At-Risk Youth Bill Analysis

The social problem my bill would rectify is the issue of at risk youth who have difficulties with successfully transitioning into adulthood. The bill that I chose is called “An Act Establishing A Task Force To Study Interventions For At-Risk Youth.” This social problem affects youth from ages 17-24. This could also affect youth younger than 17 because eventually they will need to make that transition into adulthood as well. This bill aims to help youth from any ethnicity or race as well as gender. As for social class, this bill would target youth from a lower socioeconomic class, because it is a bill for youth who are at risk. This social problem has become an issue in society because plenty of youth are having difficulties transitioning …show more content…
The main goal for this bill is to first bring a committee together so that they can study interventions for at risk youth. The task force will examine ways in which youth serving agencies in the state could collaborate to identify and serve youths whom are less likely to successfully transition into adulthood. For this reason, I am not able to discuss what the actual program would entail. Arnett states, “The transition events focused on in these studies include finishing education, entering the labor force, establishing an independent household, marriage, and parenthood (often referred to as "first birth")” (Arnett, 1997). After reading this, I received an idea of what types of programs the committee may come up with. The committee will most likely focus on education and how to advance youth in adulthood so they are able to acquire an occupation. I believe that in order to succeed in a society as an adult, it is important to have a stable job. “It was found that the students named responsible behavior, autonomous decision making, and financial independence as distinguishing adult characteristics” (Arnett, 1997). Arnett states here that financial independence was eminent by students in order to be an adult. In order to implement these programs for at risk youth, the task force will have to be put in place first. In this bill there weren’t any individuals that voted against it. In most articles I read, these individuals agreed that at risk youth are in need of services. “While most young people successfully transition to adulthood, a significant number of youth are disconnected from school and employment. These youth are more likely than others to engage in crime, become incarcerated, and rely on public systems of support” (Neumann, 2010). This demonstrates how youth who are disconnected from school and employment tend to receive more public