With all of the strife we’ve witnessed in communities around the country, we have to ask several questions. Why are these young people so angry? What is going on in their lives that makes them strike out in ways that most of us do not understand and find appalling? I can imagine the Baltimore fire fighter asking himself, “What did I ever do to you?” as he watches the young man stab his hose repeatedly endangering the lives of everyone on the other end. Or the officer wondering the same thing while face to face with the spitting, venomous man cursing and threatening him and his family. Most likely neither of these public servants, nor any of their colleagues, personally did anything to harm those they’ve been forced to take a stand against. But something has gone wrong. The amount of anger, hatred and despair is thick enough to touch. As justice professionals we have to be able to step back and ask ourselves what is the root of this issue. What is causing this level of distress? How can we address it so that the police officer and the fire fighter can go back to doing their job without the angst of a generation thrown at their every move? A recent report offers some insight into the heart of the anger, and also offers some insight into solutions.

White House Report

In July 2015, the White House’s Council on Economic Advisers released, “Economic Costs of Youth Disadvantage and High-Return Opportunities for Change.” This report outlines opportunity gaps for disadvantaged youth and highlights two promising programs. Although the report acknowledges these gaps disproportionately affect minority youth, it recognizes race plays less of a role in the disadvantage than circumstances. The report outlines several barriers to success: Family Income, Socioeconomic Status and Neighborhood, Education and Exposure to the Juvenile and Criminal Justice System. The barriers involving education and exposure to the juvenile justice system subsequently create barriers to employment.

Economy

The first opportunity gap is determined by economics. Growing up in poverty surrounded by other families living in poverty plays an important role in decreasing life-long opportunities for children. This barrier merges with others, such as education and compounds over time. One benefit, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) shows how even this modest $1000 return makes a difference. Research shows the children from families receiving the EITC have higher reading and math scores, boosts birth weights and increases college enrollment. This could be due to the financial expenditure change which occurs with an increase of income. With an increase of funds, families tend to spend more on child-related expenditures, such as books, computers and camps.

Education

Another barrier to success is education. One of the most depressing things in our society is the disparity in public education. It isn’t a secret that schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods struggle to find funds to keep teaching even the fundamentals (a quarter of high schools serving the highest percentage of black and Hispanic students do not even offer Algebra) while schools in high socioeconomic areas offer a plethora of electives (such as music and electronics) along with basic STEM classes (science, technology, engineering and math). Aside from the classes themselves, the predominance of “zero-tolerance” discipline practices have increased the amount of non-attendance due to suspensions and expulsions. If a child is not in school, they are not learning. They lose their attachment to school and the tragic outcome is a high number of students who don’t complete high-school, let alone attend college decreasing their future income and increasing the opportunity gap even further. As justice professionals, looking at discipline policies within educational settings and addressing the “school-to-prison pipeline” will encourage students to stay in school and help lower the education barrier. 

Exposure

I briefly touched on how school policies can expose a child to the justice system. The sad fact that so many children living in poverty end up in court and often in detention creates a depressing view of our future. Looking at arrest statistics and the cost of incarceration makes it apparent we could be doing something different. The report states, “The cost of incarceration is substantially higher than investing in education or other programs to increase opportunity, even before one takes the returns to the investments into account. The annual cost of incarceration for a single juvenile is over $100,000 almost twice as high as tuition, room and board, and fees at the most expensive college in the country and nearly 100 times as expensive as a year of intensive mentoring.” The fact that we continue to support the cost of incarceration over prevention and opportunity is enough to make anyone angry.  

So what can be done?

The report states it loud and clear, “Investing in young people through high-return programs can not only improve the outcomes of specific individuals and communities but can also substantially boost the U.S. economy as a whole.” One of the evidence-based programs the report detailed was Reading for Life (RFL). This program, based in Chicago, pairs juveniles in detention with mentoring and the study and discussion of classic texts on virtue. A randomized evaluation of 500 juveniles shows those participating in RFL were 38% less likely to be arrested again. The social economic gain: $4 saved for every $1 saved.

There are ways to address the anger and despair at the heart of recent protests. We have to be willing to see beyond the “I hate the police,” masks worn by the loudest of the group. We have to ask ourselves what is creating the pain and how we can change. Putting programs in place that address barriers to success is essential. Aside from the benefits to the youth themselves, these programs are a socioeconomic benefit to society. The report concludes, “Over the life of impacted youth, these programs can generate benefits that are more than three times their costs, exceeding annual rates of return seen in private-sector business investments.” Everybody wins when we invest in futures.

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