

programs have been evaluated on the basis of their performance in placing enrollees in unsubsidized jobs and improving the earnings of those they serve.

Youth targeted programs, like YEDPA, are also concerned with employment and

earning outcomes, but their focus is typically broader.

The young people in the case study group entered YEDPA programs at varying stages of job readiness. Some were already full-time labor force participants; others were seeking an initial introduction to the world of work. All

faced employment and earning barriers, but differences in the severity of

these barriers were great. Some participants entered programs with high motivation, good academic, communication, and work skills. Others had severe

handicaps in all these areas and were, by all indications, years away from

employability. The employment related objectives of individual participants

20
194

also varied widely. While some participants were seeking an immediate transition to career employment, others planned to remain in school for two to five

more years.

Given the differences within the case study group,, in terms of starting

places, YEDPA program assignments, length of enrollment,and personal objectives, one could hardly expect program participants to result in homogeneous

outcomes. When the youth perspectives research ended in June 1979, threefourths (24) of the case study participants had completed, or otherwise terminated, YEDPA participation. One-fourth (8) of the participants were still

enrolled, and all but one of these participants were within three months of

completion. Of those who were no longer participants, one-third were employed

in unsubsidized jobs, and one-third were actively seeking work. Eight case

study participants were not in the labor force when the research ended: two

were enrolled in college on a full-time basis, two had re-enrolled in high

school, two had enlisted in the Army, and two were at home, tending children

and receiving AFDC support. Though this tally of outcomes shows an increase

in employment and labor force participation within the case study group, in

comparison with pre-program levels, it tells us relatively little about the

ways in which program participation influenced job readiness.

Some participants made dramatic strides in employability through YEDPA

work experience. For four of the case study participants, work experience

provided the vocational skills and organizational connections for direct

transition to unsubsidized employment. Heidi Palmer, Felisa Santana, Jean

Anuel, and Douglas Giscard were all hired as regular workers by the federal,

local government, or private non-profit agencies that had supervised their

YEDPA work experience assignments. Two of these participants were high school

students, who made the transition to full-time jobs after graduation or GED

completion. Two were dropouts, with a history of drug problems or juvenile

offenses. None had previous experience in the type of work for which she'or

he was hired, but each of these participants came into the YEDPA job assignment with a determination to succeed; and each received a good deal of training and supervisory support while on the job. None of the hiring agencies

made advance commitments to absorb the participant. The young people worked

from 12 to 18 months as YEDPA participants before making the transition to

regular employment. During this period, each of the participants was able

to master a number of job functions and take on new tasks. The transition

to regular employment was typically accompanied by an increase in pay and an

expansion of responsibilities.

A number of other participants in the case study group were able to develop vocational skills that were marketable in the private sector. Three

Portland participants gained occupational skills in classroom training components. Todd Clinton completed a 14 month cosmetology program, secured

state licenses in hair design and cosmetology, and found work as a hair stylist with a new, but well-respected salon in Portland. Yvette McDermott spent

only 16 weeks in the YETP program, but she was able to complete key punch

training at a local community based training facility and secure a full-time

job as a key punch operator. Tien Van Chin felt confident of finding fulltime work as a computer programmer after his graduation from a private business school.

20
195

Some participants felt that their work experience positions had provided

sufficient vocational training and experience to allow them access to regular

employment in similar occupational areas. Lui Heuyen learned to-perform the

same job functions as other computer programming assistants at the U.S. Forest

Service, and she hoped to find a part-time job in this field while attending

college; A number of the clerical trainees thought they had gained enough

experience and knowledge of basic office procedures from YEDPA assignments

to qualify for entry level positions after program completion. Lynn Hazelton

worked as a medical aide for six months, and she planned to apply for a fulltime job as a nurse's assistant at a larger hospital in Seattle, that was

accepting applicants with 6 to 12 months of experience. Sven Latoka refined

his carpentry and construction skills, as a crew leader on a YCCIP project,

and he was confident that he could find a job in construction when he completed the program.

Among the other participants who had received work experience on weatherization and construction crews, opinions were divided about whether or not

the skills and experience they gained would enable them to function in the

private sector. Adam Sledge said he expected to get a "weatherization certificate", which he felt would enable him to get a job as a professional

insulator. But Harold Thomas, who worked on the same project, said, "This

project was okay for someone who doesn't have a job or a high school diploma,

but it's not gonna get you into a real career." Sandy Bonds hoped to find

work as a finish carpenter, after leaving the home repair project, but she

felt that she really needed more training:

This has given me a lot of knowledge about craftsmanship

and all, but I feel that the average person leaving the

program would be lacking the skills to really do it. I

mean the skills that come from doing each thing over and

over to where you can do it without bending nails or

breaking boards or anything. You can't come up to some

contractor and say, "Hey, gimmee a job. I 'know how to

do all this stuff, but it takes me a real long time.

And every once in a while I have to pull out half the

nails I put in."

The majority if the case study participants didn't develop sophisticated

vocational skills while involved in work experience assignments. But they

believed that simply gaining experience, learning how to get along on the

job, and building a work record would help them to get a job when they left

the program. Richard Nielsen had not worked before he enrolled in the YETP

program. But after six months as janitorial aide, he was able to find a

maintenance job on his own with a private employer. Jessica Jackson, who

worked as a medical aide said:

I think me working here will be a big help in the future.

It gave me experience in a real job and some good references and something to put down on a resume. I can show

that to my next employer, and it will make a good impression. Usually I think, if you've had ate' kind of real

20
196

job experience, an employer will be more willing to train

you. Since I've had some good experience, I think that

I'll be more apt to get a job than someone without any.

Most of the case study participants who were looking for work or who

were still enrolled in YEDPA programs when the research ended believed that

they would have no difficulty getting some kind of job. Most thought they

would have to do it on their own; they didn't expect their YEDPA counselors

or supervisors to more than provide suggestions. The majority received some

instruction in job search techniques while enrolled in YEDPA programs, and

they felt confident about handling the mechanics of job inquiry, applications,

and interviews. However, by the end of the research period, several participants, like Mark Gurney, Carrie Green; and Linda Larsen, had been actively

seeking work for a number of weeks, without success; and they were getting

very discouraged. Both Carrie and Mark said they planned to keep looking for

jobs, but Mark was also thinking about getting in touch with his YETP counselor to see if he could qualify for an adult CETA training program. Linda

Larsen, who felt she had "no chance of getting a good job" in the small town

of Hillcrest and had no car or driver's license, wondered whether "CETA could

give you the money for college."

Finally, there were a handful of case study participants who said they

wanted to work but did little active job seeking after leaving YEDPA programs.

Single parents, like Peggy Bromfield and Genetta Burke, enjoyed their YEDPA

jobs and were stimulated by their exposure to new employment roles, but program participation did not necessarily prepare or equip them to enter the

labor force. Peggy Bromfield got discouraged after discovering that she

would need an associate degree and state license to get a job as a physical

therapy assistant. Genetta didn't view weatherization work as a serious career possibility. In terms of inter-personal skills, communication abilities,

and work experience, these young women were equipped for entry level employment. Both had worked before. But each had two children to support, and

neither had the skills or credentials for the kind of job that would allow

her to transcend welfare dependency.

Education and School C letion

High school completion has long been a primary objective of youth employment and training programs. YEDPA programs used jobs and income incentives to encourage school enrollment and completion. The YETP program provided

students with part-time jobs, that could be fitted to school schedules and

would allow the students to earn credit toward high school graduation while

meeting income needs. YIEPP "guaranteed" economically disadvantaged students

part-time work at minimum wage or above as long as they remained in high school.

YIEPP also offered dropouts similar employment if they agreed to return to

school. Both YETP and YIEPP programs provided remedial education and academic

instruction for dropouts who wanted to earn GED certificates. Even YCCIP projects, which were focused on full-time work for out-of-school youth, typically

offered some kind of link to GED instruction.
197

What impact did YEDPA participation have on high school completion within the case study group? The changes in educational status experienced by

the case study participants are impressive. When the Youth Perspectives Project began, none of the participants had a high school diploma, and only one

had completed a GED. During the eight month research period, 12 of the 32

case study participants graduated from high school and 10 received GED certificates. Two former dropouts had reenrolled in high school, and two students were still enrolled, when the research ended. Only five of the case

study participants left YEDPA programs with no diploma or equivalent credential, and two of these participants earned occupational training certificates while enrolled. Only one case study participant dropped out of school

during the research period.

On first consideration, YEDPA participation seems to have had a dramatic

impact on educational attainment and school completion within the case study

group. But how much of the educational progress made by the case study participants can actually be attributed to YEDPA participation? The answer is

not simple or clear, but it appears that program participation exerted a

stronger influence on the educational credentialing and school status of

the dropouts than it did on that of the students who had been continuously

enrolled in school or who had reenrolled before applying to YEDPA programs.

When they applied to YEDPA programs, 16 of the case study participants

were enrolled in school. Of this group, 13 were attending regular public high

schools and three were attending alternative schools or high school equivalency programs. Two of these students were dropouts, who had returned to

school on their own. Each of the continuous enrollees in the case study group

had a strong personal commitment to high school completion before he or she

joined the YETP program. This commitment was shared by the two returning

dropouts, who had been effectively "sold" on the importance (or even necessity)

of high school graduation.

is not remarkable that all but one of these case study students went

on to graduate or to progress toward school completion during their program

participation cycles. YETP jobs supplied these participants with needed income and work experience, which they might otherwise have had difficulty attaining. But all of the students said that they would have remained in school

until graduation even if they had no jobs or income. Nine of these students

intended to go on to college after high school graduation. When the research

ended, five had actually made arrangements to begin college courses by the

following fall term.

Half of the case study participants were high school dropouts, who were

out of school when they enrolled in YEDPA programs. Eleven of these 16 participants were placed in full-time work experience, and they were encouraged,

but not required, to attend GED preparation classes. Themajority took advantage of the op 3rtunity to earn a GED credential. Several of the dropouts

said they had trolled in YETP or YCCIP programs primarily to earn GED certificates, but most had some reservations about returning to the classroom.
198

Why did these participants decide to return to school despite their

negative feelings about classroom settings? Several had decided that they

wanted to go to college, and they needed a-credential and better academic

skills in order to gain entrance. Douglas Giscard said, "I'd like to get a

degree in psychology or sociology, and I wanted to be ready to start when I

pleased." Some participants felt a GED certificate would improve their job

prospects. Jean Ansel said, "I knew I needed a high school diploma or GED

to qualify for a regular job at the school. So I was pretty eager to get it."

Sven Latoka felt that the skills he learned in GED instruction might improve

his performance on the job: "I think this job really requires some education.

Carpenters need good math and all that." Harold Thomas wanted to be accepted

in the Army, and he had been told by the recruiter that he needed a GED in

order to qualify for special training assignments. Several participants said

they returned to school for GED instruction because they just wanted to prove

to their families or to themselves that they could do it Though a few dropouts in the case study group returned to school on their own, most said that

had they not been enrolled in YEDPA programs, they probably would not have

studied for their GED examinations during the 1978-79 school year.

A substantial portion of the dropouts in the case study group, including

some participants who left school as early as tenth grade and had been away

for as long as two years, were able to pass their GED exams with only short

term preparation and surprising ease. Nearly half of the dropouts obtained

their GED certificates after less than six months of study. Several were

able to prepare themselves successfully in less than three weeks. Most of

the dropouts who were able to obtain the GED quickly were surprised at how

painless the process was:

I was really surprised at how light the classes were.

I was supposed to take an eight week preparation course,

and I prepared for approximately one week. They said it

was all right; I could take the test. But I didn't take

it for two or three months. I finally took it a couple

weeks ago, and I passed all the exams within about three

hours.

Douglas Giscard

I did my classes right here at the CETA office. We went

every day for two hours, Monday through Friday. I think

I went for about eight weeks. I found the tests pretty

easy. I was real surprised; cuz I'd talked to friends,

and they'd said it wasn't real hard, but it took a long

time. I couldn't believe that I got it so fast. The

only thing I really needed to brush up on was the math.

Jack Thrush
199

I took a sixteen week course. It was easier than school,

I think, but I did study for it at home, you know. I wanted to get it over with as fast as I could. It took

awhile, but I got it.

Sven Latoka

The participants who were able to complete their GED with relative ease

were divided over the question of whether the GED certificate was really an

acceptable equivalent of a high school diploma. Most felt that it might represent about the same level of skills that an average student would have graduating from a general program in most high schools. As Douglas Giscard said,

"It sure didn't cover all the college prep material." Some of the GED completors felt that employers might not think their certificate was "as good as

a diploma." Six of the ten GED completors said they would like to go to college at some time in the future. They all agreed that the GED would "get you

into any junior college", but several worried about whether it would be acceptable for admittance to other colleges or universities.

Other dropouts in the case study group who were younger or less academically proficient went into longer term, more structured educational programs.

These programs generally held class,-s about four hours a day, on a daily basis, and operated nine months a year like regular school programs. But class

size was typically much smaller than that of public schools, and most participants felt that they were able to learn better and faster.because of the individual attention they received. Several participants especially liked the

fact that their classes were not competitive and each student could work at

his or her own pace.

Bobby Jones was able to read when he enrolled in a Boston YIEPP project,

but he had substantial skill deficiencies in nearly all academic areas. He

had dropped out of ninth grade over two years before. Bobby received remedial

education and GED instruction in a YIEPP classroom each day. After nine months

in the project, Bobby decided to go back to West Roxbury High School and try

to get a regular diploma. His substantial skill improvement enabled him to

move into the 12th grade after leaving the project. Bobby said:

It was so long since I was in school that I don't really

remember if it was harder or easier than this. But I'll

tell you one thing; in here, we do more work than I ever

did in a long time. We got one teacher, right? He gets

around to all of us, too, you know? Like he talks to us,

and he goes over the work with us. He says, "Anyone have

any problems, you know you can come to me for help individually."

I got the extra help here that I needed, you know, from

missin' all that school. There wasn't many people in the

class, so the teacher can help me. When I was in school

before, I wouldn't ask the teacher for nothin'. If I

21j
didn't know it I just didn't do

mistake. I think I'll do much be

time around.

That was a big

in school his

200

Before joining the YETP program, Patty Monson enrolled in an alternative

high school that provided instructors for individual consultation and direction and allowed students to work at home, at their own pace. Patty was doing

well in her studies there and expected to receive her high school diploma in

March 1980, 18 months after the time she enrolled. Patty said she preferred

the home study program to her previous high school experience:

The work is just about right. It gives me something I

have to work for. But I know I can get there if I try

enough. Not something out of my reach. I can do it...

The individual study is the best part. It's the way I

always wanted, you know. I couldn't talk to the teachers in the classroom. Now it's just me and the teacher--

without a bunch of other kids sitting around looking on.

I think most people would rather do it that way. I get

more done doing it by myself than in a classroom. Especially when there were discussions...I could never take

part in a class discussion. I hated them. I get more

out of this.

How did those case study participants who transferred directly from regular high school into alternative education programs compare the two? How

satisfied were they with their alternative school experiences? Felisa Santana believes that she probably got more individual attention at the bilingual community based school than she would have in a large public high school.

She liked attending classes in the morning and working for pay in the afternoons. But she said that she "regrets a hundred times" not getting a regular

high school diploma. She didn't get any instruction in the sciences, and she

got only basic Math and English courses in addition to vocational secretarial

training. Felisa was able to secure a-full-time job upon completion; but she

doesn't think she was prepared well academically, and she feels she lacks the

proper credentials for college.

Luanne Clawson transferred from West Roxbury High into the same YIEPP

project that Bobby Jones attended. She felt that she learned more in the

YIEPP project classes than she had been learning in public school, and she

was also able to gain work experience in her intended career field as well.

Luanne wants to attend junior college. After six months in the YIEPP program,

she decided to go back to West Roxbury for her senior year The major reason

for returning, Luanne said, was that she didn't want to miss her graduation

the following year.

Lynn Hazelton decided to go back to regular high school because she had

heard that a "real diploma is better than a GED." She found it hard to fit

in at school. "Most of the people at school were like 15, 16 years old,"

Lynn said. "Even the older ones are still like kids. It's really strange
201

going back to school after you've been out a while." While she was going to

school, Lynn worked in a YETP job at a local hospital. She graduated in June

1979, but she was not really sure that going back to school had been such a

good choice. She plans to work as a nurse's aide, a job for which a diploma

offers no special advantages over a GED certificate. She said, "I would

probably have been better off working full-time and getting the extra experience. But maybe someday I'll want to go to college or something."

There was a small group-of participants who were never successfully involved in GED preparation or high school completion before or during their

time as YEDPA participants. Yvette McDermott by-passed high school completion in favor of occupational training and a key punch operator's certificate.

Yvette said she might get a GED certificate in the future if she feels that

she needs it. Sandy Bonds started a GED preparation program, but stopped going because she "couldn't stand sitting in class after working all day."

Sandy doesn't plan to go back to school unless she has to. She said, "I'll

learn the stuff I need to know, but I don't need some little letter that says

I did it." Carrie Green and Carmeletta DeVries both dropped out of GED preparation when they left their YEDPA jobs. Each young woman said that she plans

to get her GED certificate someday, but both are currently more interested

in finding full-time work.

Personal Growth and Self-Esteem

One kind of development that rarely gets consideration in employment

and training program evaluations is personal growth and improvement in participant self-esteem. Most of the case study participants believed that their

YEDPA experiences had a positive influence on their personal lives, their

levels of self-confidence, and their ability to understand themselves and

others.

Patty Monson felt that her YETP job broadened her horizons and helped

her to develop self-discipline. She said:

All I ever did before I stared working was sit around

the house. Do housework and watch soap operas, you know?

This job got me out--away from the television. It got

my mind working and helped me learn how to utilize my

time and not just waste it.

A number of case study participants felt that some of the major benefits

of program participation were improvements in their communication skills, understanding of others, and personal outlooks on life that came from exposure

to new people and situations. Todd Clinton said that his interaction with

his CETA counselor and his experiences with customers at the cosmetology school

taught him "how to look at people different ways, how to relate to them, and

how to handle my own attitude." Linda Larsen said the most important thing

she learned from her YETP job was "how to understand people better." She said

21
202

It's helped me a lot. I can deal with people so much

better. I think I'm easier with people now...to speak

and carry on a conversation. I can understand where

they're coming from.

Some of the participants experienced improvements in self-image because

of their new identities as workers. Jessica Jackson felt that her friends

and classmates looked at her with more respect after she started her job at

the hospital:

After fourth period, I would change into my uniform for

work. And people would see me in the hall and say, "Oh,

you're working at the hospital? That's so neat! Do you

like it?" Most people I know, they didn't really take

me as a serious person. I guess some people didn't think

I could keep my job for long. When I did, it was like

I proved that I was a reliable person.

The majority of the case study participants felt that they had worked

hard and tried their best to learn and succeed in their YEDPA jobs. Such

efforts typically resulted in feelings of growth and accomplishment. Even

participants like Jack Thrush and Carmeletta DeVries, who did not feel their

own performance had been all that it could be, still reported learning some

positive things about themselves from 'inn activities. For participants,

like Heidi Clark and Jean Ansel, who had accomplished individual objectives

through their work assignments, there was the strong sense of satisfaction

that comes from a job well done. Heidi said:

I feel really good about things...about myself. I feel

I've really opened up...started new things...followed

through with them. I've accomplished a lot that I wanted

to do. And I feel satisfied that I've done them well.

Career Plans and Life Goals

The case study participants have decades of worklife ahead of them. What

do they expect the future to hold? When they entered YEDPA programs, few of

the participents had realistic career goals. Most had only limited knowledge

of occupational alternatives. Program participation typically did not include exposure to a broad range of career alternatives. But in formulating

career plans, the identification of personal abilities, preferences, and life

expectations seems to be at least as important as vocational exposure, selection, and preparation. Young people must discover who they are and what they

want from life in order to make best use of education, employment, and train

ing opportunities. Effective career planning requires a long-range perspective. An 18 or 19 year old cannot count on spending 40 years, or more, of

future worklife in one occupation or vocational area He or she must be prepared instead for effeCtive lifetime management of career related decisions.
203

During their YEDPA program participation cycles, most of the young people in the case study group began to think more seriously about career obectives. On the basis of their own exposure to new work roles, or through

career counseling on an individual or group basis, many began to make personal

plans for their own worklives. By the time the Youth Perspectives interviews

were completed, most case study participants had terminated or were nearing

program completion. Most had either obtained a GED or were just graduating

from high school. About half of the participants had, what seemed to be,

viable career plans. A viable career plan included the identification of

personal life goals and priorities, the selection of provisional occupational

or vocational objectives, accurate knowledge and some understanding of the

steps required to achieve these objectives, and the capability to begin putting plans into practice upon program termination, through individually maintained employment or education activities.

Off To A Good Start

Nearly one-third of the young people in the case study group have personal career plans that key directly off their experiences as YEDPA participants. Some, like Sven Latoka and Patty Monson, had selected occupational

objectives prior to program enrollment. Others, like Felisa Santana and Heidi

Clark, were introduced to new occupational alternatives through program participation. But all of the young people in this portion of the case study

group felt they learned enough about their occupational choices while in the

program to make commitments and to take initial steps toward achieving vocational goals.

For some participants, like Richard Nielsen and David Anderson, further

education is the most important step in realizing future career objectives.

These young men plan to support themselves with part-time semi-skilled jobs

while they earn college credentials that will enable them to enter their chosen vocations. Some participants, like Felisa Santana and Jean Ansel, hope

to achieve their career objectives through a combination of post-secondary

schooling and full-time employment in career related jobs. Other participants,

like Todd Clinton, Sven Latoka, and Sandy Bonds, plan to move directly into

their selected occupations and pursue vocational success through post-program

employment experiences. The time frame for achieving career objectives and

the relative degree of aspiration varies considerably within this group, but

each of the participants has linked vocational objectives with personal goals

and feels confident that he or she can pursue both on an independent basis.

Jean Ansel, Felisa Santana, and Heidi Clark were all hired as regular

employees by the agencies for which they had worked as YETP participants.

Each young woman completed high school or GED requirements and plans to remain in her job while pursuing further training or education. Heidi hopes

to take advantage of training opportunities within the U.S. Forest Service.

She wants a career involvement in environmental management and would like to

become a field technician with the agency. Both Jean and Felisa have career

aspirations that imply an eventual change of employer. Felisa plans to take

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evening college courses while working as a billing clerk for the neighborhood health clinic where she is now employed. Within five years, she would

like to be working as a travel agent in an airport. Jean also plans to continue her schooling. She is not certain how long she will remain in her

current position:

I know I want to work with either deaf or handicapped

people. I want to be an expert at sign language, and

that takes years of experience. I'm getting good experience here, but I work with the really slow kids and

their language is limited. That's why I want to try and

see if I can get into the higher levelwork with kids

at the high school level here. If I was offered a job

interpreting for deaf adults, I would take it. But as

far as I know now, I'm staying here and working with

children and teaching them. And for schooling...I plan

to stay in night school at the community college. I'd

like to get an interpreting license. You really only

need that if you are going to interpret legal things.

But you can use it in schools or anywhere else like

that.

Here at the school, I'm only getting about $150 more a

month than when I was on CETA. We all-complain becauSe,

you know, we're actually sitting there teaching the children all day and yet we get paid less than half what the

"teachers" make. They don't even think up the program

eitherwe've got still another person who is doing nothing but writing it out on paper. Stil/, the work here...

it's been really great for me. keep my eyes open

for better opportunities, but I'm in no big hurry to

leave.

Sven Latoka received carpentry training from his father before he enrolled in a YCCIP renovation project. But he lacked the experience, credentials, and age to secure employment on his own in construction. After working seven months in the project and securing a GED, Sven plans to get a fulltime job as a carpenter:

I want work that I enjoy, a good job to support a family

someday, and I think that I can get there with carpentry.

I like carpentry cuz you do different things all the time.

If you do the same thing, it's in a different area...never the exact same thing. There's good money in carpentry

if you can do it. And I plan to work real hard. I know

I can get a future going with it, too. Because I was

only here one month when I got promoted, and there were

people here in my group that had been working since the

program opened. He put me supervisor cuz he knows I do

good work. You know, I'm pretty smart with the work--

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405

figuring out the cutting and what to do. I learn quick

too. I've had the chance to learn almost all of what

there is to do. Only thing I haven't really done is

build a house.

I'm sure that I can find a job. Once any carpenter or

contractor gives me a chance, I'll move up quirk. I'll

probably get only four dollars an hour to start with.

With my experience and with the stuff I know, I should

make six bucks an hour. But I'd start at minimum wage--

it would hold me over for a while--but then I expect good

raises coming. I suppose what I'll probably get is four

or five dollars. Unless I get a job down at Blake Shipyard. You get about eight dollars to start down there.

I put my name in there, but it's just unbelievable...

they got four filing cabinets full of names. I'm not

really waiting for them to call me. But if they did,

I'd jump right on that. That's a career right there.

But make a career as a carpenter with no problem.

Cuz I'm a hard worker. I know that. When my boss says

to go, you know, I'll be the first one up to grab something and get to work.

Sandy Bonds also plans to work in carpentry after she leaves the home

repair project, where she has been a participant for nearly one year. She

feels that she lacks the interest, drive, and stamina for heavy construction

work. She'd like to refine her skills as a finish carpenter, and she has

talked to a cabinet maker about taking her on as an assistant when she leaves

the project. Doing work she enjoys is more important to Sandy than becoming

a financial "success". Sandy says:

I'm not one of those people that have to bring themselves

up higher and higher to feel successful. I just want to

be happy where I am. I mean, day by day...work where I'm

happy at, live where I'm happy at, and that's about it,

really. I just like working. I'd like to be a finish

carpenter, you know, tables, desks and cabinets. I don't

expect to make much while I'm working up my skills. I'll

probably never make much money. But it's no big deal to

me. I'm forced into that whole thing about having to

have money to live. Everybody is. But I'm not going to

knock myself out to get rich. It's not all that big a

deal.

To me, working at what I like and damn' it on my own,

independently, is what makes me happy--makes me feel

successful. I mean, a lot of people think that you're

not really successful until you're President of the

United States or something, but, you know, I don't think

that's true. It depends on the person. Some people have

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high hopes and ail that shit for their Lives and some

people don't. If you wanna get real deep and heavy...

I think everybody's been kinda trained and had it

grounded into their mind that you gotta be successful

and keep moving up the ladder to enjoy life. I don't

think that's true at all. It's hard for me to explain

this...but if I wanna move up the scale or something,

I will, But I don't feel that I have to.

David Anderson and Richard Nielsen have career aspirations in occupational areas that are very different from those in which they worked as YEDPA

participants. Both young men worked part-time in semi-skilled jobs while

attending high school, and both plan to continue the same kind of work while

they attend college. Richard Nielsen is working as a janitor while he studies electronics at Portland Community College. He would like to become an

electronic technician and hopes to make about $14,000 a year when he gets out

of school. David Anderson discovered his aptitude as a mechanic when he was

employed as a YETP aide in his school's bus garage. But he also excels in

math, and he wants to become an accountant. He plans to work as an auto mechanic in a local garage while he completes a college degree. David says that

he settled on accounting because it is an occupation in which he can use his

natural abilities and will be able to get a high paying job after only four

years of college.

Todd Clinton is a hair stylist. His career is just beginning. He received classroom training, while enrolled in the YETP program. During his 12

months as a YEDPA participant, he completed cosmetology school, and he's been

working as a hair stylist for less than three months. Beginning stylists

don't make much money. At this stage, Todd is still working part-time in

construction to support himself and his new wife. But Todd takes a broad

view of his future. Hair design is not just a job for him; it's a challenge

that combines career potential with the opportunity for artistic expression:

I want to have a shop of my own someday. I want to be

different--not weird or anything. But I want to be good

and to be different too. To create hair designs that

nobody else does--that nobody else can do. Hopefully,

I can make the hair industry something better. Because

it's changed in the past ten years. It's gone from the

guys who were seen as sissys when they started, to lots

of men going into it seriously. It's not a sissy business anymore. It's a very competitive business, and a

very, uh, egotistic business. Everybody's got an ego

in this business. I'm no exception. You have to prove

that you're good. That takes time.

Right now I'm working in a job where the pay is terrible.

I'll admit it--it's rotten' But I'm learning from two

people who graduated from the best hair design school in

the world. I may not ever have that diploma, but I will
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have that knowledge. I'll have all the techniques that

they know. And that is going to better me. I met Paul

and Louis three months before I graduated from cosmetology school through a guy I went to school with. I became

a model in a hair show they were doing. From that day,

when I saw the stuff they did at the hair show, I said:

"This is it This is the kind of stuff I want to do."

I was lucky to get on with stylists of this quality.

But it takes about a year, maybe a year and a half, to

build up your clientele.

I always wanted to go to New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. But lately--especially ever since I got married--

I've calmed down more. I would like to go to the Oregon

Coast. I'd like to own my own salon there. I want an

A-frame salon, and I want an A- frame house. I want two

kids. And I want to live where there isn't a lot of

pollutionwhere I can raise my kids the way I want to

raise them. My wife and I have talked about it--she's

a hair stylist too, but she's still in school--and we

figure about five years in Portland. It will take at

least that long before we know enough to start our own

shop. To be happily married and to raise kids is the

most important thing. I want to own my own salon, but

I don't need to be on top. I just want to live and be

happy. I don't expect to make $50,000 a year. But I

do want to be noticed, and hcve people say: "I know him.

He's a good stylist." But I don't want the...the brownnosing that sometimes goes along with it. And I don't

want to have to Ina my way into anything. I want to

make it because I'm a good hair stylist--that only.

Among those in the case study group with workable career plans were a

number of young women who expected to be secretaries. Patty Monson, Luanne

Clawson, Joy Tippets, and Tina Middleton gained experience and learned office

skills through part-time YEDPA jobs as clerical aides. As a YET? participant,

Yvette McDermott was enrolled full-time in a 16 week classroom training program in keypunch operation. Each of the young women was interested in developing clerical skills when she enrolled as a program participant. Luanne,

Joy, and Tina had taken typing and other related classes in school. Yvette's

sister-in-law is a key punch operator. She told Yvette how much she enjoyed

her job, so Yvette decided to try it out. Patty Monson had no previous training, but her YETP counselor arranged for her to take community college secretarial classes in conjunction with part-time work experience.

All of these young women feel confident that they learned enough as program participants to be able to get some kind of clerical position on their

own after program completion and/or high school grriduation. Yvette completed

training before the youth perspectives interviews ended and she was hired as

a full-time key punch operator at a university. Patty planned to spend several

more months in clerical training and YETP work experience. The other young

women were just beginning their job search.

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From the clerical job I had, I learned that it takes a

lot of training to be really good. If I wanted to work

in an office, I'd have to get my GED and then go on to

college and take typing, bookkeeping, and shorthand. I'd

rather work in a factory than in an office, anyway. In

an office you're sitting down all the time, but in the

factory you're standing up and working with your hands.

And the money's better in a factory. That's really important to me cuz I'd like to get lots of things. My

sister, she's Si -1st 25 and still livin' at home. By

that time, I wanna have a house--even if I have to struggle to work for it. So maybe it has to be a factory job,

which I don't really want to do, but I'll resort to for

awhile cuz it's really good money. It will get me by.

What I'd really like is to find a job that I could be

happy with...you know, satisfied with for awhile. Cuz

most jobs that I've had, I haven't been happy with. Like

at the university, I don't know why, but they treated

you lower cuz you were under CETA. Now if I could of

got hired there and I wasn't in the CETA program, maybe

it would have been different.

I have a chance to get into Clark Company, cuz my dad

knows the production manager there. They pay $5.85 an

hour. But I wouldn't really want to work the machines

there. You got to know what you're doing, because my

cousin got a piece of metal right through his hand doing that. What I'd be doing is...like the stock would

come out, whatever it is, and I'd bag it and pack it, or

maybe feed the machine the material. That wouldn't be

too bad.

Lori Wozisky left her clerical aide position for a nighttime cashier job

at the Jiffy Market. Three summers and several school months of part-time

clerical work as a program participant had convinced Lori that she didn't want

to be a secretary. She wanted to try something new. At first Lori liked her

cashier job because it kept her busy and she got to meet people. But, as

graduation neared, she became dissatisfied with the working conditions and

pay at the Jiffy Market:

I don't really want to keep the job I've got now. This

store gets robbed all the time. And I don't really like

the part about being on my feet for seven hours straight.

I'm just getting minimum wage, and I've been there four

months. Even though I'm working 40 hours a week, I don't

really bring home a good paycheck. I don't like the idea

of factory work, but I'm gonna give it a try. I'd like

to make at least $4.65 an hour. I've put in applications

at all different factories. But if nothing comes through,

I guess I'll just have to stay here.
210

During the nine months she participated in a YCCIP weatherization project, Genetta Burke was exposed to a non-traditionally female occupation,

learned some 1: 4 skills, earned a wage, and completed a GED. But her employment future is still uncertain. She does not want to go into weatherization

or construction work. She would like some other kind of training, but she

has no definite career goals at this point in time:

I wanna get into another trainin' program. They was supposed to be gettin' me into some kind of school for...I

don't know, whatever I wanted to do for training after

this project ends. I'm still thinkin' about that. I've

worked--here and other places- -but I haven't done really

the things that I want to do. I don't remember seein'

anything particular that I'm really interested in.

My project supervisor wants me to go to executive typing

school. He wants me to be an executive secretary...You

know, when I was goin' to high school, I wanted to be a

secretary, and I took up typin' for two years. But, um,

now I changed my mind. I don't know now...I don't think

I have the patience. I don't think I'd like somebody

dictatin' to me. Sittin' in an office all day...I'd go

crazy. Henry always says I think I should be the boss-7

I have problems with my attitude. I'd rather be workin'

with kidslittle kids, you know? Babies or retarded

kids...I think maybe I'd be good at that.

I'd like to get off welfare. I like workin'. I'll probably always work at somethin'. But for now...I mean,

just to make what I need...I'm not even doin' that good,

but without welfare I'd need to make at least $5 an hour.

I don't think right now I could get a job that paid that

much.

Carmeletta DeVries is another young mother who is hesitant to leave the

relative security of welfare for the uncertainties she would face in the labor

market. Carmeletta left her YETI' job in a hospital cafeteria with no real

career plans. She is a high school dropout, with few skills, only limited

work experience, and little idea what she would like to do with her future:

I want to get my GED for one thing. And I'd like to move

out of my sister's house, try to get an apartment, and

get, you know, just pretty much straightened around. I want to try to get my driver's license and get me some

kind of small car that'll get me around. I'd like to get

a job that paid five or six dollars an hour, cuz I don't

want to be on AFDC, I don't like that. I want to try to

be out on my own. I would do any kind of work really.

All they have to do is teach me if that's what it takes.

It wouldn't make no difference really as long as I knew

what I was supposed to be doing. I used to type some.
li

I can type pretty fast--if I look at the keys. You know,

I have to read the whole sentence and then type it out.

I want to get more education. I do plan to get my GED

sometime, but I don't know if I'll be able to go on after

that

During the year and a half that he was a YETI' participant, Mark Gurney

received work experience as a janitorial aide, audio-visual trainee, and daycare aide. All of his part-time jobs were in non-profit agencies that were

not able to offer participants transition to regular employment status. Mark

does not believe that his YETI' experiences will help him to get employment

in the rural Kalamazoo County area where he lives. When he finally graduated

from high school at age 20, Mark was not able to find full-time work.

I been applying to all kinds of places, tryin' to find

a job, so I can save up some money and leave here. But

nobody calls back. I'd really work at almost anything,

but what I'd like to be is some kind of manager...like

a store or something. I think I could do pretty good at

managin' a store. I'd like to make about $4.50 an hour.

I don't care if I'm gonna get rich or anything, but I

would like to be comfortable. Be able to run my own

life completely...have my own house and my own land.

I don't know how to get that really. But something has

to turn up if I keep on lookin'.

Two young men in the case study group enlisted in the Army after termination from YEDPA programs. Both were uncertain about their career objectives.

Harold Thomas enrolled in a YCCIP weatherization project for three months in

order to support himself while getting a GED certificate that would enable

him to enter the full-time Army on favorable terms. He had previously spent

time in the Army Reserves. Harold doesn't know what he wants to do with his

future worklife. His main goal was to "get out of Boston." He hopes that

his experience in the Army will help him to decide on a career:

That's where I can find myself. That's why I can hardly

wait to go back--to find myself--to find out what I really

want to do. I know I'm good at music and art. Nobody

can take that away from me. But I don't expect to make

a livin' that way. I'll be in the Acuiy four years. If

I like it, I'll just re-enlist for another year. Then

if I don't like it, I'll just go to college, and they'll

pay part of my educational fees. From there...maybe I'll

be about ready to die (laughter)...t'll be too old for

anything else!

While Harold hopes to find himself in the Army, Jack Thrush sees Army

enlistment as both a last resort and a test of himself. Jack knows that he

has problems with self-discipline and communication. He left school because

of his dislike of its authoritarian structure, and he walked away from several

jobs without communicating his dissatisfaction to his supervisors. Jack dropped
212

out of the YETP program with no immediate employment prospects. He feels

that he failed to make the best use of his opportunities as a program participant. But he plans to succeed in the Army, and he hopes it will give

him a start on a better life:

I been thinkin' about it a long time. I'm real tired of

screwin' up all the time. I know a lot of people who've

been in the Army and it seems to get them straightened

out some. My counselor talked to me about it, and that

made me think more about it. I called the recruiter a

couple times and talked to him about it, you know. Last

week I just went down there. I wanted to look into it

really heavy, and I did and decided I wanted to join up.

I've thought about it, you know, am I going to be able

to handle it, from not having had all that much discipline before and all. But I think I might be able to

accept it because I've never accepted-it before. It

might be something new. I don't know, but I'm gonna

give it my best shot. It's the last thing I can think

of. And I really want it. I don't wanta screw up at

all. I've thought of the bad things that could happen--

suppose .I ended up in Fort Leavenworth, or got a bad

discharge or somethin'? But I've been tryin' to think

more or less positive.

I don't know what I'll do when I get out. I hope I'm

in a better position. I like to have my own house

someday, and a really nice job, and maybe a family.

I think I'd like an outdoor job. And I don't want to

live anywhere near the city. I feel like the future's

gonna be kinda unsteady for me, and I'm not sure what's

gonna happen...I hope things are better when I get out

of the Army.

High Aspirations

The young person with exceptionally high aspirations or the desire for

a career that will bring great wealth, status, or fame presents a particular

challenge to employment counselors. Nobody wants to discourage ambition.

But there is no plan that, however faithfully followed, will insure success

as an entertainer, fashion designer, writer, or professional athlete. Even

young people whose talent in such areas is recognized and developed at an early age are often advised to make some provisions for alternative employment. Some young people see themselves as future doctors, lawyers, or architects--though they have never done well in school and have little interest

in academic pursuits. Others have the mental ability or academic potential

to succeed in challenging careers, but their economic circumstances or personal priorities dictate a focus on more immediate employment objectives.
Some young people will struggle against overwhelming odds to realize what

seem to be improbable goals, but most, with varying degrees of dificuIty,

will eventually settle, on their own, for more modest occupational roles.

About one-third of the youth perspectives participants entered YEDPA

programs with some career goal in mind. Most of these goals were ambitious,

but aspiring participants typically had only a very hazy concept of the prospects or means for achieving desired ends. Program participation caused some

case study group members to focus on more practical career planning and to

scale down their vocational expectations. Others maintained high aspirations

but developed more realistic plans for pursuing longer range goals while

meeting immediate economic needs. But several young people were more commited to the concept of success and wealth than they were to any specific

vocational role; and though they gained experience in the program, they tended to leaVe with the same inflated expectations and no practical plans for

employment or education.

Lui Hueyen wanted to be a fashion designer. Her father is a tailor, and

Lui enjoys making most of her own clothes. But she never thought too seriously about how to go about realizing her career aspirations until her last year

in high school. Lui is a good student and her parents have encouraged her

to go to college. She considered taking design classes at the university after high school graduation, but decided to first find out more about the fashion industry. She read articles and sought out related information on her

own. Meanwhile, Lui took a basic computer course in high school and was able

to secure a part-time YETP job as a computer progr3milLr aide. She enjoyed

working with computers and discovered that both the c8 eer prospects and her

capabilities in this field were good. In weighing alternatives, Lui came

to the following conclusions:

I plan to go to the university and take Math. Also to

find out more about the different skills involved with

computer work, which I like. I think this will be a

better career for me than fashion design. I don't want

a job that is not too secure or has too much pressure,

I want to be just myself...do a job that I enjoy. And

have time for leisure. In some jobs, you have long

hours. You have to look nice all the time--dress up --

in some jobs. I would like to be more comfortable--

just be neat and comfortable for work--that would be

best for me.

Tina Middleton enjoyed her agriculture classes in high school, and she

thought she might like to be a zoo technician or a biologist. The closest

she ever got to this kind of work was her short stint in a YCCIP fisheries

project. She also received work experience as a clerical aide at the county

courthouse. As she neared graduation, Tina thought seriously about her vocational plans. She considered both the local employment prospects and her

own priorities. Tina wants to stay in Kitsap County and to marry her boyfriend within a year or two. Nearly 70 percent of the jobs in Kitsap County

are in government agencies. Tina decided the most practical plan was to seek

secretarial work after graduation:

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214

I want to get married. I really want to get married to

Rick. And I'd like to have a job. In other words, I

just want to be happy. I just don't want to constantly

be in a total uproar about everything, like...God! What's

gonna happen now? I don't wanna be like that. I know

that life can't always be smooth, but I think I would be

happy with a really normal, regular life.

I always said that I wanted to be a zoo technician, but

there's not much call for that around here. Then I

thought maybe I wanted to be a marine biologist. But

after working at the fisheries, I know that I can't stand

the smell of dead fish. That's one of the big things out

there. Most of the jobs here are in offices or government agencies. And I like clerical work pretty well. I'm

not a great typist or anything, but I'm pretty sure I

could get hired at the courthouse. With a little luck,

I should turn into a pretty good secretary.

Vivian Lincoln wants to be a doctor. She says she enrolled in the YET?

program because she wanted to find out what it was like to work in a hospital.

Vivian was only a junior in high school during the research period. Hee grade

average was a solid "C". Vivian has enjoyed her work as a hospital aide.

She'd like to become a physician so that she could "help people, have respect,

and anice job with a good salary." (Vivian believes that starting Aysicians

make $7,000 to $8,000 a year!) Vivian plans to go to college, and tor family

is willing to help her. But she says she had never thought much about grades,

and she didn't realize that it could be difficult to get into medical school.

"If I can't get my grades up by next year," Vivian says, "maybe I'll think

about bein' a nurse instead."

Mark Westgate plans a career in the theatre, preferably as a musical comedy actor. He knows that this is a competitive field, but his talent, and

his popular and critical success in local civic productions have given him

some basis for his aspirations. Mark was awarded a vocal scholarship to a

prestigious mid-west school. He plans to study geology as well as voice and

acting at the university. At this stage, he wants to keep his career options

open:

I want to have some other interest, another occupation

I can follow if my performing plans fall through. Whatever I end up doing, I want to contribute something. I want to know as many people as I can and have more people

know me. I eventually see part of being happy as settling down with a steady Job. I don't know if I'll ever

be able to do that. But I'd like to build mrown house

some day. Collect art. I see myself in the future as

having a lot of money, but I don't know if that's necessary. Being happy with yourself is more important, I

mean, having enough self-confidence, self-assuredness

20:
5

that when you have a big setback you can still keep

driving on. That to me is real happiness. I've achieved

a lot now. I have more hurdles to achieve. I don't exactly know what they are, but once I get over those hurdles, I'll be content.

Douglas Giscard has done very well in the social service agency where

he was placed as a YETP participant. He is able to relate easily to both

the professional staff and the adolescent clients, and he has shown an aptitude for handling routine administrative chores. Douglas likes his work

and plans to keep his job - -at least for the time being. He once wanted to

be a master jewel thief or a rock musician, and he says he still plans to

make a million dollars. His current career goal is to create and administer

an ideal social service agency:

I'd like to work my tail off and keep moving up. With

the ideas I have, I think I could make the perfect social

service agency, or as close to it as possible...make it

unique...set aside from the others. That's what I'd like

to do. I don't know enough now to do it, but I'm learning. I feel confident that I will succeed. There will

probably be people standing in my way. There always will

be. You just have to step over them. I plan to get four

years of college--maybe even more. That's anywhere within the next five to ten years. When I get the schooling

that I need, I can go ahead. If I get the right grants...

if I show them that this can work--the pros and the cons- -

show them what I have will really work better than other

agencies that are around...they can't refuse me. They'll

have to give me the financial backing and support that I

need.

Tien Van Chin would like a career in international relations with the

ate Department. He plans to work his way through four' years of university

training, but feels his ambitions may be thwarted by his limited English skills

and immigrant status, or by racial barriers. Meanwhile he has received training at a private business college, while enrolled in the YETP program, and

he expects to find work as a computer programmer. Tien says:

A career in international relations is my goal in life.

To get chance to see many different places. Meet different kinds of people. Learn languages. See lots of different styles of life. But I'm not sure I can make it.

Because, you know, is trouble concerned with race, here

in United States. They say people have equal opportunity, but no. I never see top people in government departments, like Department of State, never see Chinese people.

No. I believe that the country takes, what they say,

"natural citizens" first...is custom from long time ago.

Condition is getting better. You may work, but you might
216

not get as high because you are not a natural American.

Actions and speaking you must learn if you are not born

American. Also English is a complicated language. I don't know if I can make it or not right now. First I

plan to become American citizen. When I finish here, I

will get job as computer operator and programmer. Then

I'll go to the university.

Some participants expressed strong desires for recognition, wealth or

fame, but had no practical plans for employment or schooling after leaving

YEDPA programs. Linda Larsen says that money and success are her most important objectives. She is a good student and did extremely well in her

YETP clerical job, but she left the program and graduated from high school

with no immediate employment prospects. Linda does not yet have a driver's

license, and she thinks she will have a had time finding work in the small

rural community where she lives. "I want to be a famous writer or a successful business executive," Linda says. "That sounds kind of silly, but I believe I could do it. I just don't know how to get started. I keep dreaming that someone will call me up and offer me this terrific job. But I know

it doesn't happen that way." Linda thinks she will probably end up going to

college, but she doesn't yet know how she will finance it.

Before he dropped out of school in the eleventh grade, Adam Sledge wanted to be an architect or a lawyer. "To do those things," Adam says, "all you

have to do is get good grades and go through school." But Adam became impatient with high school; he wanted to be out in the world "making money."

Adam was one of the best workers in his YCCIP weatherization project. He also

managed to obtain a GED certificate and hold down an additional part-time job

as a security guard in the project where he lives. Adam is ambitious, and

he is a hard worker. But he doesn't have much knowledge of the working world

on which to base his career aspirations:

I've done so good here that I been thinkin' maybe I'd get

into MIT or some other college and take up a degree in

Weatherization. I'd like to go to school, but I want to

make good money. I want ten dollars or something an hour

and then go up higher. Stayin' alive is the main thing.

The dollar...this day in time, that's what the world is

built on. Everyone wants the dollar. I wanna be livin'

it up when I'm older. Just doing what I want...whatever

I felt in my mind to do. Ownin' me a car...diamonds...

Cuz I know I'll have the money by then. I'll be more

experienced.

Bobby Jones had his 19th birthday soon after our last interview. As an

orphan, a ninth grade dropout with serious academic deficiencies, a juvenile

offender, and a minority resident of an inner-city poverty neighborhood, Bob--

by faced formidable barriers to employment. He has never-held an unsubsidized

job. Before he quit school, Bobby decided that he wanted to be a professional

athlete. But, after two years on the street, Bobby says he realized that he

was going nowhere and needed to find a job or get back in school. As a YIEPP
717

participant, Bobby attended remedial education classes and worked pa

Though his duties as a sports reporter for a community center newsletter were

limited, and he developed no marketable skills, he marks his YIEPP participation as a turning point in his life. After six months in a Boston YES project, Bobby improved his academic skills enough to be accepted back into high

school on provisional terms as a 12th grade student. His goal remains a

career in professional sports. Though his past school record is poor, he

hopes to win an athletic scholarship to college. Bobby has only limited experience in high school and community sports competition, but he is convinced

that he can achieve his goal:

I don't think it's no way I couldn't make it. I don't,

I guess I'll think about that when it happen. But now,

I just don't believe it will go wrong...Once I get to

college I know things will be hard. But, uh, you know,

with help from the teachers and stuff like chat, I'll

make it okay. Once somebody shows me somethin' then

it's easy for me to do...See, the better the people are,

the better I play. It wouldn't be nothin' like that to

stop me. always have the tools. Any good coach

could see it...any good coach.

I want to be known--on the court or off the court. Be

myself. Cveryone likin' me. That's about it. Money is

real important, because anything I want to do has to have

money. I'd like to build a school named after me...an

auditorium, you know. Lots of things. I'd like to work

in poor areas or sections of states--especially here in

Massachusetts...If I can play basketball or football...

do well...have my skills brung out, everything'll work

out just fine.

New Ways to Look at Programs

Accountability has been a watchword in the relatively short history of

federal employment and training programs. Taxpayers want to know how their

dollars are being spent and what results are being achieved. Critics of government "give away" programs demand proof that human resource development efforts are cost-effective. Advocates want assurance that the special interest

groups they represent are receiving a fair share of program funds and services.

Congress, under pressure from critics and constituents, increasingly, is unwilling to authorize programs or allocate funds without specific provisions

for control and accountability aimed at producing documented evidence of program effectiveness. The Administration and the Labor Department, eager to

cite accomplishments, avoid abuses, and justify expenditures, require elaborate documentation from program sponsors, conduct performance reviews, and

publish an array of evaluation reports.

YEDPA's high visibility and focus on innovation and demonstration mandated a particularly high level of concern with program assessment. YEDPA

programs are probably the most extensively evaluated efforts in the past

two decades of federal employment and training legislation. New information
218

and reporting categories were incorporated into local data collection and

monitoring systems to meet federal requirements for monthly and quarterly

reports on YEDPA performance. Under special "knowledge development" provisions, local prime sponsors were requested to integrate evaluation methodologies into program initiatives from the outset in order to test and learn

while doing. National evaluation and research teams were appointed to study

different aspects of YEDPA programs.

Until recently, concern with manpower program accountability and evaluation has centered almost exclusively on quantitative assessment. Congress,

the Administration, the Labor Department, national organizations, and concerned citizens all rely on statistical data for an understanding of program

performance, problems, and outcomes. Local prime sponsors and program operators struggle to meet statistical reporting requirements and attempt to achieve

quantitative performance goals that will represent their efforts in the best

light to federal policy makers.

When the story is being told in quantitative terms, nobody can afford

to ignore the numbers. But local program operators, counselors, trainers,

and supervisors, who work most closely with participants, complain that the

"numbers game" seems to have become the primary objective, and it squeezes

the life and meaning out of their efforts to provide services to people in

need. They worry that important program decisions affecting human lives are

being made solely on the basis of statistical abstractions.

Nobody is suggesting that numbers be eliminated in program reporting and

evaluation. Accountability, at all levels of program endeavor, requires that

certain questions be answered in quantitative terms. Yet it is important to

recognize the disparity between the knowledge we gain from an analysis of statistical program data and the human reality of what goes on in the lives of

those affected by government programs. Statistics can tell us a lot about

the characteristics of young people served by YEDPA programs, the amounts and

categories of services delivered, the dollars spent, and the kinds of results

achieved. But they don't tell us what program participation really meant for

individuals like Bobby, Carmeletta, Jack, David, and Sandy. Quantitative

evaluation and research techniques, alone, cannot tell us much about the needs,

problems, concerns, experiences, outcomes, and aspirations of the people who

participate in employment and training programs. For this kind of understanding, we must turn directly to the participants, and we must be willing and

able to view life from their perspective.

YEDPA opened the door for employing new approaches in the qualitative

research and evaluation of employment and training activities. In conjunction

with traditional quantitative approaches, descriptive assessment tools, case

studies, and other qualitative research techniques were encouraged. YEW%

placed a new emphasis on participant provided insights. Rather than being

viewed in merely statistical terms as the passive "inputs" and "outputs" of

programs, YEDFA participants, like Bobby, Carmeletta, Jack, David, and Sandy,

were seen as active human resources, who should be considered and consulted

in the design, operation, and evaluation of program activities. Perhaps, in

the final analysis, this aspect of YEDPA will be its most important contribution to the employment and training program env flt.
219

APPENDIX

The Youth Perspectives_ Project

The Youth Perspectives Project began with a series of open questions

rather specific assumption to be tested or theories to be proven. What is

it like to be young, poor, and unemployed in the United States today? What

kinds of young people become participants in employment and training programs?

How do youth participants perceive their roles in their families, communities, and schools? Do they believe these institutions are preparing them

for labor market entry? How do these young people find out about the working world? What kinds of barriers do they face in launching their own work

lives? What roles do youth employment and training programs play in their

processes of work establishment?

My interest in these broad questions grew out of several years of involvement in the study and assessment of youth employment and training

activities. As a research consultant, I had worked with employment and

training agencies at the federal, state, and local levels of government.

I had the opportunity to review program legislation and regulations. I examined program plans and performance data. I traveled to different areas

of the country and observed projects, program approaches, and service delivery systems in operation. I talked to policy makers, planners, administrators, and program operators, as well as program counselors, teachers,

employers, and worksite supervisors. From these experiences I learned a

lot about youth employment and training programs--their purposes, design,

implementation, and operation, but I felt that I knew relatively little

about the people they served.

The participant is the most critical element in the employment and

training universe. Programs arrl authorized, designed, and operated with

his or her needs in mind. The educators and employment and training professionals with whom I had worked were, almost without exception, concerned

about the problems of young people in the labor market. Their aim was to

provide services that would increase employment opportunities and improve

employment prospects for youth. Many of these people work directly with

youth participants. From my contact with them, I was able to learn something about the circumstances, problems, and perspectives of young people

involved in youth employment and training activities. But my own contact

with participants was limited.

In November, 1977, I began working on a National Council on Employment

Policy directed study of the implementation and operation of Youth Employment

and Demonstration Projects Act (YEDPA) programs by CETA prime sponsors. Over

an 18 month period, ten researchers studied the evolution and progress of

YEDPA activities in a total of 37 prime sponsorships in 12 states. Each researcher, in this DOL funded effort, was responsible for a series of case

study reports examining YEDPA activities in three to five prime sponsorships.

As researchers, we were encouraged to interview youth program participants,

as well as planners, administrators, educators and program staffs, and to

incorporate participant perspectives into our case studies of local program

systems.
220

The interviews I held with YEDPA enrollees iu NCEP case study sites in

Oregon and Washington constituted the most direct and intensive contact I

had yet experienced with youth participants. This interaction provided insights that altered my own perspective on youth employment and training programs. The experience triggered my interest in developing a research project

that would focus directly on the perspectives, characteristics and experiences

of young people enrolled in YEDPA programs.

The proposal for the Youth Perspectives Project was based, in part, on

two rather rudimentary "discoveries" that had emerged forcefully from my recent contacts with YEDPA participants. First, I had found that these young

people were, by and large, interested in employment and training related issues and willing to share their own experiences and views. Most participants

with whom I had talked were excellent sources of information about themselves

and their own labor market preparation and employment experiences, and many

were astute observors of program activities and environments as well. Secondly, it had become clear to me that participant based perspectives and experiences that could be productively tapped for research purposes extended well

beyond the perameters of program participation. Family circumstances, personal characteristics, school and community life, and other experiences and connections were all important elements in participants' lives. Moreover these

non-program factors seemed to be closely related to the employment problems,

plans, and prospects of young people.

The desire to identify some of the effects, or potential effects, of

YEDPA program experiences on participants was an underlying motivation for

the Youth Perspectives Project. But it seemed apparent that a study of program experiences and their effects from a participant perspective should also

consider a wider range of individual circumstances and experiences, both within and outside the institutions that are supposed to prepare young people for

work. By examining participant program experiences in relationship to family,

community, school, and other factors, I hoped to achieve a clearer view of

the kinds of impact program participation could have on individual lives.

The baseline objective was to find out more about YEDPA participants, their

individual circumstances and the meanings they attach to them. Developing

case.studies of selected participants seemed to be the best way to tap into

the vast and diverse resevoir of participants'experience and perception.

For a number of reasons, I chose the intensive interview approach as the

primary method for collecting case study material. Perhaps foremost was my

belief that verbal interaction on a face-to-face basis is an effective way

for people to get to know one another, and that in such encounters, one can

at least begin the process of understanding the life circumstances, experiences, values, and aspirations of people who would otherwise remain strangers. Individual interviews spaced over an eight or nine month period seemed

to offer the means for establishing rapport, exploring a wide range of material, testing understanding, and considering subjective meanings. A series

of interviews, augmented by consultations with program staffs, would provide

the material for an in-depth Profile on each case study participant.
221

Participant and Site Selection

It was clear from the outset that monetary and time constraints, and

the use of the intensive interview approach by a single researcher, would

restrict the number of young people that could be included in the case studies and limit the number of locations from which they could be drawn. Within

practical limitations, my aim in the selection of participants and geographic sites for the Youth Perspectives Project was to encompass a variety of

individual characteristics, life circumstances, labor market conditions, and

types of program activities. A case study group of 40 YEDPA participants

was selected from preliminary interviews with 160 young people in four geographic locations: Kitsap County, Washington; Kalamazoo County, Michigan;

Boston, Massachusetts; and Portland, Oregon.

These four prime sponsorships encompass a variety of residential settings, such as sparsely populated rural areas, small and medium sized cities,

suburbs, and major urban centers. They also represent a mixture of labor

market and economic conditions that influence youth employment opportunities.

At the time the Youth Perspectives Project was launched, Boston's general

unemployment rate was the highest of the four areas. Employment opportunities in the private sector were especially restricted for young men and women in low income, inner city neighborhoods. Jobs for young people wern also

in short supply in the rural environs of Kalamazoo and Kitsap County. The

youth employment situation was less critical in the cities of Portland and

Kalamazoo. The scale of CETA operations within the our prime sponsorships

ranged from a very small system in Kitsap County, which serves a largely

white population distributed thinly over a fairly wide geographic area, to

Boston's massive employment and training system, which serves a high percentage of non-white participants heavily concentrated in low income neighborhoods. Each of the four prime sponsors operated both YETP and YCCIP programs

during fiscal year 1978. Boston was the only prime sponsorship with a Youth

Incentive Entitlement Pilot Program (YIEPP).

Though the Youth Perspective research sites span the country from east

to west and encompass a range of different residential settings, labor market

conditions, programs, and service delivery models, they are clearly not an

optimal geographic representation of the country. Two of the four sites are

on the West Coast and all are in the North. Though I would have liked to

achieve a better geographic balance, I found it necessary to limit the selection to sites within reasonable traveling range from Seattle and to prime

sponsorships in which I had already established, or could most easily initiate, productive relationships with youth program staffs. Each of the four

sites selected for the Youth Perspectives Project had also been included in

the National Council on Employment Policy directed YEDPA program study.

Consequently, case studies on the design, implementation, and operation of

YEDPA program activities were available and provided a basis for understanding program strategies and delivery approaches in each of the four prime

sponsorships.
222

Youth program staff contacts in the four prime sponsorships distributed information on the Youth Perspectives Project to YEDPA delivery agents

and project operators and helped to set up preliminary interviews with program participants. Rather than hand picking participants for these initial

interviews, operations staff were encouraged to explain the basic research

objectives to as many participants as possible and to solicit volunteers.

For these preliminary interviews, I asked that volunteers meet the following criteria: (1) be enrolled in YETF, YCCIP, or YIEPP programs, (2) be

under age 20, (3) be interested and able to participate in periodic interviews over an eight month period, and (4) not yet have graduated from high

school.

In addition to my desire to talk with as many participants as possible,

the decision to hold preliminary interviews with aver 150 young people was

based on the premise that only a fraction of those participating in the

screening sessions would prove to be interested in more extensive involvement in the case study research. I was not prepared for the preliminary

interview response. Though participants were told that the Youth Perspectives Project had no bearing on local program opportunities and their involvement in it could in no way improve their immediate circumstances,

nearly all who were interviewed expressed an interest in being included in

the case study group. Only a handful were unwilling to participate.

I selected a group of case study participants that encompassed a wide

mix of personal characteristics. Though I was not concerned with proportional representation of all characteristics found in the broader population

of participants, I did want to include in the case study group both male and

female participants, whites and non-whites, high school students and school

dropouts, youth whose parents were employed as well as youth from welfare

families, and young people living at home with parents as well as those living on their own or in other settings. Of particular interest in assembling

the case study group was the inclusion of a number of participants with

special characteristics that might pose particular barriers to employment,

such as single parents, school dropouts who had been out of the labor force

for one year or more, Vietnamese immigrants, participants referred from

juvenile offender agencies, and young people with histories of alcoholism

or drug abuse.

In some respects, Isaw the individuals selected for case study as

"spokespersons" for different groups as well as unique individuals with their

own experiences and perspectives. But while many of their problems and views

are representative of broader sub-populations, it would be wrong to assume

that the case study participants are necessarily typical of the "average"

members of such groups. The intensive interview approach required study

subjects who were both willing and able to communicate verbally with the

researcher. Though I generelly tried to avoid what appeared to be unusual

or outstanding participants, I did select young people whose verbal accounts

were vivid, or at least coherent, who seemed eager to commit time and energy

to the research, and with whom I felt the potential for developing rapport.

I also tried to select participants who would be likely to remain available

for interviews through at least most of the eight month research period.

23
223

Most of the material collected for the case studies was biographical

and anecdotal. During the interviews, participants were encouraged to talk

about their attitudes and feelings as well as the "facts" of their experience. It was not my intention to push any of the case study participants

into a level of disclosure that would produce acute discomfort. The participanta were encouraged to be expansive, but they were also told that they

did not have to talk about areas of their lives that seemed too personal to

share and that they were free to decline response to any questions they preferred not to answer.

The interviews were conducted during site visits to each prime sponsorship, that were spaced at approximately eight week intervals. I tried whenever possible to let case study participants select the interview settings.

For most participants, private rooms in program offices, schools, or worksite facilities were the most comfortable and convenient arrangement. It

was sometimes difficult to arrange adequate time and space for private interviews without seriously inconveniencing program staffs and participants

or disrupting instruction or worksite activities. Both program staffs and

participants in the four prime sponsorships were most cooperative in making

accommodations for the interviews, but inevitably some interviews were held

under less than optimal conditions. One interview was conducted in a car,

another in the stairwell of a public office building. A number of case

study participants chose to have at least some interview sessions in their

own homes.

I tape recorded nearly all of the interview sessions, and I felt it was

important to tell participants how the material they provided would be used.

I told them transcripts would be made from the interview tapes. I made it

clear that I did not work for the agencies or people managing their local.

program activities. The tapes would not be made available to others or

listened to by anyone but myself and the transcript typist. In reporting

research findings, I told them that I would use incidents, examples, and

direct quotations from their interview transcripts. The case study participants knew their "stories" were likely to be published but their names, and

the names of other people and many of the places they discussed, would be

changed.

I meant to alleviate any anxiety case study participants might feel by

reassuring them that their privacy would not be violated. But many of the

participants expressed disappointment that their real names would not appear

in print. They also had mixed feelings about my intention to alter th,, names

of their schools, employers, counselors, friends, and others. A number of

Case study participants were certain that their individual stories were particularly significant, and they were eager that they be told as accurarlly

and forcefully as possible. At our second interview, "Bobby Jones" shook

his head doubtfully at my tape recorder and said: "Writing it down from

tapes ain't too sure a thing. You might get this wrong, you know? And if

it gets into a book, not too many people will probably read it anyway. Next

time you come here, why don't you bring a T.V. camera? I want people to see

how it really is."
224

In the selection of case study participants, I drew most heavily from

the YETP program, which was the largest, most comprehensive and most diversified of the YEDPA programs within the four prime sponsorships. Only ten

of the original 40 case study participants were not YETP enrollees. Of

these, seven were enrolled in 'NCI? projects, and two were participants in

(Boston's) YIP demonstration. Females dominated YETP enrollments in three

of the four research localities; consequently, there was a broader female

population from which to draw case study participants. Twenty-two of the

40 original case study participants were young women.

Four case study participants dropped out of YEDPA programs during the

first few months of the research project. They were also dropped from the

case study group because they were not available for further interviews.

Scheduling problems, illness, and other complications prevented four additional participants from completing full interview cycles. At the end of

the research period, in June, 1979, there were 32 participants from whom

reasonably complete case study material had been collected in a series of

individual interviews. Young men selected as case study participants were,

as a group, more mobile than female participants and more likely to drop out

of both program activities and the Youth Perspectives Project. Of the eight

original case study participants for whom interview cycles were not completed,

six were young men. Only 12 of the 32 young people in the final case study

group were young men.

Research Response

That young people are vitally interested in the world of work and the

ways in which they might fit into this world is attested to by the enthusiasm

and commitment of the young men and women who participated in the Youth Perspectives Project. I had expected that lengthy interviews with a strange

adult focusing on many different aspects of personal experience would be,

at best, viewed as a trial by most teenagers. Involvement in the research

project placed considerable demands on the case study participants in regard

to time, energy, and exposUre. Throughout the eight months of interviewing,

I was continually amazed by the responsiveness of the participants--their

patience with my interminable stream of questions, their willingness to communicate and to fit the interviews into what were often very busy and complex

lives, and their unswerving acceptance that the experiences and issues we discussed were important in a broader context and were worthy of research concern.

My interviews with case study participants were not rigidly structured.

Though digressions based on individual interests and experiences were encouraged, the basic questions and subject areas covered in each participant interview series were keyed to a comprehensive format. Areas of inquiry fell

into five major categories: (1) Home lives, family backgrounds, roles, and

aspirations; (2) Community roles, values, and experiences; (3) School lives

and educational experiences; (4) Employment experiences and knowledge, attitudes, and aspirations in regard to the world of work; (5) YEDPA program

experiences and their perceived effects on employment, personal development,

and career futures.

23-
225

The interview approach did not work equally well with each case study

participant. Some were obviously better able to express themselves and to

transmit their experiences and views more clearly than were others. But

from the beginning, each case study participant seemed to accept my interein him or her as valid, and, I believe, each took her or his role in the

study seriously enough to at least try-to respond honestly and completely

to my queries.

Most of the case study participants seemed to enjoy the interviews and

to look forward to subsequent sessions. Undoubtedly some of them were stimulated by the novelty of repeated access to an adult who would listen to them

without imposing judgment. That someone was interested and concerned enough

to document their experiences and views seemed to be particularly important

to a number of the participants, who felt alone and badly in need of support

and acknowledgement. Several times when the interviewing fell behind schedule, I received collect telephone-calls from participants, asking me when I

was coming back and reminding me that our next session was past due.

Though some of the participants approached their role as interview sub=

jects more intensely than others, I believe that the process of reflecting,

disclosing, and analyzing their own experiences and choices was a productive

exercise for most of the young:people in the case study group. As Carmeletta

DeVries said in our last interview: "I never really thought about some of

these things until you asked me about them. Laying it all out helps me get

a better picture of where I've been and where I need to go. It's a little

scary, but I think I know myself better."

Bonnie Snedeker,

March 21, 1980
226

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