Newark in the Spotlight: Summer Youth Employment Program Nod Emblematic of City’s Collaborative Spirit

When Mayor Ras Baraka took office in 2014, he immediately called for an expansion of the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program.

There is a growing body of evidence that youth employment programs are a positive intervention that can reduce summer violence and incarceration and improve educational outcomes of participating youth. Just as important, they help to expose youth to career pathways early, allowing the city to integrate youth into an overall workforce development strategy.  For Mayor Baraka, the call was personal — he participated in the program as a youth and remembers fondly the impact it had on his life.