Transcript New Orleans

Addressing Issues of Exclusion
and Inequity
Opening Pathways for Opportunity Youth
October 19, 2012
New Orleans
Hurricane Katrina provided the catalyst for
change…
• Education
• Economy
• Community
In 2011, New Orleans…
Ranked #1:
• Most Improved (Best Cities for Business) Wall Street
Journal
•
•
•
•
•
IT Job Growth in USA Forbes
Area for Employment Brookings Institute
America’s Biggest Brain Magnet Forbes
Top City for Young Entrepreneurs Under30CEO.com
City for Education Reform Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Change amplified
exclusion and inequity
Louisiana
Nationally, Louisiana ranks:
• 49th in “Indicators of Child Well-being”
• 42nd for teens not in school and not high
school graduates
• 40th for teens not in school and not working
Source: KIDS COUNT 2011, Annie E. Casey Foundation
Opportunity Youth
In New Orleans, of youth 18-24 years,
23% were not attending school, not
working, and had no degree beyond high
school in 2009.
Source: KIDS COUNT 2011, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Opportunity Youth
… are young adults aged 16-24 years who are
neither connected to school nor work.
In the United States,
6.7 million youth aged 16-24
years are considered Opportunity
Youth.
In 2011, Opportunity Youth cost
taxpayers approximately
$93 billion in lost tax revenues
and increased costs for social
services.
Source: Opportunity Road: The Promise and Challenge
of America’s Forgotten Youth, January 2012
In New Orleans,
between 12,195 and 15,781 lowincome youth aged 16-24 years
are considered Opportunity
Youth.
In 2011, Opportunity Youth in
New Orleans cost taxpayers
between $170 – 220 million in
lost tax revenues and increased
costs for social services.
Source: Building and Inclusive, High-skilled Workforce in
New Orleans’ Next Economy, March 2012
Opportunity Youth
Risk Factors
Poverty
Percentage living below the poverty level
• Of males
– 16-17 years: 41%
– 18-24 years: 35%
• Of females:
– 16-17 years: 27%
– 18-24 years: 39%
Source: City-Data.com NOLA Poverty Rate
Low Educational
Attainment
Cohort Dropout Rates
• Class of 2010
– RSD: 28%
– OPSB: Less than 5%
– Statewide: 17%
Source: Louisiana Department of Education
The RSD reported
1,170 dropouts from
the Class of 2010
and a cohort
graduation rate of
49.7%
Unemployment
Youth 16-19 years:
• New Orleans: 46%
(9,800)
• Louisiana: 31%
• United States: 30%
Youth 20-24 years:
• New Orleans: 27% (8,400)
• Louisiana: 17%
• United States: 17%
Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey
Crime
In 2009, the FBI identified New Orleans as
“the deadliest city in America” with a
murder rate 10 times the national average.
Since 2000, Louisiana’s teen death rate has
risen by 11 percent; nearly half (46%) of
teen homicide victims were residents of
New Orleans.
What factors contribute to
exclusion and inequity of youth
in your community?
Role of Tulane University
Youth development
Community health
Urban and cultural renewal
Disaster resilience
Service
Social innovation
Reconnecting
Opportunity Youth
• National best-practices
research
– Education Pathways
– Collective Impact
• Addressing the Issue locally
– Data guide
– Landscape analysis
• Proactive Role
Educational Pathways
• Key findings:
– Strategy:
• Proactive
• Reactive
– Approach:
•
•
•
•
Youth-centric
Cross-sector
Comprehensive
Outcome-driven
Defining the Issue
• Data Reference Guide
– The issue
– The impact
– The opportunity for New Orleans
Landscape Analysis
• Grounded in community voice
– Youth
– Nonprofits
– Government
– Businesses
• Identified major assets and gaps
Youth
“It’s hard to dream when you’re trying to
survive.”
Source: New Orleans Opportunity Youth Listening Session at Café Reconcile, April 2011
“Every young person needs and wants help and
relies on caring adults to find the right way to
say it: Don’t give up!”
Source: New Orleans Opportunity Youth Listening Session at Café Reconcile, April 2011
Nonprofit Service
Providers
• Challenges/Needs:
– Research and evaluation
– Policy and advocacy
– Resources:
• Funding
• Case managers
• Staff and volunteer capacity
– Employment for clients
Government
• NOLA for Life: increased emphasis on crime
prevention and intervention strategies
• Focus on symptoms, not root issue
Businesses
“There are many ways for businesses to get involved,
including hiring, creating internships and
apprenticeships, mentoring, providing scholarships,
and teaching skills development.”
“What is good for the community is good for
businesses.”
Businesses
“Businesses should be involved where they can be, but
the real work should be done by professionals who are
trained to deal with this population. Businesses can
help when youth WANT to work.”
“Generally, hiring at-risk youth has caused more
disappointments than successes.”
Businesses
“We tried to hire disconnected youth for entry
level positions, but we didn’t receive any
interest.”
Tulane’s Assets
• Convener
– Collective Impact: large-scale
social change requires broad,
cross-sector coordination
– Community reputation
Tulane’s Assets
• Educator
– School of Continuing Studies
– College readiness programs
Tulane’s Assets
• Research Institution
– Academic research
– Evaluation expertise
• Cowen Institute
– Child and Youth Master Plan
– Applied research (K-12
Education)
Tulane’s Assets
• Policy Advocate
– Policy research
– President Scott Cowen, a respected community
leader
Tulane’s Assets
• Other Resources:
– School of Social Work
– Center for Public Service
Tulane’s Assets
• Employer:
– Tulane is the largest private employer in New
Orleans and has close ties to other influential
employers, locally and globally.
– Commitment to equity in hiring and employment
Action Plan
Tulane Reconnects Opportunity Youth
In an effort to initiate immediate change, leaders from
key University departments and offices, as well as
Tulane contractors, are joining together to build robust
on-ramps to careers through a pilot employment
program for at-risk youth. To inspire more scalable
change, Tulane will prototype the workforce
development model and seek to enlist other regional
and eventually national employers to help address this
critical socioeconomic issue.
www.coweninstitute.com
Amy Barad [email protected]
Debra Vaughan [email protected]