Obama Committee Pushes Collaborations on Youth Employment

When paying for projects to help young people get educated and find jobs, federal and private grant makers should give priority to projects that involve collaborations between nonprofits and others, says a report issued today by a White House advisory committee.

“Individual nonprofit services can be fragmented and dispersed, with each organization typically serving a limited population with specific interventions,” says the report, drawn up by the White House Council for Community Solutions.

It says the federal government should do more to ensure that local communities have access to good data about young people and get young people involved by, for example, creating an advisory Presidential Youth Working Group. Employers, schools, and community and national-service programs can also strengthen efforts to prepare young people for jobs.

At least one in six people ages 16 to 24 are unemployed, the council said in a statement.

The White House council is headed by Patty Stonesifer, former chief executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and includes 25 other nonprofit and business representatives.

The report will be discussed at a White House conference today. Opening presentations by First Lady Michelle Obama (by video) and Hilda Solis, the labor secretary, followed by a discussion, will be streamed live from 1:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Send an e-mail to Suzanne Perry.