The Beat

The Administration on Children and Families’ Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation recently released a series of briefs that explore how service providers can help at-risk youth achieve well-being and self-sufficiency. One part of the formula is connecting young people to jobs with good pay and opportunities for growth and advancement. NCFY spoke to M.C. Bradley and Jiffy Lansing, two of the co-authors of "Connecting At-Risk Youth to Promising Occupations," to learn what constitutes a “promising” job, and how runaway and homeless youth workers can help their clients secure one.

NCFY: Why is youth employment important for helping youth achieve self-sufficiency?

Jiffy Lansing: First, if youth can be connected to employment, especially jobs that can lead to more responsibility and opportunity along the way, that brings in money.

And for youth who have been disconnected from school or work [because of homelessness or poverty], this is a way of connecting them to some pro-social experiences that can increase their confidence and resilience.

NCFY: How do you define a “promising” occupation for this population?

M.C. Bradley: We thought about earnings first. We asked, “What’s a reasonable threshold for what a young person needs in order to be self-sufficient?” And we wanted to identify occupations where there’s actually growth. Jobs where someone could come in at an entry level and have a career trajectory.

The earnings number we came up with was $25,000 annually. We looked at a variety of sources to arrive at this number: the national median income, the eligibility requirements for federal programs and the living wage literature. We made some assumptions that the young people would be living with another adult, there’d be a child in the household, and they would need to bring in 60 percent of the income in that household.

Lansing: Depending on where somebody lives, $25,000 might not be the appropriate threshold. But we were looking broadly across the country.

NCFY: And what jobs qualify?

Bradley: The health care and construction fields offered a lot of jobs that matched our criteria. Those may not be the right jobs for a particular program’s youth, particularly healthcare, because there are requirements about drug testing and no criminal record. So you need to think carefully about that and the population you’re serving, and where you are. Because not all communities are going to have the same growth in healthcare or construction as others.

Lansing: Most localities have workforce development boards, which can be found on the Internet, that show the projected growth occupations for their specific area. Another source that we think is a good place to look is local community colleges.

NCFY: How can runaway and homeless youth service providers use this information?

Bradley: They can use this brief to connect with local agencies that have information about the job market in their area, as well as training and education that can get youth on the track to getting those jobs.

Some of these youth need ID’s, clothes and school records to put them in a position for a job, and youth workers can help them get these. And they can help them create resumes and prepare for interviews. They can provide youth with a chance to explore and link their interests to what they might like to do.

More From NCFY

"Primary Sources: What Stands in the Way of Homeless Youths' Employment?"

"Q&A: Green Chimneys on Helping Youth Secure Meaningful Internships and Employment Opportunities"

According to the latest statistics, Latinas have a higher overall all teen birth rate than the nation at large. To gain insight into how teen pregnancy prevention professionals can tailor their efforts to Latino communities, we spoke with Ann Marie Benitez, senior manager of the Latino Initiative at The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

NCFY: People often think of teen pregnancy among Latinas as a cultural issue. How do you respond to that?

Benitez: While disparities exist and 4 out of 10 Latinas get pregnant before the age of 20, teen pregnancy is a challenge for the whole nation. Because it’s still a fact that 3 out of 10 teens get pregnant before the age of 20.

NCFY: How do parents figure into teen pregnancy prevention among Latino teens?

Regardless of race and ethnicity, all parents don’t know what to say about sex or when to start the conversation about sex. We do a public opinion survey every other year, and 88 percent of the general population agrees that parents in general just don’t know what to say and when to start.

When we compared them to other groups, Hispanic teens were more likely to strongly agree that their parents don’t know what to say about sex and when to start the conversation. And the pattern holds true for adults, where 70 percent of Hispanic adults are more likely to strongly agree that parents need help when it comes to talking to their kids about sex.  

Parents are the ones who influence teens the most in terms of their decisions about sex. More than peers, more than popular culture, more than teachers. In fact, 91 percent of Latino teens agree that it’s much easier for them to postpone sexual activity and avoid teen pregnancy if they were able to have more of an open honest conversation with their parents.

NCFY: Do Latino teens and parents talk about teen pregnancy differently than teens and parents from other groups?

We conducted a study called “Toward a Common Future” and we found that there were more commonalities than differences regardless of whether [parents] are Hispanic or not. All parents have high aspirations for their teens. All parents want to see their kids succeed, finish high school and hopefully attend college. They believe it is important to talk to their kids about sex. They also believe it’s important to talk about both abstinence and contraception.

There’s this myth that Latinos don’t like talking about [sex] or don’t like talking about both [contraception and abstinence]. But the fact of the matter is they do think it’s important, they do think talking about contraception and abstinence is really important.

NCFY: Given those similarities, what does it mean for folks who are working in teen pregnancy prevention to be culturally competent with Latino families?

When I talk in Spanish about teen pregnancy prevention, I use more the word of delaying pregnancy for when you’re ready to have a baby and start a future with your family, versus using the word prevention. Because prevention can come across in some circles as something that’s anti-family. And we’re very pro-family. We’re very pro- trying to support families starting in the most successful way so that they can reach their goals and succeed in life for themselves and their children.

NCFY: And it’s such an easy tweak. It’s one word.

Yes, but at the end of the day, it’s still the same. All families want the best for their kids. Just how they respond to one word can make a difference.

Learn more about the campaign's Latino Initiative, including an effort that trains community health workers to use an evidence-based curriculum to prevent teen pregnancy in Latino communities.

“Evidence-based Programs in Children's Services: A Critical Appraisal.” Children and Youth Services Review Vol. 35, No. 2. (February 2013).

What it’s about: Proponents of “evidence-based programs” in social services for children and youth and their families take on the debate about the use of such programs.

Why read it: Momentum is growing behind efforts to promote more widespread use of programs that have been studied by researchers and found to result in better outcomes for families and youth. Many private and public funders, including the Family and Youth Services Bureau, are encouraging or requiring their grantees to take evidence into account when planning and implementing programs for youth and families. While many practitioners have embraced evidence-based programs, others are skeptical. By looking at both sides and responding to arguments that have been made against emphasizing evidence-based programs, this article makes a compelling case for their use.

​Biggest takeaways for youth workers: The authors look at five different types of critiques of evidence-based programs: scientific, ideological, cultural, organizational and professional.

Among the scientific critiques are those that question the validity of and methods behind the research that has been done to determine whether programs are effective or not, and the idea that programs can be declared to work or not. The authors argue that though some studies may be flawed and the answer may not be cut and dry, scientific study does enable us to have a better understanding of what works. They write that “the most promising innovations should be strengthened and tested with a level of rigor appropriate to their stage of gestation as part of a logical process of program development.”

Among the many arguments the authors take on are contentions that evidence-based programs:

• Only treat symptoms of larger problems and ignore bigger-picture issues like poverty and racism. To the contrary, the authors say, evidence-based programs can contribute to greater social justice.
• Do not translate across cultures. If designed with enough flexibility, the authors write, evidence-based programs can be used with families and youth of different cultures.
• Are too expensive and time-consuming to set up. Not all are expensive, but even so, their ultimate cost savings may justify their upfront cost.  
• Hamper innovation and creativity on the part of practitioners. Evidence-based practices are the product of innovation, often by practitioners.

The article ends with concrete suggestions that could bridge the gap between proponents of evidence-based programs and those with reservations about their use. The authors write:

Researchers need to learn more about what makes programs transportable and understand cultural variation in impact. Methods for adapting [evidence-based programs] need to be developed and tested. When introducing programs to systems it is imperative to stress the importance of the practitioner, demonstrating how professional knowledge and experience contribute to outcomes. The place for innovation should be highlighted, as should the radical nature of programs that reach the most needy and reduce inequality, and the significant amount of ‘face time’ with users. Program training should be seen as an opportunity to master new skills and be certified as such. These are all things that practitioners are reported to find motivating.

Additional references: A new NCFY report looks at FYSB’s position on the importance of evidence-based practice, one grantee’s experience implementing an evidence-based program, and how some programs are partnering with researchers to show the effectiveness of their work.

(Publications discussed here do not necessarily reflect the views of NCFY, FYSB, or the Administration for Children & Families. Go to the NCFY literature database for abstracts of this and other publications.)

In our recent article about how to get donations of food for your family and youth services program, we shared tips on working with grocers and restaurants. Then we learned that Janus Youth Programs in Portland, OR, also gets free meals for its youth from faith-based organizations and service groups, like the Lions Club.

“Our dollars just aren’t going to stretch day in and day out to cover meals,” says Advancement Director Rosalie Karp.

The volunteers, who mainly hear about Janus by word of mouth, prepare the home-cooked meals offsite and deliver them to Janus’s two shelters. Karps says the shelters serve two meals a day, breakfast and a late dinner.

Janus asks volunteers to put the food in large disposable plastic, paper or aluminum trays or containers, which work well for transporting food. Two to three large disposable aluminum trays of food feeds one shelter of 30 youth, and five to six trays feed 60 youth in both shelters.

Here’s what breakfast might look like:

• Bagels
• Fruit (canned or fresh)
• Cereals

Dinner might feature:

• Lasagna or other pasta
• Meatloaf or roasted meats
• Goulash, stroganoff
• Macaroni and cheese
• Sloppy Joes
• Nachos or tacos
• Hearty soups or chili
• Hot dogs
• Sandwiches
• Fruit (canned or fresh)
• Vegetables (ready to serve)

Food variety tends to work itself out. When asked if Janus ever gets lasagnas donated three nights in a row, Karp says, “That’s never been a problem.”

View Janus’s online sign-up form for food donations.