[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 25, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S5075]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                COMBATTING VIOLENCE WITH JOBS FOR YOUTH

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, a recent op-ed article in the Boston 
Globe emphasizes the severity of the employment problems facing today's 
youth and its relationship to the increase in gang and gun-related 
violence in the Nation's cities.
  Easy access to guns and other dangerous weapons and the shameful 
prevalence of drugs are major contributors to this problem, but so too 
is the lack of job opportunities available for our youth. We have 
failed to develop job programs that will help these youths build a 
future without guns and gangs.
  In the Globe piece, William Spring, the distinguished former vice 
president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and a senior member of 
the domestic policy staff in the Carter administration, and Andrew Sum 
of Northeastern's Center for Labor Market Studies, argue that although 
we face a very real problem with youth unemployment, we can do 
something constructive about it. The only question is whether we have 
the will and the wisdom to make the investments necessary to enable our 
youth to seek, find, and take advantage of the job opportunities that 
can transform their lives and make our communities safer and stronger.
  I believe the article will be of interest to all of us in Congress, 
and I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record.

                 [From the Boston Globe, Apr. 5, 2007]

                Combatting Violence With Jobs for Youths

                   (By William Spring and Andrew Sum)

       During the past few weeks, attention has been focused on 
     the rise in fatal shootings and gang-related activities in 
     Boston. Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino 
     recently announced joint efforts to combat gang violence, 
     including an expansion in youth summer jobs. Renewed public 
     policy attention to youth labor market problems in Boston and 
     the state is clearly warranted. While the overall number of 
     jobs has increased over the past few years, the labor market 
     for teenagers in both the nation and state has remained 
     extraordinarily weak.
       Employment rates for the nation's and state's teens (age 
     16-19) in 2005 and 2006 were the lowest in the past 50 years. 
     Male high school students and dropouts across the state have 
     found it particularly difficult to find work over the past 
     six years, often increasing their involvement in gang and 
     criminal activities.
       To make matters worse, job opportunities for high school 
     youths are distributed unevenly across key demographic and 
     socioeconomic groups. In 2005, white high school youths were 
     twice as likely to work as black youths and 40 percent more 
     likely than Hispanic youths. The need for a concerted set of 
     public policy responses both short-term and long-term is 
     needed.
       A variety of favorable educational, social, and labor 
     market outcomes can be generated from an expansion of in-
     school work opportunities for high school students, 
     especially those from race-ethnic minority and low-income 
     groups.
       National research has shown that minority and low-income 
     youths who work in high school are less likely to drop out 
     than their peers who do not work. Students with jobs that 
     offer work-based learning opportunities are more likely to 
     see the relevance of school curriculum to future job 
     performance and remain more committed to their school work.
       Teenage women who live in local areas that provide more job 
     opportunities to them are less likely to become pregnant, and 
     male teens are less likely to become involved with the 
     criminal justice system. National, state, and local research 
     also consistently reveals that work in high school 
     facilitates the transition to the labor market upon 
     graduation and increases the annual earnings of youth in 
     their late teens and early 20s.
       There are a variety of workforce development strategies 
     that can be pursued to boost employment opportunities for 
     high school students during the regular school year and the 
     summer.
       First, the hiring of professional staff to work with 
     students and employers to create work-based learning 
     opportunities, paid internships, and regular job 
     opportunities is important, especially for youth from low-
     income families and those whose parents do not work. Job 
     brokering services of these career specialists also can 
     broaden the range of jobs by industry and occupation to which 
     high school students can be exposed.
       At a minimum, maintaining last year's increased funding for 
     the existing Connecting Activities Program at $7 million can 
     help local Workforce Investment Boards increase the hiring of 
     staff to work with students and employers to improve teen job 
     prospects. The governor and Legislature should jointly 
     support an increase in funding for such connecting activities 
     and demand strong accountability for performance.
       Second, employers who provide work-based learning 
     opportunities and wages for students in school-to-career 
     programs should receive tax credits for their hiring and 
     training of high school students. Many employers provide 
     important staff support and in-kind contributions to such 
     programs and should be rewarded for their efforts.
       Third, the governor should encourage all state agencies to 
     promote the hiring of high school students during the summer 
     months, and more of the state's mayors and town managers 
     should follow the lead of Menino in promoting the hiring of 
     their high school students by the private sector.
       Fourth, the state should adopt a youth apprenticeship 
     program similar to that of the state of Wisconsin's and more 
     aggressively promote apprenticeship training under the 
     existing system in our state. Young workers in Wisconsin can 
     receive youth apprenticeship training in up to 21 
     occupational fields under the state's system, thereby 
     providing employers with access to young skilled workers in a 
     structured work/training system.
       Massachusetts should aim to become a national leader in 
     both the employment and training of its high school students 
     and out-of-school youth. A more successful youth employment 
     and training system can help promote the future growth and 
     quality of our state's resident labor force and help stem 
     high levels of out-migration.

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