research power hour

Combatting Youth Inequality Exacerbated by COVID-19

In this special session, we are featuring two established scholars who received rapid response funding from the W.T. Grant Foundation and the Spencer Foundation. Their research to combat youth inequality exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic may be of particular interest given the timeliness and urgency of this work.

Past Event

DATE

March 17, 2021

TIME

3-4p ET / noon-1p PT

LOCATION

Virtual

Webinar Recording

Featured Scholars

Dr. Alicia Sasser Modestino

Associate Professor, Northeastern University
Associate Director, Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy

Presentation Topic
How Can Summer Youth Employment Programs Improve Youth Outcomes during COVID-19?

Recent research has demonstrated that summer youth employment programs (SYEPs) develop skills among youth that lead to better long-term academic, criminal justice, and employment outcomes. The current economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has placed these programs in jeopardy when youth unemployment rates are high, particularly for youth of color.

Click here for Dr. Modestino’s bio.

Dr. Naomi E. Goldstein

Co-Director of the JD/PhD Program in Law and Psychology
Professor of Psychology, Drexel University

Presentation Topic
Judicial Confinement and Release Decisions: Protecting Youth and Communities During the Pandemic and Beyond

With COVID-19, confinement of youth in juvenile detention and placement facilities posed unprecedented health risks to youth and staff. To protect this vulnerable youth population—and the staff that work with them—from imminent harm during the pandemic, the Juvenile Justice Research and Reform Lab at Drexel University, in collaboration with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, used research evidence to develop and disseminate a new structured decision-making guide to help judges and probation officers safely release more youth from detention and placement during the pandemic–with a particularly focus on reducing racial, ethnic, and other disparities in confinement decisions. This project was also designed to support legal decision makers in maintaining reductions in youth confinement post-pandemic.

Click here for Dr. Goldstein’s bio.