Group: Too many young people are not ‘citizen ready’

The Council for a Strong America released a report Monday claiming that too many young people are unprepared for the workforce, unqualified for military service and have criminal records. 

The report “America Unprepared,” from the nonprofit, which promotes youth development programs, found that 1 in 7 young adults in the U.S. aged 16 to 24 are not employed or in school.

It also found that more than a quarter of young adults have an arrest record – the majority drug-related ­– and 71 percent of young adults 17 to 24 would not qualify for military service due to problems with obesity, education, drug abuse or crime.

“Conversations around the economy, public safety, and national security are common in today’s news cycle and public policy debates,” the report says. “But noticeably absent from these is a common challenge underlying every significant sector of American society: the declining number of young adults who can contribute to our nation.” 

To improve these statistics, the group said lawmakers should reauthorize and improve the federal Head Start program, defend science-based nutrition standards and reinstate the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program in 2017. According to the Departments of Health and Human Services, the federal home visiting program gives pregnant women and families, particularly those considered at-risk, necessary resources and skills to raise children who are physically, socially and emotionally healthy and ready to learn.