Toward a Vision of Quality Summer Employment For All Youth
By Noel Tieszen
For decades, Summer Youth Employment Programs (SYEPs) have provided income, career exposure, and real-life work experience for thousands of young people across the United States. Yet year after year, youth and community leaders report that there are not enough summer jobs to go around. Some cities pressure underfunded SYEPs to serve all youth who apply, while others hold lotteries to dole out limited slots. Ultimately, hundreds of thousands of youth find themselves unemployed every summer.
