The forgotten half: pathways to success for America's youth and young families

This report concludes the study of the forgotten half - the approximately 20 million 16-24-year-olds who are unlikely to attend college and so will miss out on the special privileges society accords to the college-educated. Young people in the forgotten half are not a monolithic group, overcome by drugs, crime, teenage pregnancy, and alienated from adults. Rather than a 'generation on the skids', they are a widely diverse group of young men and women, most of whom are high school graduates. With a diploma or without, they aspire to a job, a family, and a place in the community they can...  [+] Show more

This report concludes the study of the forgotten half - the approximately 20 million 16-24-year-olds who are unlikely to attend college and so will miss out on the special privileges society accords to the college-educated. Young people in the forgotten half are not a monolithic group, overcome by drugs, crime, teenage pregnancy, and alienated from adults. Rather than a 'generation on the skids', they are a widely diverse group of young men and women, most of whom are high school graduates. With a diploma or without, they aspire to a job, a family, and a place in the community they can be proud of. Those with less education must scramble for good jobs in a sea of part-time, low-paying, limited-future employment opportunities.

Edited excerpts from publication.