Brief
Policies and practices that support young men of color in their teen years can help put them on the path to lead healthy and productive lives. Young men of color face more obstacles in education, employment, and health than their white peers. In order to improve health and success of middle- and high school-aged young men of color, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) launched Forward Promise in 2011.To inform this new initiative and better understand the issues at work, RWJF engaged the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) to conduct roundtable discussions, online surveys, and telephone…
A Time for Action lays out a vision to increase opportunity for boys and young men of color and benefit the entire country. While it focuses on systems, policies and practices to improve life outcomes for young men of color, the recommended actions also help to create the conditions for children and young adults to thrive, regardless of race, ethnicity or gender. The report highlights four key areas where collective action by the public and private sector will make the most significant difference: health, education, career and justice. This includes creating school environments to help boys…
The ability of young people to forge and sustain healthy relationships can affect almost every aspect of their lives--school and work success, physical and mental health, and the overall health and well-being of their own children. Helping young people thrive and overcome barriers to economic and personal success requires more than ensuring they complete their secondary education and workforce development. Providing youth with the necessary skills to form and sustain healthy intimate relationships is also an essential part of their future success. (Author abstract)
In our discussion, we review and synthesize research evidence on five identified domains of instability that have been well established in the literature: family income, parental employment, family structure, housing, and the out-of-home contexts of school and child care. In our review of the evidence, we also discuss some of the key pathways through which instability may affect development. Specifically, research points to the underlying role of parenting, parental mental health, and the home environment in providing the stability and support young children need for positive development. We…
