March Edition 2011 - New York Nonprofit Press

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4 New York Nonprofit Press www.nynp.biz March 2011 EDITORIAL BoardServeNYC BUILD YOUR NONPROFIT BOARD BoardServeNYC connects nonprofits to a talented pool of New Yorkers who are passionate about service and are ready, willing and able to serve as board members. BoardServeNYC: • Is FREE to New York City nonprofits of all types • Offers referral and matching services that connect the right candidates to the right nonprofits • Matches nonprofits with potential board candidates who have undergone training in nonprofit governance and work in fields, such as finance, marketing, IT, fundraising, law, operations and human resources • Provides support and guidance to nonprofits in how to effectively engage candidates and utilize new board members Visit BoardServeNYC.org to sign up for this free service For additional ways to engage volunteers in service, visit nyc.gov/service PROUD PARTNER “Who Cares?” We All Must! “The opening salvo in what is likely to be an existential struggle in this nation over the role of government in general… and the future of human services in particular.” That is how we describe the February 19th vote by the Republican-led House of Representatives to slash $61 billion from the current year federal budget for domestic, non-discretionary spending. Are we being overwrought and alarmist? I don’t think so. House Bill HR1, if enacted, would represent a 13.8% cut to budget allocations for a broad range of human service and other essential programs. However, due to the mid-year timing of the proposal, it would force a 24% cut in spending for the remaining of the fiscal year. The bill would cut Head Start funding by 15% and 157,000 children; slash employment and training services by 52%; drastically reduce Pell Grants that help low income kids get to college; cut low income housing programs; and virtually eliminate a host of highly effective and vitally important programs serving low income, high-need communities, e.g. the Corporation for National and Community Service and AmeriCorps, Youth Build, Re-Integration of Ex-Offenders, Mentoring Children of Prisoners, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Grants, Even Start Family Literacy, Teach for America, and many others. Will HR1 become law… at least as written? Not likely. The Senate’s Democratic leadership has already stated that the House’s proposed cuts to programs and services are far too extreme. Nevertheless, it seems almost certain that human service providers – and the people they serve -- will not escape the debate over this year’s spending – or next year’s budget – without taking very, very, significant reductions in budgeted resources. President Obama has already conceded that he will seek a freeze on domestic discretionary spending for the next five years while imposing significant cuts on some programs, such as 50% reductions in Community Services Block Grant funding and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). If this is the starting point for negotiations, human services are clearly in trouble. Remember, many House Republicans -- particularly newly elected, Tea Party-powered members -- feel that HR1 doesn’t go anywhere near far enough. And, unfortunately, HR1 is not the only budget measure designed to reduce budget deficits primarily through cuts to low-income, vulnerable citizens -- without any thought of asking for some sacrifice or increased contribution from the wealthiest among us. Both Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg have prided themselves on offering budget proposals with “no new taxes” while simultaneously asking for enormous cuts to spending on government operations and services. The Governor, for example is proposed a whopping $9 billion in spending reductions with approximately two-thirds coming from health and education. Hundreds of millions more in cuts to human services programs are hidden in funding shifts and reductions in aid to localities. Mayor Bloomberg, on the other hand, barely even acknowledged what we estimate to be $370 million in cuts to human services, including the elimination of 16,629 child care slots and the closing of 110 senior centers. All this is on top of the loss of 6,000 public school teachers. So, who cares? You do! As the men and women on the front lines, you actually understand the critical importance of human services to New Yorkers. Now, it is time to make sure that the people you serve… as well as their families, friends and neighbors… also understand the importance of human services in their lives and the lives of those they care about. The Human Services Council of New York has just launched a new advocacy campaign – “Who Cares? I Do!” – designed to get this message out and build support for human services among the general public. They – all New Yorkers and all Americans – need to know what it is they are about to lose… before it is too late. We urge you to visit www.whocares-ido.org and join the effort by signing the petition and sharing the story of human services – your stories – with your friends and neighbors. It has never been more critical for supporters of human services to come together and make their voices heard. Thank you for your support New York Nonprofit Press Wishes to Thank Our Newest 2011 Organizational Sponsors Community Sponsors The Keon Center, C.A.R.C. Inc. Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island, Inc. Weston United Community Renewal, Inc. LEAD CORPORATE SPONSOR GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER. LIVE UNITED unitedwaynyc.org Learn more about becoming a 2011 Organization Sponsor Call Robby - 866-336-6967 Without Your Help We Can’t Be There
March 2011 New York Nonprofit Press www.nynp.biz 5 POINT OF VIEW In the Aftermath of the Recession: What is Happening to Young Adults? What has happened to youth who dropped out of school in the 90’s? Jonathan works in a community college as security, still seeking that degree. Evan is homeless and sleeps in the trains. Alicia is on her way to a master’s and a teaching career. Her 21 year old daughter is on her way to college. And Sammy, sweet-natured, enterprising: dead in a gun fight over drug turf. 1 In the past, about half of the students who dropped out of high school eventually got a diploma, job or both. But this is changing. Today, dropouts have the highest unemployment rates on record. While exacerbated by the recession, the problem is structural and will worsen unless addressed by aggressive policy. Jobs with decent wages require higher skills than in the past and there are fewer of them. Older workers are hanging on to their jobs longer. Youth of color experience the worst of it. In June 2010, only 25% of young black men in NYC held a job, according to the Wall Street Journal. 2 Another worrisome indicator, the number of 18 to 29 year olds served in the city’s homeless shelters has nearly doubled since 2002. 3 Given the impending cuts threatening all social service sectors of our city, it is important to consider the long term impacts. The presence of more than 200,000 youth who are out of school and not working means that our city as well as individuals and families will pay a high price in future social costs, lost tax revenue and personal income. The Alliance for Excellent Education estimates that for NYC, the additional combined individual income and tax revenue if just half these youth obtained diplomas would exceed $592 million - in just 1 year. 4 The period between 16 and 24 years of age is one of great potential for growth. But lack of the opportunities provided by work and education stunts the development of skills and attitudes necessary for success in the labor market. Lifetime earnings and even marriage potential are reduced by prolonged unemployment. 5 During the last five years, the Youth Development Institute has worked closely with NYC organizations and colleges serving these young people. Here are some lessons from that as well as prior work. First: policy and practice solutions must address those who are least skilled. Most dropouts are not even eligible for GED level education because of low skills. But many can make rapid progress towards further education and 1 Follow-up research by the author with youth from a PreGED program he directed. 2 See the Wall Street Journal report about the recent Community Service Society Study: Only One in Four Young Black Men Have a Job in New York City, Metropolis Blog, 12/14/10 3 Cited in Child Welfare Watch, winter 2010, 2011, Page 30. 4 http://www.all4ed.org/publication_material/EconMSAsoc 5 In 2007, before the recession, only 41% of 16 – 19 year old dropouts had worked during the previous year, according to Andrew Sum of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeast University. The problem is much worse today. See, The Kids Aren’t Alright: http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/bp258 6 MDRC’s Dan Bloom has prepared a useful update of relevant research: http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/docs/20_01_05.pdf. Few studies, however, deal in-depth with the important role of academic learning for this population. 7 For information about the CEO initiatives: http://www.nyc.gov/html/ceo/html/programs/young_adult_programs. shtml 8 See Promising Practices in Working with Young Adults for practices that support this integration: http://www. ydinstitute.org/resources/publications/PromisingPractices.pdf 9 The recent Harvard paper, Pathways to Prosperity, makes the same point, for a broader population: http://www. gse.harvard.edu/blog/news_features_releases/2011/02/report-calls-for-national-effort-to-get-millions-of-youngamericans-onto-a-realistic-path-to-employa.html. Peter Kleinbard work if provided the right opportunities. Secondly, there is encouraging news from leading young adult “brands”: YouthBuild, Year Up, City Year, and AmeriCorps. These focus, however, on youth who have diplomas or are close to attaining them. This is true also for the Workforce Investment Act for out of school youth, the largest public funding stream. Together, these initiatives reach only a fraction of the population. Successful initiatives should be expanded, if warranted by rigorous evaluation. Pathways and programs for low-skilled youth must be constructed that lead to these programs and beyond. 6 Such programs are being developed by the NYC Center for Economic Opportunity which has established several in collaboration with the Department of Youth and Community Development and other NYC agencies focusing on the young adult population including those who are low skilled or coming out of incarceration. 7 Two initiatives of the Youth Development Institute, Community Education Pathways to Success and College Access and Success at the NYC College of Technology, are focused on increasing the ability of organizations to serve these youth and now in 25 sites. Thirdly, reading comprehension, writing, math and problem solving are essential for success in today’s workforce. In NYC and nationally, only about 30% of dropouts read at levels that make them eligible even for preparation to study for the GED diploma. We have known this for more than a decade, but much investment still chases jobs which often turn out to be short term when youth lack skills. Indeed, the current national focus on college means little for this population unless they can both obtain the GED, and do so at a high score –requiring strong skills. This calls for change among programs for older youth, balancing work experience with strong education informed by youth development. Organizations must increase capacity, requiring training and, often, restructuring. Today, much of what passes for education in the young adult field is merely test prep. 9 Finally, in the past, private foundations have led with initiatives such as YouthBuild and NYC’s Multiple Pathways to Graduation in collaboration with the public sector. These have changed the prospects for thousands of young people and attracted public dollars. Given the current lack funding and the political impasse, the private sector must again lead the way, setting the stage for new public policy in the future. Young people who drop out need “multiple pathways” after high school, combinations of highly structured work experiences or community service and education linked to paid jobs and further education. 9 Their work experiences can contribute useful services in communities. Advocacy with the public sector should be the priority. There is ample evidence of the potential long term costs of ignoring this issue and of approaches that will make a difference. This can be used to drive advocacy campaigns. New and continuing efforts must: • Build on research about needs and what works. • Look for opportunities to build pathways, linking programs that help youth to move to higher levels of proficiency and connect them to paid work and further education. Currently, much funding is siloed such that youth rarely move to higher level programs even if they improve their skills. • There are no shortcuts: generic, “businessoriented” outcomes models may be appear useful, but will not assure good investments without deep knowledge of the field. Draw upon strong researchers and leading practitioners to identify what works and the gaps. • Be rigorous. Examine skeptically ideas that may be popular today such as college for all, organizational partnerships, quick job placements. Each offers value, but needs to be addressed in nuanced ways, building on what is producing results in reasonable time spans and for reasonable dollars. Enabling thousands of young adults to further their education and work experience will reduce future social and personal costs and build a more equitable society. Progress, given our current political and economic challenges, will require flexibility, boldness, and private sector leadership. Peter Kleinbard works as a consultant on youth and education issues and was formerly the Executive BRONX SPACE FOR LEASE IDEAL FOR OFFICE, NON-PROFIT, SCHOOL, DAYCARE, MEDICAL Alexander Avenue/Bruckner Blvd. Two blocks from train. 15,000 square feet of pristine office space ready for occupany, can be divided. 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