ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) Policy Report on Youth and Work finds youth employment at its lowest level since World War II. AECF says business, government, philanthropy and communities need to work together to put 16- to 24-year-olds back on track and build a strong workforce for future success.

Christine Hollis, New Mexico KIDS COUNT director, says New Mexico has been hard-hit by the economic downturn, but even the recovery will not offer these young adults the help they need.

"There's a huge gap in skills. Intel, one of the major employers in the state, indicated it couldn't fill the jobs that it needed to fill, mainly because it couldn't find enough adequately trained people here."

Hollis says the state's low high-school graduation rate can be held partly responsible. New Mexico has the second-lowest graduation rate of any state in the nation.

Remedies presented in the report include a multi-faceted approach, pulling together systems that help youth. One program that targets disconnected youth who are parents is called GRADS. It works to keep teen mothers in school and provides child care and workforce-related skills.

Hollis says New Mexico has several programs to address the needs of disconnected youth.

"The New Mexico Forum for Youth runs a 'Public Allies' program. Basically, this program helps put under-represented youth in capacity-building positions in nonprofits."

Nationally, the rates of people ages 20 to 24 who are neither in school nor employed are higher than ever before. Some 21 percent of those are young parents. Based on U.S. Census data, only 25 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds in New Mexico and 59 percent of 20- to 24-year-olds in the state are employed.

Gerry Bradley is the research director for New Mexico Voices for Children. He says when you add up the issues concerning disconnected youth and parenthood, you wind up with significant concerns to address.

"It's lost earnings to them and it's lost tax base to the economy as a whole, plus they'll require services. That will contribute to an ongoing culture of poverty."

One study quoted in the AECF report estimates that for each 16-year-old out of school and out of work, the future lifetime taxpayer burden is more than $258,000. The study calculates the total taxpayer burden for all out-of-school and out-of-work 16- to 24-year-olds is $1.56 trillion.

The full report, "YOUTH AND WORK: Restoring Teen and Young Adult Connections to Opportunity," is available at www.aecf.org.




get more stories like this via email

Medi-Cal has dropped several hundred thousand low-income children from the health insurance rolls since April 2023, according to a new report from Georgetown University.

The data show a net drop in children's Medi-Cal enrollment of 200,000 kids between April and December of last year, as the state started redetermining participants' annual eligibility - which had been paused to ensure continuous coverage during the pandemic.

Mayra Alvarez, president of the Children's Partnership, said another 100,000 have been dropped this year.

"Some 80% of the people that lose coverage in California are losing it for procedural reasons," said Alvarez, "not because they're not eligible but because their paperwork didn't make it to the county, or they waited too long on the line and got frustrated and had to hang up, or they moved and the letter never even reached them."

The state of California has made a massive outreach effort to keep those who are eligible covered.

More than half a million children, half of California's kids, depend on Medi-Cal. And three quarters of them are children of color.

It is unclear how many kids who lost Medi-Cal were later enrolled in private coverage.

Joan Alker is a co-author of the report, and executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University. She said gaps in coverage can lead to long-term negative impacts.

"Kids are going to miss out on those well-child visits, they're going to miss out on getting the medications they need," said Alker, "be it an inhaler for their asthma or an ADHD medication. And that really sets them back, both in their health and their success in school."

A few years ago, California lawmakers passed a requirement for continuous coverage in Medi-Cal for children ages zero to five.

Alvarez said she is urging them to follow through and allocate $10 million in the next state budget to fulfill this mission.

After Texas, a new report shows Florida has seen the second-largest decline in the number of children enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Of the 4.16 million fewer children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP nationally, Florida accounts for nearly 600,000 enrollment declines - according to a report by Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families, tracking the Medicaid unwinding since COVID-related coverage protections were lifted.

Alison Yager, executive director with the Florida Health Justice Project, said it's more like a crisis has been unfolding in Florida - and they've long been sounding the alarm.

"This, at its most extreme, can be a question of life or death, really," said Yager, "and short of that, we're seeing far too many families having to now scramble to figure out what's going to change in their monthly budget so they can now pay for whatever medication their kids require."

Yager cautioned that even if families qualify for one of Florida's KidCare programs, there are gaps in coverage.

Going without insurance, even briefly, can cause people to delay seeking care and leave them financially vulnerable when they do.

In February, the state sued the Center for Medicaid Services to stop them from enforcing 12 month continuous eligibility in the state's CHIP program.

The report is based on administrative data from the states to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Joan Alker - executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown - said Texas, Florida, Georgia and California accounted for half of the total national decline in kids with health insurance.

"This is a real crisis in these states for families whose children rely on Medicaid, but also for the providers that serve them - pediatricians and clinics," said Alker. "The system is really getting shaken up."

An April survey by KFF reveals that almost one fourth of adults who were removed from Medicaid - the program for low-income individuals - after pandemic-related protections ended last spring, now report being uninsured.

The need for child care and early learning is critical, especially in rural Arkansas. One nonprofit is working to fill those gaps by giving providers a chance to get more education.

The Career Pathways Program with Save the Children partners with universities to grow the workforce of child care and preschool providers.

Joyce Taylor, Eastern Arkansas parent-family community engagement coordinator for Save the Children, had more than 20 years' experience with Head Start and said the program gave her the opportunity to pursue a bachelor's degree. It also provides her with resources she can use, in the classroom and with families.

"In particular, we have a family with a child that is autistic," Taylor noted. "Mom is working with the child at home. So I have things that I can share with that family, so she can continue to work with her child."

More than 153,000 openings for child care workers are projected over the next decade, largely driven by the need to replace those who have left the field or retired, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Taylor pointed out some children have challenging behaviors, and may have a lot of things going on at home. It is her job to help them thrive in preschool.

"Because we're the first start, when they come into Head Start, that's their first opportunity to be in a learning environment," Taylor explained. "It's up to us to do everything that we can do, to help make that first experience successful."

Karen Harrison, managing director of career in education workforce development for Save the Children, said rural areas have access to fewer resources compared to urban areas, so the program focuses on addressing the specific gaps in rural communities. She added the Pathways program aims to reduce barriers to obtaining a higher-ed credential or degree.

"All of our pathways come with incentives," Harrison emphasized. "We either pay all or partial of their tuition; we pay stipends, for books, supplies and materials. We also give 'barrier reduction' stipends. We know that child care for participants themselves can be an issue; transportation, technology needs."

Harrison added the pathway begins with a Child Development Associate credential, followed by an associate degree, and ultimately a bachelor's degree. In the process, they improve the career opportunities for workers, as well as the quality of early learning.