1 / 10

Can We Raise Employment Prospects for Disadvantaged Men?

Explore key changes in economic and policy landscapes impacting disadvantaged men post-2000. Understand barriers, program successes, and potential policy reforms to enhance employment prospects for this vulnerable population.

pridgen
Download Presentation

Can We Raise Employment Prospects for Disadvantaged Men?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Can We Raise Employment Prospects for Disadvantaged Men? Harry J. Holzer Georgetown, AIR and Brookings April 2015

  2. Outline • Disadvantaged Men Since 2000: Changes in the Economic/Policy Environment • Knowing the Numbers and the Barriers • What Have We Learned from Program and Policy Evaluation? • Have Positive Changes Occurred in Federal or State Policy? • Going Forward

  3. Changes in the Environment Since 2000 • Around the Year 2000: “Discovery” of Offender/Reentry, NCP, and Disconnected Youth Populations by Workforce and Policy Communities • Since 2000: 1) Much Weaker Job Market! 2) More Offenders/NCPs 3) A Lot of Research/Policy Work

  4. What are the Numbers? • 1/3 of all black men incarcerated by age 35 • 2/3 of all black male HS dropouts incarcerated by age 35 • Incarcerated population: Over 2 million + Parole/Probation • NCPs: Over Half of All Black Fathers, About 70% of the Incarcerated • Disconnected Youth: 1 out of 6? • Declining Male Labor Force Participation..

  5. What are the Barriers? Research: Cancian, Heinrich, Meyer, Pate, Garfinkle; Pager, Western, Raphael and Stoll; Mincy; Edelman/Holzer/Offner/Sorensen At-Risk/Disconnected Youth: Poor Skills and Schooling – Dropouts, Grads Weak Work Experience/Attachment

  6. Barriers (Cont’d) Ex-Offenders: Further Demand/Supply Problems Federal and State Laws Employer Attitudes Background Checks (Mixed Effects) Less Work Experience, More Disconnection NCPs: Further Supply-Side Problems Orders and Arrears: Taxes on Earnings Distribution to State and Others

  7. Program/Policy Evaluation Difficult Populations….But Some Promising and Proven Results Disconnected Youth (Wimer and Bloom): • Prevention: SEL, Big Brother/Big Sister; Talent Development, Career Academies, Small Schools of Choice; ASAP/PUMA, Becoming a Man, Sectoral Training…Mentoring, Summer Jobs+CBT+Skills/Incentives; CTE or Work-Based Learning; CC Reforms and Incentives, Coaching and Informing • Reconnection: Job Corps, ChalleNGe, Jobs Plus, LaGuardia Bridge…

  8. Program/Policy Evaluation (Contd). Offenders/NCPs: • Transitional Jobs • NCP Choices (TX), Strong Fathers Initiative (NY) • EITC Many Others…Under Evaluation or Should Be Broader Questions: • For Whom? Very Different Characteristics…Harder to make progress with the THE or NCP/Offenders • How to Replicate and Scale the Successes?

  9. Federal/State Policy: Positive Changes Obama Administration - Rule-Making on: • Default Orders and Arrears Adjustment • Treating Incarceration as “Voluntary Unemp.” • Distribution of Funds to Families! • Employment Services Many States have Moved In These Directions…Growing Consensus

  10. Going Forward • On the Down Side: Federal political and fiscal environments – Little Legislative Change • On the Up Side: New Conservative Politics on Incarceration, Consensus on Issues Surrounding Fathers • Possibilities: A New Grand Bargain on Employment, Marriage/Contraception, Fatherhood? • No Reason to Give Up Hope!

More Related