The article discusses the challenges facing Chicago’s summer youth jobs program, which aims to provide employment opportunities for young people. Despite its goals, the program has struggled to meet expectations in terms of job placement and impact on reducing youth unemployment and violence. The Great Cities Institute (GCI) at the University of Illinois Chicago is involved by conducting research and evaluations on the program’s effectiveness.
“Particularly last year, Black women had really high jobless rates. They doubled from before the pandemic to one year after,” said Wilson, “and that we think is a cause for alarm.”
Wilson identified another troubling trend. In 2022, teen joblessness rates were very high in some parts of Chicago—between 85% and 93%, mostly on the South and West sides. These include young people between the ages of 16 and 19 who aren’t looking for work for whatever reason and those who want to work but can’t find a job.
Wilson’s research looked at One Summer Chicago specifically and found a reduction in violent crime. However, it was a short-lived success. “The reduction in crime occurred for individuals that were enrolled for summer youth employment program, while they were enrolled in the program,” he said, but “if you follow those individuals next year, the impacts don’t actually continue to hold.”
From CBS News Chicago (To go to the actual article, please click on this link.)
