LegiStorm

Summary:

The majority of young people in the United States grow up healthy and safe in their communities. Most of those of school age live with parents who provide for their well - being, and they attend schools that prepare them for advanced education or vocational training and, ultimately, self - sufficiency. Many youth also receive assistance from their families during the transition to adulthood. During this period, young adults cycle between attending school, living independently, and staying with their families. A study from 2009 found that over 60% of young people ages 19 to 22 receive financial support from their parents, including help with paying bills (42%), tuition assistance (35%), providing personal vehicles (23% ) , and paying rent (21.5%) . Even with this assistance, the current move from adolescence to adulthood has become longer and increasingly complex. For vulnerable (or “at - risk”) youth populations, the transition to adulthood is further complicated by a number of challenges, including family conflict or abandonment and obstacles to securing employment that provides adequate wages and health insurance. These youth may be prone to outcomes that have negative consequences for their future development as responsible, self - sufficient adults. Risk outcomes i nclude teenage parenthood; homelessness; drug abuse; delinquency; physical and sexual abuse; and school dropout. Detachment from the labor market and school — or disconnectedness — may be the single strongest indicator that the transition to adulthood has not been made successfully. The federal government has not adopted a single overarching federal policy or legislative vehicle that addresses the challenges vulnerable youth experience in adolescence or while making the transition to adulthood. Rather, federal youth policy today has evolved from multiple programs established in the early 20 th century and expanded in the years following the 1964 announcement of the War on Poverty. These programs are concentrated in six areas: workforce development, education, ju venile justice and delinquency prevention, social services, public health, and national and community service. They are intended to provide vulnerable youth with opportunities to develop skills to assist them in adulthood. Despite the range of federal serv ices and activities to assist disadvantaged youth, many of these programs have not developed into a coherent system of support. This is due in part to the administration of programs within several agencies and the lack of mechanisms to coordinate their act ivities. In response to concerns about the complex federal structure developed to assist vulnerable youth, Congress passed the Tom Osborne Federal Youth Coordination Act ( P.L . 109 - 365 ) in 2006. Though activities under the act were never funded, the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs was formed in 2008 under Executive Order 13459 to carry out coordinating activities across multiple agencies that oversee youth program s. Separately, Congress has considered other legislation to improve the delivery of services to vulnerable youth and provide opportunities to these youth through policies with a “positive youth development” focus. The Interagency Working Group on Youth Pro grams characterizes positive youth development as a process that engages young people in positive pursuits that help them acquire and practice the skills, attitudes, and behavior s that they will need to become successful adults. In addition to the Interage ncy Working Group on Youth Programs, the executive branch has established working groups and initiatives to coordinate supports for youth . The Department of Justice has carried out the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention sin ce the 1970s to coordinate federal policies on youth involved in the juvenile justice system. More recently, the Obama and Trump Administrations have carried out the Performance Partnership Pilots (P3) initiative to coordinate funding across selected agenc ies to support local communities in serving vulnerable youth.