Blueprint for Investing in Girls and Young Women

Susan Leicher

Thompson & Columbus, Inc.

September 2015

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

VOICES FROM THE FIELD SERIES

The second of four Voices from the Field reports:

• Cover roles, strengths, challenges and best ways to support NYC’s low-income women and girls at four major developmental stages of their lives:

− 0 - 8− 9 - 24− 25 - 59− 60+

• Based on literature and the first-hand views of leading experts

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

DEMOGRAPHICS: Size and Scope

• 800,000 strong: roughly 10% total NYC population

• 75% are young women of color or young women from immigrant families

- 50% immigrants or the daughters of immigrants- 16% live in “linguistically isolated” homes

• Race/Ethnicity :

- 13% Asian- 25% Black - 35% Latina - 25% White

• LBQ Self-Identification:

- Asian: 9%- Black: 21%- Latina: 22%- White: 11%

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

DEMOGRAPHICS: Economic Situation

• 30% girls, age 9-18, live in households below the Federal Poverty Line

- Asians: 26% - Blacks: 30%- Latinas: 40%- Whites: 18%

• Many more live just above the Federal Poverty Line

• The FPL significantly undercounts actual economic insecurity

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

DEMOGRAPHICS: Living Situations

• 45%: More than one adult caregiver

• 55%: One adult caregiver (for 25,000 that caregiver is a grandmother)

• As many as 10,000 in highly unstable living situations:

- 2,000 in child welfare system- 4,000 commercially trafficked or enslaved- 5,000 – 10,000 homeless/“on the streets”

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

THE STARTING LINE: Assets and Strengths

• Vital Family Supporters

- Wage earners- Translators/interpreters/advocates- Caregivers for other family members

• Independent Agents

- School system- Health/mental health system- Reproductive health system

• Natural Leaders

- STEM – with a purpose- Community Change

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

THE HURDLES

• Pervasively undermining messages

• Dangerous environmental conditions

• Limited, constraining or dangerous family circumstances

• Inadequate focus on their strengths, needs, and situations

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

Messages

• Behavior: “keep quiet and do what you are told”

• Roles: “serve the needs of others”

• Background: bias against race/ethnicity, immigration status, religion or appearance

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

Environmental Conditions

• Crumbling housing/industrial waste

• Limited access to good nutrition/recreational facilities

• Pervasive violence

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

Family Circumstances

• Lack of survival assets

• Overworked parents

• Inappropriate adult demands/role reversals

• Constrained definitions of success

• Overt preferential treatment of boys

• Serious unaddressed family issues

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

SERVICE INFRASTRUCTURE: Don’t They Care About Us?

• Inadequate focus on strengths, talents, passions and skills

• Inadequate focus on situations, challenges, and needs

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

OUTCOMES: Losses and Costs

• Education:

- 40% of NYC girls of color do not finish high school- Only 12% are “college ready” upon graduation

• Health:

- 23-26% of black and Latina girls have asthma - 11-12% of black and Latina girls are obese- One in seven NYC Latina girls attempts suicide

• Safety:

- Up to 10,000 are pushed into foster care, into the commercial sex trade or into homelessness

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

BEST PRACTICE SOLUTIONS

• Incorporate certain consistent across-the-board features:

- Take cues from girls themselves - Provide a safe space in which to acknowledge, discuss and address challenges- Provide opportunities to explore diverse skills and talents (academic, artistic,

athletic, leadership)- Provide opportunities to make a difference – for themselves and for others

• Provide survival resources as appropriate

• Produce extraordinary results

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

SUMMARY OF TAKE-AWAYS

• Girls in communities of color/immigrant communities fill vital roles

• They face challenges rooted in the intersecting forces of poverty, racial/ethnic prejudice, and gender bias

• Current service system inadequately focuses on their situations and strengths

• Best practices include providing greater safety, a larger voice, and better opportunities

• Investment in best practice produces major short- and long-term results

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women

Panelists:

Dr. Angela Diaz, Director, Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center

Amanda Kraus, Founder & Executive Director, Row NY

Cidra M. Sebastien, Associate Executive Director, Brotherhood/Sister Sol

Moderator:

Margarita Rosa, Executive Director, National Center for Law and Economic Justice

VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Blueprint for Investing in Girls & Young Women