Opportunity youth (OY) are among the hardest-to-reach youth in our communities. Unlike youth who are connected to school systems, postsecondary institutions, or employers, opportunity youth—defined as "young people between the ages 16 to 24 who are neither enrolled in school nor participating in the labor force"—do not interact with these systems. There is no system or single point of contact through which opportunity youth are engaged, and through which progress and outcomes are measured. Rather, opportunity youth, if connected at all, float among service providers, in and out of school, and between jobs.
In this report, we: