Research clearly demonstrates that youth and young parents experience poverty at a disproportionate rate with severe consequences to not only their current and future well-being (mental, physical, and financial), but also for the overall health of the family unit. Organizations specifically designed to serve youth often are not equipped to utilize a consistent, evidence-informed approach. They may lack the tools needed to effectively support economic mobility. This EMPath paper provides an overview of the evidence surrounding the impacts of poverty on youth and young families, and the benefits of promoting family economic stability and mobility for these populations. It highlights the experiences and learnings from the cohort of youth-serving organizations to effectively engage and support their program participants with economic mobility coaching.

Watch a Video Held in Conjunction with this Paper Release

In 2021, over 46.3 million people ages 12 and up in the United States met the criteria for having substance use disorder (SUD). Compared to other developmental periods, the co-occurrence of serious mental health conditions and SUD is concentrated in young adulthood. Young adults experiencing homelessness or housing instability are at particularly high risk for developing a SUD and experiencing challenges accessing care and support. Harm reduction is an evidence-based approach critical to engaging with people who use drugs and equipping them with life-saving tools. This Administration for Children and Families brief provides information and resources about harm reduction services for young adults experiencing homelessness.

Since 1996, many childless adults between the ages of 18 and 50 can only get Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for three months in a 36-month period unless they are exempt or are able to document sufficient work hours. This vulnerable population includes veterans, youth aging out of foster care, individuals reentering the workforce after incarceration, and the chronically unhoused. Many of the people subject to time limits either cannot find jobs or get too few hours of work in the jobs they do have. This Food Research and Action Center’s research brief explains the SNAP time limit provisions and discusses priorities for outreach, proper screening for time limit exemptions, and use of discretionary exemptions and waivers for areas that have 10 percent or higher unemployment or other indicators of insufficient jobs.

In support of the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) mission and strategic plan, ACF has developed a set of materials intended to provide guidance to hard-to-reach populations to increase their awareness and understanding of the array of resources that may be able to assist them. These resources are explicitly designed to be user-friendly and easy to digest. The materials include resources for transition-age youth exiting foster care, families with children ages 0-12, prospective Head Start participants, survivors of domestic violence looking to find and keep housing, fathers looking for benefits programs or parenting tips, and providers supporting those seeking post-disaster housing.

Given the potential to build a more equitable economy and provide opportunities for upward mobility, apprenticeships have become a key tool in California’s workforce development toolbox. In July 2022, California’s Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) and the Labor & Workforce Development Agency released a five-point plan of action to aid the expansion of the number of apprentices. One point called for expanding youth apprenticeship opportunities and recommended the state convene stakeholders to develop definitions and quality standards to support apprenticeship pilots, provide technical assistance, and take steps to support better alignment of funding. This New America blogpost highlights the creation of the California Youth Apprenticeship Committee and the California Youth Apprenticeship Grant Program.

Wisconsin’s Youth Apprenticeship program is the oldest and largest ongoing youth apprenticeship (YA) program in the U.S. As youth apprenticeship has reemerged as an attractive option for preparing young people for careers, Wisconsin’s YA program offers interesting insights to policymakers and practitioners. The state funds the program in a way that emphasizes local control, administration, and outreach to high school students and employers. This Urban Institute brief highlights the program’s history, recent growth, and structure and draws on perspectives from state officials, local program directors, and employers.

Young adulthood is a crucial period that can determine a person’s success later in life by setting a trajectory for work experience, education and training, and financial stability. Unfortunately, many previously incarcerated young adults face collateral consequences from policies and laws that make it difficult to obtain employment and education even after they are released from incarceration. This Center for American Progress issue brief offers recommendations and highlights promising practices at the state and local levels for improving the economic outcomes of reentering young adults, addressing barriers to reentry, and reducing recidivism.

This chartbook presents data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia on 15 mental health measures of adults and youth. While the dataset is not a complete picture of the mental health system, the collection of tables and rankings provides a strong foundation for understanding the prevalence of mental health concerns, as well as issues of access to insurance and treatment, particularly as that access varies among the states. Youth data and state rankings in the chartbook cover seven measures: Youth with At Least One Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in the Past Year, Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year, Youth with Severe MDE, Youth with MDE who Did Not Receive Mental Health Services, Youth with Severe MDE who Received Some Consistent Treatment, Youth with Private Insurance that Did Not Cover Mental or Emotional Problems, and Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance for an Individualized Education Program.

This Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) webpage highlights resources on youth behavioral health from the Federal Government, including: an Advisory from the Surgeon General on Protecting Youth Mental Health; the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Bright Futures Program, School-Based Health Alliance, and Health Center Program School-Based Service Sites; new policy guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; the Administration for Children and Families’ implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act; joint funding from SAMHSA and the Office of Minority Health to strengthen and expand children and youth community mental health services and suicide prevention programs; and new funding under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

More than 60% of children with depression do not receive any mental health treatment, according to Mental Health America, a leading association that studies trends in mental health across several populations. At the same time, about 80% of the United States has a severe shortage of child psychiatrists. Both these statistics point to a growing mental health crisis in the United States and beyond. This documentary, Connecting the Dots: Kids in Crisis, features young people from around the world talking about their struggles with mental health in their own words and the need to be supported. Additionally, facilitator guides are available for downloading to use when discussing the documentary.