NOVEMBER 25, 2020 — Earlier this year, four UTSA researchers found that the percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds in Bexar County who are neither enrolled in school nor employed—a population often called “opportunity youth”—is higher than the national average. Their report also identified characteristics associated with the prevalence of opportunity youth and shed light on their most prominent challenges to attend school or gain employment.
Documenting the lived experiences of Bexar County’s opportunity youth, the report was co-authored by demography professor Rogelio Sáenz, education professor Sofia Bahena, UTSA Policy Studies Center director Roger Enriquez, and doctoral fellow Joshua Anzaldúa. The report was based on American Community Survey data from 2013 to 2017 and interviews with opportunity youth in the area that were held at UTSA’s Westside Community Center before the coronavirus pandemic. The report was made possible through the UP Partnership funded by the City of San Antonio’s Department of Human Services.
An estimated 12.5% of 16- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. are not currently enrolled in school or employed. These “opportunity youth” represent a wealth of untapped potential and there is fear that long-term disconnection from work and education will have adverse consequences for this population. Opportunity youth are far more likely to be involved in chronic criminal activities, live in poverty, or have physical and mental health problems later in life, as well as an increased likelihood of dying early.
“The challenges that opportunity youth face are immense in all respects, aggravated by the lack of residential stability for many,” Sáenz said.
The report found that there were 33,613 individuals considered to be opportunity youth in Bexar County from 2013 to 2017, accounting for 13.2% of the 16-24 age category. Compared to the three largest counties in Texas, Bexar County had a slightly lower percentage of opportunity youth than Dallas (14.2%) and Harris (13.4%) counties, but a much higher percentage than Travis County (8.6%). The overall percentage of opportunity youth in Texas (13.8%) was notably higher than the national average.
The nine zip codes in Bexar County where the percentage of opportunity youth exceeds 15% are located to the eastern (78203, 78219, and 78220), southeastern (78101 and 78263), southern (78221 and 78235), and southwestern (78073 and 78252) portions of San Antonio.
“Some school districts are showing that 25% of students just fell off the grid. That’s a problem. That’s a really big problem,” said Enriquez, who is also director of the Westside Community Partnerships Initiative and an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at UTSA. “Once they’re disconnected, it’s very difficult to get them connected again.”
While there is certainly a moral imperative to improve the lives of opportunity youth in the San Antonio area, there is also economic motivation. Their added engagement in the workforce would provide economic sustainability in communities throughout Bexar County. Moreover, getting opportunity youth connected would lighten the load for taxpayers. It was estimated in 2012 that each opportunity youth represents an immediate taxpayer burden of $13,900 per year up to age 24 and a future taxpayer burden of $170,740 between ages 25 and 64.
“People think it’s expensive to keep kids engaged—or finding ways to keep them engaged. You think that’s expensive? Wait until they get disengaged to get them back in the workforce, to get them back in school,” Enriquez said. “It is a real challenge at that point, and we heard that repeatedly, because life comes at them.”
UTSA researchers stressed that the likelihood of becoming opportunity youth is highest for Latinos, females, individuals born outside of the U.S., those who have limited or no fluency in English, young people with disabilities, and youth who live in poverty. Beyond barriers of language or ability, interviewees described several hurdles to working or attending school such as having children or unstable living arrangements. A lack of home internet access or a reliable form of transportation were further identified as key challenges to pursuing education or employment.
The researchers spoke with 16 participants between the ages of 18 and 24 who were designated as opportunity youth in Bexar County. Of those participants, 13 were Latino and there was an even split between men and women. The interviews provided researchers with a deeper understanding of the life experiences that complicated their paths to school or a job, but also how a little bit of help often went a long way for them.
“Many indicated the importance of a caring adult or friend who has helped them get a job, housed them, or provided guidance,” Bahena said. “We would do well to acknowledge this and build on this community and social wealth.”
The report features more than 30 firsthand quotes from these opportunity youth, further emphasizing the gravity of their situations. Their input helped UTSA’s researchers make recommendations for establishing comprehensive intervention programs that will genuinely assist young adults before they disconnect from school or work. They said that further investments in public transportation and affordable daycare are needed. The researchers went on to write that expanded programming to support youth as they transition into adulthood would be highly beneficial, as would case management (or “one stop shop”) approaches to providing services.
“I hope leaders in the City of San Antonio and Bexar County will continue to work together to fund efforts that aim to provide these wraparound services, like the NXT Level Youth Opportunity Center, in addition to supporting further investment in public transportation, public housing, and our public schools,” Bahena said. “Better alignment between K-12 public schools and higher education is also critical for a smooth transition from high school to postsecondary education.”
Sáenz and Enriquez predict that things are much likely worse for opportunity youth now than they were earlier this year because the COVID-19 crisis brought with it a period of significant job loss and a widespread transition to virtual learning. Measure of America, a project of the Social Science Research Council that has studied youth disconnection for nearly a decade, estimates that the number of opportunity youth in the U.S. could essentially double—soaring from 4.4 million to nearly 9 million—in 2020.
“The challenges and disconnection that opportunity youth face are made much worse during the pandemic,” Sáenz said. “They are likely to be at an elevated risk of contracting the virus and face even worse odds of finding a job or returning to school during the pandemic.”
“The opportunity youth issue is really an interesting one,” added Enriquez, “and one we hope to look at again post-COVID.”
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