Broadcast Objectives

Youth crime and the preparedness of court-involved youth to enter the labor market are serious concerns for the Nation. Among of the characteristics of youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system are poor school performance, limited social skills and poor communications skills. These deficiencies, along with negative perceptions and a lack of coordination and collaboration among agencies that deal with this population create serious impediments in preparing these youth for the changing labor market. Not only are jobs changing, but employers’ expectations are rising and work requires higher cognitive skill levels than ever before. Given the connection between joblessness and crime and between job preparation and earnings, it is critical that jurisdictions find a way both to prepare and connect these youth to this changing labor market.

In November, 2000 the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention recently released a summary report, Employment and Training for Court-Involved Youth, that resulted from a collaborative effort between federal agencies, universities, national organizations, juvenile justice and corrections associations, youth -serving programs, private foundations, and many other groups. The report identifies major barriers to employing these youth and provides examples of programs that overcome these barriers.

This national satellite videoconference will highlight some of the key findings of the report, especially those relating to the changing and increasingly complex labor market. It will also identify some of the barriers to providing employment and training opportunities for court-involved youth and ways in which agencies can collaborate to overcome these impediments. In particular, it will provide guidance to agencies that design and implement training programs to insure that the programs meet employer’s and industry requirements.  Promising programs and effective strategies for linking court-involved youth to the job market will be highlighted and representatives of those programs will be available to discuss  their successes and to answer participant’s questions.

Video Rights
You are encouraged to videotape the broadcast for use as a future resource.  No rights are reserved by OJJDP or its contractors, the Juvenile Justice Telecommunications Assistance Project (JJTAP).  This broadcast will be closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.

Designed by Screened Images Multimedia, a division of Screened Images, Inc. 
© 1998 | 159 Burgin Pkwy | Quincy, MA 02169