Abstract
Even in a strong job market with low overall unemployment, a substantial number of youth are disconnected from work and schooling. Being disconnected during early ages (between sixteen and twenty-four) can have negative impacts on future labor-market success and other outcomes. This article presents data and summarizes the literature on the causes and consequences of youth disconnection. It discusses evidenced-based policies and programs that show promise for engaging or reengaging young people and meeting the needs of particular groups of disconnected youth, including effective education and training programs (both in secondary and postsecondary contexts), targeted reforms to community college systems, strategies for addressing barriers to work and school including provision of comprehensive services, and demand-oriented solutions that improve job opportunities for youth.
- © 2019 Russell Sage Foundation. Loprest, Pamela, Shayne Spaulding, and Demetra Smith Nightingale. 2019. “Disconnected Young Adults: Increasing Engagement and Opportunity.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 5(5): 221–43. DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2019.5.5.11. The authors would like to acknowledge review and helpful comments by Harry Holzer, Erica Groshen, Gregory Acs, and participants at the Russell Sage Foundation’s Improving Employment and Earnings in Twenty-First Century Labor Markets conference. Direct correspondence to: Pamela Loprest at ploprest{at}urban.org, Urban Institute, 2100 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20024; Shayne Spaulding at sspaulding{at}urban.org, Urban Institute, 2100 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20024; and Demetra Smith Nightingale at dnightingale{at}urban.org, Urban Institute, 2100 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20024.
Open Access Policy: RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences is an open access journal. This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.