The National Youth Employment Coalition will host a virtual workshop on November 7, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss the challenges faced by youth and young adults re-entering society after incarceration, a population often overlooked and underserved. The discussions will explore the concept of social determinants of health, which significantly impact this group's well-being and reintegration. Through sharing lessons learned and best practices, the goal of the workshop is to empower youth workforce partners and members with innovative strategies to support those transitioning back into their communities. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the unique barriers faced by this population and learn about healing-centered engagement strategies to foster holistic well-being.

Beginning in April 2023, states began “unwinding” the pandemic-related continuous coverage requirement in Medicaid, which prohibited states from disenrolling Medicaid enrollees during the public health emergency. The unwinding process revealed that many states’ systems and renewal processes have been out of compliance with federal requirements, with many of the compliance issues disproportionately affecting children. This Urban Institute resource proposes that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services could provide stronger federal oversight and accountability for improving Medicaid eligibility and redetermination systems to ensure eligible children retain coverage.

In the U.S., 1 in 10 young adults experience homelessness each year, with disproportionate impacts on American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, multiracial, and Hispanic youth and youth who have been involved with the child welfare or juvenile justice systems. Current housing solutions for youth homelessness often lack flexibility or are not readily available, leaving many young adults waiting long periods of time without stable housing. However, the Cash Plus Model offers a promising alternative — pairing direct cash transfers with youth-driven supportive services to empower young adults in securing safe, stable housing. Chapin Hall has developed two briefs: one describing the Cash Plus Model and the second evaluating the Cash Plus Model implementation in New York City and San Francisco.

Many young people transition to adulthood without access to familial resources and struggle to meet their basic needs. Public benefit programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), housing subsidies, and Medicaid can help young people meet these needs at a critical time in their lives. Young people also need sufficient cash income to meet specific needs these in-kind programs do not provide, and some may receive this through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. However, many young people do not access programs they are eligible for. This Urban Institute report presents the results of a literature scan for evidence about what works to expand young people’s access to public benefits. This report highlights various promising approaches, including targeted youth outreach, benefit navigation, cross-organizational partnerships, simplifying or expanding eligibility, and enhancing administrative efficiency and effectiveness.

Child Trends partnered with Generation Work, an initiative that connects employers to young adults, especially young people of color and those from low-income families, with stable jobs. As a result, they developed a series of three case studies to explore how employers can use positive youth development practices to better support young workers. These case studies highlight discussions from focus groups at Generation Work sites in Chicago and Birmingham and interviews with workforce development practitioners.

In today's rapidly evolving job market, the importance of social capital, connections, and robust networks for youth career success cannot be overstated. Social capital plays a critical role in helping young people navigate the complexities of career development, and building it requires intentional effort and strategic planning. The National Youth Employment Coalition is hosting a webinar on September 26, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss the transformative power of social capital and potential strategies to help young people build it.

In 2016, the Annie E. Casey Foundation launched Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP™), a national initiative that helps youth and young adults who have been involved in the foster care or justice systems or who have experienced homelessness succeed in school and work by building and expanding education and employment pathways. Through partnerships with public agencies, postsecondary education, housing, service providers and more, LEAP partners are working toward improving policies and practices that place more systems-involved young people on positive economic trajectories. This Annie E. Casey Foundation brief shares the key takeaways from an evaluation conducted to better understand their efforts in tackling the root causes of disconnection from education and careers with systems-involved youth.

The Department of Labor’s Division of Youth Services will be hosting a webinar on August 28, 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET, which will explore different frameworks of youth engagement in the decision-making processes of workforce development. This session is designed for anyone interested in understanding and enhancing youth participation in workforce development.

In 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) launched the Youth Employment Works strategy to set a clear vision for young people in the workforce system and its public and private sector partners. This work is urgent and necessary to promote high quality career pathways for young workers to ensure they are prepared and empowered to engage in a dynamic labor market full of opportunities. This DOL resource lays out a roadmap for how they are aligning their programs and funds to advance this vision. The resource highlights additional links that provide guidance outlining promising practices for partnership and service delivery through the youth workforce system as well as the national Call to Action on Youth Employment.

The five-year initiative New Skills for Youth (NSFY) aimed to transform career readiness education and bridge the skills gap by supporting innovative strategies in 10 states across the United States. This Advance CTE report shares the successes and challenges of sustaining the work beyond the conclusion of the NSFY initiative, and through a global pandemic, in six of the states: Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. From the experiences of each of these states, the resource presents specific recommendations and action steps for state and local leaders on how to sustain career pathways for long-term success.