Although about 20 percent of all youth will become at risk of disconnection at some time before reaching the age of 25, only 5 to 7 percent will reach age 25 without connecting in a meaningful way to employment and social support systems. This slide deck is a field scan of what selected school districts, foundations, and nonprofit organizations are doing to reconnect these young people to school and other social networks so that they are prepared for careers and further education. Individual slides can be taken from this deck and used in presentations.

New York City faces a civic crisis of “disconnected” youth and young adults. There are over 163,000 young people ages 16 to 24 who are neither in school nor in the labor force. When we add the number of “unemployed” young adults, who are actively seeking work but unable to find it, we have more than 220,000 young people who are not in school nor working—nearly one in five of the total age group. These young people—largely youth of color from poor communities—are at high risk of becoming permanently disengaged from the labor market, threatening their ability to break out of the cycle of poverty and contribute to our economy and community. Their idleness represents a great waste of resources and human potential. The Community Service Society of New York looks offers recommendations.

The National Immigration Law Center warns that, so far, there are no proposals as part of health care reform to remove the five year waiting period and other barriers to Medicaid for most legal immigrants, including children.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation has issued policy recommendations for reforming juvenile justice, reducing poverty, rebuilding the child welfare system and improving data. On juvenile justice, the Foundation says the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act should be reauthorized with enhanced provisions to reduce racial disparities, strengthen core protections against confining status offenders and mingling juveniles with adult offenders.

In 2007, 1.7 million children under age 18 had a parent in prison—an 82 percent increase 1991, disproportionately affecting children of color. Children of incarcerated parents are more likely to drop out of school, engage in delinquency, and subsequently be incarcerated themselves. This Sentencing Project brief evaluates Department of Justice data and offers policy recommendations to support parent/child relationships and minimize the harm to children.

People of color comprise one-third of the U.S. population. These Americans are less likely to have health insurance, a medial "home," and access to preventive care and routine services. Families USA created this action kit to give community leaders information, tools, and resources for health advocacy in their communities. The kit includes a look at Medicaid and SCHIP and their impact on racial and ethnic health disparities.

Mark your calendars -- Tuesday, Feburary 15, 2005 from 1:00-2:30 EST. You're invited to participate in a conference call to discuss "Changing the Rules of the Game," a new report based on an 18-month study of how racism is currently understood and addressed in youth development and youth organizing, and how a pioneering group of community organizations are engaging youth in challenging structural racism. Sponsored by Grantmakers for Children, Youth and Families, the call is part of the Youth Engagement/Youth Organizing Learning Circle. Please RSVP to patricia@jfjustice.org or nhigginbotham@gcyf.org.

Marion Pines, director of the Sar Levitan Center at Johns Hopkins University, calls for a renewed national commitment to supporting proven youth development strategies.

Do Something is a nationwide network of young people who make a difference in their communities and take action to change the world around them. They address discrimination and racism, as well as other other issues.