Crises Among Young People

In small towns and metropolitan areas across America, our youth are struggling to create a bright future. Violence, substance abuse, low fitness levels and high dropout rates are impairing our children’s ability to succeed. Crime, drug and alcohol use are among the most serious problems affecting America's young people.

In 2006, according to Monitoring the Future, nearly three-fourths of students reported they had consumed alcohol by the end of high school and 41 percent reported they had done so by the end of 8th grade. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also reports that the United States loses 15 young people each day to gun-related violence.

Another obstacle for our young people is the high dropout rate in America. In 2006 alone, 1.2 million teenagers did not graduate on time from public high school in the United States – that's 30 percent of the class of 2006. The number increases to an astonishing 50 percent among some minorities. According to a survey by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (1.1MB PDF), 88 percent of those surveyed (ages 16-25 in 25 urban, rural and suburban communities nationwide) had passing grades when they dropped out of school and 91 percent of those dropouts said they knew that graduating was vital to their future success.

Obesity and lack of physical fitness is also a serious issue affecting today's youth. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control, 31.9 percent of youth in the United States, ages 2 through 19, are considered obese or overweight. This figure has nearly tripled in the last 30 years. According to a recent survey, only 35.8% of students (1.1MB PDF) are physically active for 60 minutes or more per day five times during the week at a level which increased their heart rate – the currently recommended fitness level.

This lack of physical fitness and abundance of obesity means that these young people are at risk for heart disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Type 2 diabetes has also increased dramatically in teens as a direct result of adolescent obesity.

These issues concern all of our children, but for some ethnic groups, the future is even more grim. A study by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (1.1MB PDF) reports "nearly one half of all blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans fail to graduate from public high school with their class. Many of these students abandon school with less than two years to complete their high school education."

These numbers are not limited to graduation rates. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, blacks were almost three times more likely than Hispanics and five times more likely than whites to be incarcerated.