Don’t let at-risk youth slip between the cracks

The past year has seen nonprofit organizations weathering sea changes in the way the government and the community look at social services, particularly for teens and young adults.

As social service provid-ers, we are facing new realities that demand new solu- tions for our clients — ones that we believe will help them get a toehold on a good life. These are rooted in our understanding of what works best with young people, what resources are still available, and what the community will stand behind.

When everything is changing in the community, from expectations to funding, it is important for organizations like Hale Kipa to find ways of adapting so our youth get the help they need. For us, that adaptation has taken a greater focus on academic and vocational education, so our youth can benefit from the skills we teach them and be sent off into adulthood on a healthier trajectory.

In 2013, Hale Kipa will be expanding its focus on academic and vocational education with a specific independent living skills curriculum and career planning tools to assess more youth. Various forms of alternative education also are being evaluated, since most of the youth we work with are at tremendous risk for homelessness. Without the education, skills and training needed to get a good job, they are doomed to minimum-wage jobs or unemployment.

We must secure a place in society for the so-called "opportunity youth," the population of 16- to 24-year-olds who are neither in school nor employed. Depending on estimates used, 20 to 25 percent of Hawaii’s youth are at risk of dropping out of school. For older youth, 28 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds and 14 percent of 20- to 24-year-olds are neither employed nor enrolled in school. When they fail in school or in the workplace, we all lose.

That’s the key finding of a report by the Hawaii Community Foundation, entitled "Analysis of the Fiscal Resources Supporting At-Risk Youth, Ages 13-24, in Hawaii." The estimated cost, such as lost wages, for just one year of dropouts (2008) is $1.4 billion.

One way to keep youth moving forward is to offer competency-based education, which is based on competency and proficiency, not grade level. Essentially, when the students master the body of material that is necessary to move to the next body of material, they move on. When they finish mastering the requisite body of material that allows them to graduate, they do.

Several alternative models of education are being explored that may be more appropriate for this population, and are beginning to offer remedial training for youth in some programs.

We are also embracing "Wraparound Services" — putting the youth at the center, and filling in the picture with all the agencies that can provide for the youth’s needs. In this spirit, relationships are being built with other providers of alternative education in order to ensure our youth have access to all available solutions.

One thing is certain: The winds of social and public policy have changed dramatically and technologies have shifted. But the need to prepare young people for life after youth services hasn’t gone away. Skills that are normally passed on in intact families are often lacking in our youth, and if our programs don’t succeed in moderating their behavioral and emotional issues, they are at risk to be unsuccessful as young adults.

It is critical that we, along with other social service providers, understand the human service needs of our clients, not just their lack of life skills. Otherwise, we are much more likely to end up providing other kinds of services to them: criminal, judicial and correctional.

We look ahead to the coming year with optimism that we can provide the best array of services to help young people through the most difficult times in their lives. Dealing with at-risk adolescents, we will struggle for adequate resources in lean times, but the conscience of the community in regard to youth services must be maintained.