01-28-1998 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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A',. S. rn- •S Making Kids Count he National League of Cities recently completed its thirteenth annual State of the Cities report. In general, it found that condi- tions were improving in most of America's cities. A closer scru- tiny, however, reveals that a number of conditions have wors- ened over the last year. Significantly, most of these worsening conditions — school violence, youth crime, poverty, gangs, and teen pregnancy directly affect our youth. A few simple statistics put this in proper perspective: About 20 percent of the children in the United States live in poverty; the percentage is about twice as high for minority children. The United States has the highest teen alcohol and drug abuse rate of any in- dustrialized nation. Between 1988 and 1992, the juvenile arrest rate for vio- lent crime increased 47 percent —more than twice the increase for people 18 years of age and older. While these are national statistics, there are serious reasons for concern in Minnesota as well. For example, a na- tionwide study funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation noted that from 1985 to 1994, the percent of Minne- sota teens who are high school dropouts increased by about 60 percent. At the same time, the national average has improved. Likewise, the number of Minnesota children living in poverty has increased by seven percent while the national rate has remained rela- tively constant. Lastly, the teen birth rate increased by 25 percent in Minne- sota during that decade, slightly worse than the national average. The congruence of these statistics is seen on a daily basis in decisions such as those to limit youth access to the Mall of America at certain times, in the in- creased incidence of vandalism, and the growing complaint by many that being around youth makes them uncomfort- able. In the most extreme and sensa- ByJim Miller tional instances, we read about a vio- lent crime committed by a young per- son and our concerns and impressions of youth as problems become even more reinforced. Our negative impressions are further compounded by the simple fact that most of us have less and less contact with our youth. A recent editorial by syndicated columnist Neal Pierce quoted Charles Bray, President of the Johnson Foundation, as saying that the heart of the problem is that we as Americans live in the most age segre- gated society in human history. Only "If we are unwilling to commit the time and energy to develop this resource, we have no one to blame for their failure but ourselves." one home in four has a school aged child, and many of us do not even speak to a young person for days at a time. Such segregated contact obvi- ously reinforces stereotypes and can be a barrier to solutions. Simply finding ways to increase our contact with youth, and thereby our understanding of youth, may be part of the solution. More frequent contact will also present more role models for our most impressionable citizens. That same edi- torial referenced a survey of Wisconsin adults and teenagers which asked, among other questions, to define teen role models. While the adults most of- ten named someone like Michael Jor- dan, the teenagers tended to say, "An adult who cares about me." City offi- cials could be very effective role models in impressing on youth their civic re- sponsibilities and in creating a more positive attitude toward government in these future voters and taxpayers. Many of the techniques that have been utilized so far, such as trying teen offenders in adult courts or creating summer youth recreation programs, may be part of the answer, but they will ultimately have limited effect. That is because they tend to deal is much with symptoms as with the actual prob- lems themselves. The long -term answer involves a recommitment in every sense to our youth. The United States, for example, is the only industrialized country that spends more per capita on its elderly than on its youth. While that statistic is related to monetary expendi- tures, the same can be said about our personal investment as well. If we are unwilling to commit the time and en- ergy to develop this resource, we have no one to blame for their failure but ourselves. The key to successfully dealing with our youth issues on a long -term basis, then, will require more than simply de- signing or redesigning programs to contain the problem, however we de- fine it. Rather, it will take an attitudi- nal change that begins to recognize the potential of our youth and involves them, imperfections and all, in the ba- sic fiber of our communities. That is what asset building is about — finding ways to alleviate the conditions, such as high dropout rates, that impede the ability of our youth to succeed while at the same time finding ways to involve and develop their potential. This will not be an easy task and it is not one that government is particularly accus- tomed to undertaking. But the issue of our youth will not go away. Rather, the question is whether, in the future, we will devote even more public re- sources to dealing with problems or to strengthening our communities by en- gaging and developing this precious resource.';' Jim Miller is executive director of the League of 'Minnesota Cities. Aucust 1997 bli,R gPr.P4 r;,:s