Most-Detailed Statistical Scan of D.C. Youth Is Presented in "On the Road to Adulthood"

Contact: Stu Kantor, (202) 261-5283, skantor@urban.org

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 25, 2009 — From health and housing to school achievement and employment, a new report from the Urban Institute provides the most comprehensive source of data on the state of teenagers and young adults in the District of Columbia.

"On the Road to Adulthood," an 82-page compendium and analysis produced in collaboration with the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates (DCAYA) and its member organizations, uses nearly 100 indicators of well-being to detail the circumstances of people age 12 to 24. In addition to explaining the diverse challenges facing young people in the District, the report examines a range of community responses and profiles 14 nonprofits serving youth. The report is available at http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411896.

"It is our hope this databook will be a valuable resource for planning, advocating, and evaluating programs," says Walter Woods, a program officer for the World Bank Group's Community Outreach Program, which sponsored the report as part of its East of the River Initiative. "District agencies, local nonprofits, and families need to be fully engaged and working together on behalf of the city's 101,000 teenagers and young adults. The District is fortunate to have many dynamic nonprofits committed to bettering the lives of young people."

The report explores in depth several challenges facing the city's youth and spotlights various nonprofits working to help them overcome these obstacles. For example,

• The housing needs of many homeless young people and those about to age out of foster care go unmet in the District. Sasha Bruce Youthwork is responding with special services for homeless youth and their families, such as emergency shelter space, home-based counseling for families in crisis, street outreach to homeless and runaway youth, and independent living programs for 16- to 21-year-olds who cannot live at home.
  
  
• Employment rates for young people with less than a college education are low, especially among blacks and Hispanics. To ameliorate this situation, the Urban Alliance Foundation provides low-income youth with paid professional internships during the school year and summer, as well as adult mentors and workshops on life skills, financial literacy, and job readiness.
  
  
• The number of HIV and AIDS cases has been generally increasing among young adults. As a key nonprofit working on teen health, Metro TeenAIDS provides information and referrals for at-risk youth; integrated HIV/AIDS and substance abuse prevention training in every public 10th grade health class; and counseling, therapy, and life skills for children of HIV-positive parents.
  
  

The problems District youth face are interrelated, and many obstacles fall outside the scope of public school reform. Responding to these challenges, the report says, will therefore require a comprehensive approach involving District government agencies, the D.C. Council, nonprofit organizations, and the community. The report recommends

1. reinstating and funding the mayor's Reconnecting Disconnected Youth Committee;
   
   
2. reorganizing the Interagency Collaboration and Services Integration Commission to include community representatives;
   
   
3. establishing a cabinet-level deputy mayor for children, youth, and families; and
   
   
4. developing strategic partnerships with community organizations to deal with out-of-school time, youth homelessness, and youth employment.

"'On the Road to Adulthood' marks a groundbreaking moment for the District," says Eshauna Smith, the executive director of DCAYA and one of the report's authors. "We now have the data we need to draw attention to the severe challenges facing our teenagers and young adults. This is our moment to work together — the government, community-based organizations, funders, and other allies — to develop a citywide plan of action to ensure that this population is no longer overlooked."

"On the Road to Adulthood" received support from the World Bank Group's Community Outreach Program, which seeks to leverage local dollars and opportunities to improve outcomes for nonprofit organizations in the metropolitan Washington area. The report's authors are the Urban Institute's Jennifer Comey and Peter Tatian and DCAYA's Eshauna Smith.

The Urban Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research and educational organization that examines the social, economic, and governance challenges facing the nation.

DC Alliance of Youth Advocates (DCAYA) is a coalition of youth-engaged organizations, youth, and concerned residents formed to ensure that all District of Columbia youth have access to high-quality and affordable developmental opportunities.

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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