FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Illinois YouthBuild Coalition

Funding Position Paper

BACKGROUND:

The U.S. economy is completing its tenth consecutive year of economic growth -- the longest sustained period of economic growth in our history. Over 23 million new jobs have been created since 1991, and the unemployment rate at close to 4% is the lowest since the late ‘60s. Out-of-school young people (16-24) have also benefited from this economic progress.

Yet, in 1999, more than 5 million youth were out-of-school and out-of work. Only about one-half of the nation’s youth lacking a high school diploma or a GED held a job; only a third were working full- time; only 1 in 6 were able to get a full-time job paying more than the poverty level ($320 a week).

Consider the evidence:

	Over the past 20 years, the inflation-adjusted weekly earnings of young people 16-24 have dropped precipitously (26% for males; 11% for females), despite our recent robust economy.
	In 1999, this country had 5.4 million 16-24 year old jobless high school graduates and dropouts. Almost half of them (2.3 million) are economically disadvantaged.
	Minority youth continue to experience particular difficulties in penetrating the labor market.
	White and non-Hispanic high school graduates and dropouts comprise 48% of the 5.4 million jobless.
	At the same time, employers are begging for skilled workers, increasing their requests for H-1B certifications each year to bring in foreign workers, rather than training our own.
	The criminal justice system has become the biggest growth industry for disconnected young people, incarcerating unparalleled numbers of young males, especially minorities, and in the process consuming increasing public resources.
	After declining for most of the past 20 years, the nation’s youth population (16-24) is projected to grow by 4.6 million or 14% between now and 2010 with two-thirds of the net growth being Asians, Hispanics, and African-Americans. Immigrant youth, for whom English is a second language, will greatly change the profile of American youth.
	The academic standards movement and the implementation of high-stakes tests tied to graduation threaten to exacerbate an already critical situation in which many urban school districts are already losing 50% or more of their entering 9th graders before graduation.

20 years ago the nation invested 9 billion dollars (in today’s dollars) in youth employment and development; today, we invest a third of that amount, despite the problems and challenges just enumerated.

The good news is that we have learned a lot from research and experience about how to change that picture. WE KNOW WHAT WORKS in order to help young people succeed in the workplace and in life generally. We have learned that young people want to turn their lives around and can turn their lives around IF given the right combination of caring adult support, training in smaller, less anonymous settings, leadership development, rigorous education and training options coupled with meaningful work experience with performance based standards linked to 21^st century labor market expectations, and clear pathways to post-secondary education and career ladder jobs. Many innovative and inspiring national and local programs demonstrate every day that we know what it takes to keep young people engaged and on track to become skilled and productive workers and responsible parents and citizens.

YOUTHBUILD is one such program which has produced remarkable results, and is ready to be expanded to reach 10 times as many young people as it currently does.

There is a shortage of 200,000 construction workers in the U.S., and the economy as a whole is hungry for good entry level workers.

Many building blocks for more coherent and effective youth policies are in place:

ü Several federal agencies play a responsible role today in developing policies and programs, including the Departments of Labor, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Defense, Energy, Justice, Health and Human Services, Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, and National Park Service;

ü There is an infrastructure within almost every community of non-profit agencies, faith-based organizations, community-based organizations and community colleges that stand ready to address this challenge -- if given the resources within an intelligently designed delivery system;

ü Governors and mayors across the nation are mobilizing Workforce Investment Boards and Youth Councils to put youth back on the agenda and create rational, comprehensive local delivery systems;

ü Unions and private employers are already engaged in public/private partnerships for recruiting and training workers;

ü A bipartisan majority in Congress has steadily supported youth employment and training and development programs and could be persuaded to support and sustain a significantly larger initiative.

THE ILLINOIS STORY

According to a recent study, Illinois ranks 5^th highest in the nation in terms of numbers of out-of-school, unemployed young people between 16-24, with the City of Chicago 3^rd highest in the nation. These numbers are projected to grow by over 20% in the next decade, with Illinois retaining its current ranking, unless a coordinated investment in the education and training of this generation of high school dropouts takes place.

Toward that end, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Illinois YouthBuild Act in 1997, and since 1998, the Illinois Department of Human Services has provided funding for existing Illinois YouthBuild programs. This funding, totaling $300,000 per year ($75,000 per program for four existing programs) has been allocated by DHS from its Administrative Savings Fund, rather than a distinct line item in the budget, but is authorized under the Illinois YouthBuild Act.

In concert with a planned expansion nationally, the Illinois YouthBuild Coalition is recommending an increase in state funding for YouthBuild. Nationally, HUD has received 2,770 funding applications during the past 7 years, and has funded only 406 of those applications (15%). Communities must rely on a mixture of other public and private funds to sustain their programs. Just during the past year, many other Illinois communities have either submitted applications for funding to HUD, or are planning programs. These include Springfield, Maywood, Aurora, Joliet, Decatur, Peoria, Lake County, Kankakee, North Chicago, Champaign, Harvey, Elgin, and several in the City of Chicago, where three newly funded HUD programs will open this year.

From the standpoint of program quality and sustainability, it is essential that each operating YouthBuild site have sufficient funds to maintain its program from year to year. To assist in that effort, the Illinois YouthBuild Coalition (through funding from YouthBuild USA) has hired a development officer to concentrate on raising private funds to be distributed to its member sites. In addition, YouthBuild USA is proposing an increase in the federal appropriation for YouthBuild from its current level at $60M to $140M. If approved this would allow existing programs to be funded, and would allow expansion to an additional 30 sites nationwide.

PROPOSAL: The Illinois YouthBuild Coalition is recommending that the State of Illinois allocate funds sufficient to provide each operating site with grants of $150,000 per year, and increase that appropriation over the next 4 years to reach a maximum of $250,000 per site per year. In addition, the State should administratively determine an amount to be awarded to sites in the planning phase, probably not to exceed $50,000 per site. This would provide sites with a portion of required funds, and offer a mechanism for communities to accomplish the required planning to begin programs. The matrix below illustrates the projected impact over the next five years:

The Coalition appreciates the support and enthusiasm surrounding the YouthBuild movement in Illinois, and looks forward to increasing its effort to serve the out-of-school, unemployed youth of the State. We welcome your comments, suggestions, and input on this proposal.