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YDRF Communication Strategy
Are Youth Services Professionals “Keeping it real” or “Makin’ It” Right?” What YDRF Wants You to Do to Make It Right for Millions.

By Edward DeJesus

While many so-called leaders are jumping behind the rhetoric “leave no child is left behind,” hundreds of thousands of youth and young adults are still struggling to find a place for themselves in society. The biggest threat to homeland security is the lack of quality educations. The new weapon of mass destruction is unemployment. And no matter how much policy makers and legislators try to deceive us, the crisis abroad can no way compare to the crisis in the streets of America.

Here’s what is going on:

More than half of the young people in the twenty largest school districts never complete the twelfth grade.
For every ten students who do start high school, fewer than three will complete a Bachelor’s degree.
Only 11% of high school drop-outs are employed full time.
Nine out of ten of the approximately 11,000 youth in adult facilities have, at best, a ninth grade education.
Only 2% of GED Holders complete four or more years of postsecondary education.

A recent national survey of registered voters conducted by YDRF and polling firm Lake, Snell, and Perry shows that for most Americans, supporting youth who need support to complete the 12th grade is not a major concern. Additionally, voters’ feedback demonstrates that they are not truly informed about the vast number of youth who find themselves in these positions, the reasons behind their struggles, and/or the array of challenges and opportunities confronting these young people. Unfortunately, despite vast public and political ignorance regarding these youth, the economic costs of not providing all youth with the support they need to complete their education is severe. Eighteen percent of white, 40% of African American and 18% of Hispanic youth who don’t complete the 12th grade are unemployed and the recent economic downswing has impacted these youth more than any other single demographic group. At the same time, government investment in services for these young people is at an all-time low and further budget cuts in employment and training and alternative educational programming have already been announced. Dr. Andy Sum of Northeastern University states that for the 5.2 million out-of-school youth in the U.S.; the Federal government only provides 200,000 training slots to connect these youth to jobs and education. It seems clear, then, that while the political and public dialogue surrounding “leave no child behind” has never been greater, millions of youth are being undervalued by society and overlooked by policy makers.

Public Opinion

With the support of the Mott Foundation and through the assistance of national polling firm Lake, Snell, and Perry, YDRF developed and fielded a national survey to registered voters to garner their opinions on “out-of-school youth” and providing this population with high quality educational opportunities. A series of focus groups in field houses across the country helped YDRF to prepare the survey and provided in-depth accounts from the public regarding their feelings on “out-of-school” youth and supporting this population in their educational efforts. Based on the findings of the survey and focus groups, YDRF has learned that four essential steps must be taken in order to ensure that advocacy messages on behalf of this population will be well received:

1. Youth advocates must change the nature and the way out-of-school youth are described and tell their stories.

Polling data and the focus groups revealed that advocates for youth who did not complete the 12th grade must be careful about the language that they use when describing this population. The public has a very negative perception of the term “dropout,” viewing dropouts similarly to delinquent youth. At the same time, the public felt the term “out-of-school youth” was vague and misleading and could refer to youth in a variety of situations such as taking a semester off from college. Youth advocates must find a term such as “youth who were not provided the support needed to complete the twelfth grade”or “youth who need options beyond the streets” that is clear, concise, and that shifts the “blame” away from young people themselves.
Seventy-three percent of voters attributed students dropping out to environmental factors and reported that they were more sympathetic to these kinds of challenges. The primary causes adults cited were peer pressure at 18% and problems at home at 17%. This viewpoint is encouraging because it demonstrates that the majority of voters don’t place the blame for dropping out squarely on youth such as involved with drugs and alcohol” (5 %) or “academically poor” (3%). As a result, youth advocates should encourage young people, when telling their stories, to not focus on their own deficits or poor choices, but on the environmental challenges and “bad hand” they were dealt from the start.

2. More effort must be placed in educating the public and policy makers about the issues that surround the widespread lack of support needed for many young people to complete the 12th grade.

Only 6% of voters list high dropout rates as the biggest problem facing education today. In contrast, 24% cite the lack of funding, 22% a lack of parental involvement, and 18% poor quality teachers. When asked specifically about whether youth dropping out is a large problem, 86% of voters think it’s a big problem; yet, less than one-third of voters express personal concern. The implication is that voters don’t realize the severity of the dropout problem and feel they have little personal connection to this social plight. While voters understand that the high dropout rate is a significant problem, advocacy campaigns must work to provide voters with a compelling reason to care about “out-of-school youth” and their educational progress. Advocates must show voters that youth who did not receive the support needed to complete the 12th grade is not simply an “inner city” or “bad parent” problem, but can affect middle class American families with strong values.
Voters rated GED programs, Job Training programs, and alternative education at an 80% approval rating or better. When asked to asses what happens to students who dropout, however, only 9% felt that youth would eventually “make it,” while 50% said youth would be economically challenged and 22% said youth would be engaged in criminal activity. Perhaps one clue to resolving this disconnect comes from the finding that only 22% of voters felt they knew “a lot” about educational programs for out-of-school youth. Youth advocates must strive to educate the public and policy makers about the vast need for services and the lack of resources confronting most programs, and must highlight youth success stories.

3. Clear and measurable policy options must be offered which holds state governments accountable and which pushes for family strengthening.

Seventy-six percent of all voters cited parents as the number one or number two group most responsible for youth dropping out. In a distant second ranked students at 50% and teachers at 36%. This finding suggests that youth advocates should pursue public and political support for resource allocation to programs and policies that promote family strengthening and parental skills as a pathway to achieving youth development outcomes.
When looking at combined responses, nearly every demographic group looks to the state government to ensure the support need for all young people to complete the 12th grade or receive other high quality education opportunities. While its clear that work needs to be done on the federal, state, and local levels, youth advocates may want to focus the brunt of their efforts on the state level.

4. Hip-Hop Must be Used as a Tool to Influence Youth and Society

Eighty-seven percent of all voters felt that hip-hop has a strong influence on youth.
This finding suggest that youth advocates find a way to utilize the power of hip-hop music and culture to reach youth with positive messages and information about opportunities and supports. Moreover, youth advocates must find a way to use hip-hop to change public perception and ill will to out-of-school, unemployed youth.

We would love to hear about what you are doing in each of these areas: Please e-mail us at ed@ydrf.com.

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