Focal Point: Social Institutions Area of Emphasis: Strategy: Cor. Em-1 Expansion of Employment Opportunities Implemention of a comprehensive employment program strategy through a cooperative effort by government and private enterprise to expand the number of available jobs. Commentary The implementation of a comprehensive employment program strategy is an important element in a delinquency prevention program. Unemployment and underemployment have often been cited as major factors contributing to juvenile delinquency. See National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, Report of the Task Force on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Standard 3.22 (1976) [hereinafter cited as Report of the Task Force]. Cooperative efforts by government and private enterprise in formulating and implementing a strategy to expand the number of jobs available for youth is critical to the success of prevention programs. Government and private enterprises must be cognizant of their respective capabilities in order to develop realistic job expansion strategies. The National Advisory Committee for Criminal Justice Standards and Goals recommended that government encourage youth employment by creating public service jobs and by providing direct tax incentives to employers who create new job opportunities. This will encourage private enterprise to consider the employment needs of youth and induce them to work harder at providing employment opportunities. There are many benefits to be derived from a strategy which emphasizes cooperative efforts. A comprehensive employment program strategy will provide information to both employers and juveniles regarding employment opportunities. Juveniles who know what skills employers are seeking will be able to seek training to develop them. In addition, misconceptions regarding potential young employees will be avoided through these combined efforts. Focal Point: Social Institutions Area of Emphasis: Strategy: Cor. Em-2 Community Job Placement Information Provision of readily accessible job placement and information services to assist all youth in obtaining employment. Commentary The provision of readily accessible job placement information services to assist youth in obtaining employment is an important aspect in the prevention of juvenile delinquency. As noted by the National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, Report of the Task Force on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Standard 3.22 and Commentary (1976) [hereinafter cited as Report of the Task Force], and other sociological studies, unemployment of youth is a major factor contributing to their delinquency. Accessibility is a major factor in the effective functioning of employment service centers. Juveniles should be able to contact such centers with few obstacles. Centers should be located in areas having large numbers of young residents. See Report of the Task Force, supra at Standard 3.23 and Commentary. Familiarity with the location of job placement and information service centers will facilitate early contact with the center and its services. The Report of the Task Force, supra at Standard 3.23 suggests two possible approaches with respect to job placement and service centers. One is to establish a specialized community center that focuses solely on youth and their unique employment problems. The other is to incorporate the services into a multi-service center. It is also possible for public, private, or religious organizations already established within a community to be modified in order to provide job placement and information services to youth. No specific type of center is endorsed by the National Advisory Committee since the particular characteristics of individual communities will determine the most practical approach. Job placement and information centers should perform several important functions. Initially, the staff of such centers should conduct an outreach campaign to involve the community and gather local support for the center. The outreach campaign will facilitate identification of the employment needs of the community, improve the potential for coordinating services that will contribute to the success of the center, and open the lines of communication between potential employers and juveniles. See generally Report of the Task Force, supra at Standards 3.22-3.25 and Commentaries; W. T. Pink and D. E. Kapel, "Decentralization Reconsidered: School Crime Prevention Through Community Involvement," National Institute of Education, School Crime and Disruption, 115 (1978). A job placement and information service center must perform other functions to insure its success. It can identify skills and counsel juveniles in terms of realistic employment expectations, keep records to assist in redefining employment goals, disseminate information to employers regarding prospective employees, and detail the availability of job training programs. To insure reaching a wide range of juveniles, the job placement and information service center should utilize the media to disseminate information regarding the services that they provide. See also Focal Point Social Institutions, Strategy, In. M-1. In addition to radio and television announcements, local community leaders should be encouraged to speak at center functions and to enlist the support of the business community for activities of the center. Summer employment programs are an especially crucial part of a juvenile delinquency prevention program. According to the Report of the Task Force, supra at Standard 3.25, "the inability of youths to find jobs often produces frustration and financial hardship, which in turn may lead to delinquent behavior." Unfortunately, finding employment opportunities for juveniles in the summer has traditionally been a difficult task. Ideally the center should designate full-time employees to identify, develop, and coordinate employment opportunities between employers and youth. Preparation, advertising and locating employment should begin well before the summer. See Report of the Task Force, supra at Standard 3.25 and Commentary. See also E. Wenk, "Tomorrow's Education: Models for Participation," National Institute of Education, School Crime and Disruption, 163 (1978). Since the number of juveniles seeking employment will usually exceed the number of jobs, it may be necessary to develop criteria whereby certain juveniles, based on "economic need, employment problems or career interest" would have priority in obtaining the available jobs. See Report of the Task Force, supra at Standard 3.25 and Commentary. Educational institutions and job centers should cooperate and coordinate efforts to develop youth employment. The educational system can play an important role in preparing youth for summer employment. Contact, however, should also be continued throughout the year to provide a continuous flow of information relating to employment opportunities. See also Focal Point Social Institutions, Strategy, Cor. Ed-1, Ed2, and Ed-5. Counselors within the educational institutions should work with the job center staff to "maintain updated knowledge of current opportunities for youth, counsel youth with regard to resume preparation and interviewing techniques, create practical work experiences during the academic year, and inform the job center of particular problems a juvenile may be encountering and the cause of the problems." See Report of the Task Force, supra at Standards 3.23, 3.24 and Commentaries. A crucial and additional responsibility that must be undertaken by the job placement and information center is that of an evaluation. Monitoring the progress of an individual youth can lead to the identification of and information about special problems or needs of the juvenile. Early identification of such problems may remedy minor difficulties which can lead to more serious consequences. See Report of the Task Force, supra at Standards 3.22-3.25 and Commentaries. The job placement and information center can function as an effective juvenile delinquency preventive measure by showing juveniles that their unique characteristics and problems relating to employment are understood by the staff. If juveniles feel that they are being responded to in a meaningful way, they will be more likely to use the center and develop respect for the jobs they obtain. Further, when employment is obtained, the juvenile will have a greater stake in his/her community and thus be less prone to deviate from its mores. The viability of these community job placement and information centers will depend on local, state, and federal support in terms of funding, planning assistance, and technical resources. See Standards 1.121-1.126, and 1.131-1.134. Focal Point: Social Institutions Area of Emphasis: Review of legislation that affects youth employment to ascertain methods of expanding youth employment opportunities without exposing youth to substantial health and/or developmental risks. Commentary This strategy recommends that legislation which affects youth employment be reviewed and modified in order to expand those opportunities. This must be accomplished, however, in a way that insures that juveniles are not exposed to substantial health or developmental risks. Current child labor laws do not accurately reflect the realities of the labor market. See National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, Report of the Task Force on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Standard 3.28 and Commentary (1976) [hereinafter cited as Report of the Task Force]. Instead, these laws reflect a period in our culture when children were in need of protection from employers who subjected them to dehumanizing working conditions. Because of these laws, academic education became the primary occupation of youth and restrictions on child labor increased. Today most statutes restrict juveniles from meaningful employment until the age of sixteen See Report of the Task Force, supra at Standard 3.28 and Commentary; J. Hrusk in "The Obsolescence of Adolesence," in National Institute of Education, School Crime and Disruption, 47 (1978). Age restricting legislation isolates juveniles from a major part of their world. Academic educational alternatives are not always well-suited to all youth. Where academic training is not an enhancing experience for juveniles, employment becomes an attractive option. Without this kind of meaningful alternative to school, juveniles may turn to delinquent behavior. See Report of the Task Force, supra at Standard 3.28 and Commentary. For the juvenile who is successful in school, the availability of both education and employment opportunities gives him/her two alternatives from which to gain experience and rewards. Since prevention efforts have demonstrated that the benefits of youth employment are significant, this strategy recommends that steps be taken to expand employment opportunities through less restrictive age legislation. See Report of the Task Force, supra at Standard 3.28 and Commentary. Current legislation must be reviewed in order to discover what impact the easing of youth employment age limits would have on the economy, whether the educational process could be strengthened to provide realistic alternatives for juveniles not satisfied or rewarded by pure academics, and whether the barriers to community involvement can be broken via employment opportunities having other than a profit motive. Id. The answers to these questions will enable society to determine whether the current legislation is relevant to employment conditions and to juveniles today. Current wage legislation may also deter employers from offering juveniles some type of employment. The advisability of reducing minimum wage requirements for youth must be reevaluated. Consideration should also be given to assisting private employers through wage supplements. Accord, Report of the Task Force, supra at Standard 3.28. Programs similar to the college work-study program could also be established at the high school level. These programs provide youth with the opportunity to gain the benefits of practical work experience and the opportunity to remain in school. Rather than limiting the juvenile to the alternatives of either work or school, vocational programs currently existing outside of the educational setting could be transferred to the high schools. The government subsidies to the private sector are only a part of a major effort that must be undertaken by state and |