Connecticut's Youth: Bridging the Gap to Career Pathways

0:00A new report from the CBA Foundation lays out a blueprint for boosting high school career pathways in Connecticut aiming to build a stronger workforce and open up economic chances for more folks. It pulls from statewide input and success stories from other states to fix gaps between what's taught and what jobs need. But the real talk is pairing this with help for young people outside school systems. Around 63,000 young people in Connecticut are disconnected from school and work right now, down from 119,000 at risk back in 2023, reconnecting them could pump up to 750 million dollars into the state's economy each year. Groups like Dalio Education are stepping up through their opportunity project, funding seven nonprofits with grants, coaching, and tools to get these. Youth back on track. These programs hit hard for kids facing big hurdles like justice system ties, violence, or basic needs struggles. Many homeless kids in Stanford, their homeless works program just got evaluated by child

1:03trends, showing 96% of graduates still holding, full-time jobs with benefits a year later. They stabilize lives first, build skills through paid work, then coach through job placements with wraparound support. Meanwhile, a fresh scan by MDRC, commissioned by Dalio Education, looked nationwide at what's working for the hardest, to reach youth, including those, justice, impacted, or shy about seeking help. It confirms programs like these are too few and underfunded to deliver the long-term intensity needed everywhere, not just in Connecticut. So as the new Career Pathways Commission kicks off, Connecticut has to double down on community ords alongside school fixes to tap that full potential and close the disconnection gap for good. Global news, powered by AI. This is Hartford News Today.