Mankato area youth are being arrested for serious crimes like robbery and rape at a rate the highest of this decade. The teen birth rate has been climbing since 2002. Blue Earth County now has higher rates of placing children in foster homes than the state as a whole.
These are the stark and alarming conclusions of a recent study of Mankato area youth, by Minnesota State University, Mankato Area Healthy Youth and the YWCA. The study analyzed various youth measures and also investigated funding levels for groups that attempt to work at solving these social ills.
Every agency surveyed reported reductions in staffing or funding since 2002 when the state of Minnesota began a series of major cuts to balance its budget. Two of the groups have disappeared completely.
While researchers cautioned about drawing conclusions between lower funding of agencies and more risky behaviors among youth, they rightly point out the connection is worth examining.
The bigger question for the Mankato community is: What priority will we put on investing in our youth?
From 1996 to 2003, the community made investments in youth a top priority. After a Minnesota Student Survey showed area youth used drugs and alcohol more frequently than students statewide, the community bolstered youth activities and focused on providing youth with programs to encourage healthy behaviors and reduce risky ones.
Progress was made. The Mankato region was recognized three times since 2005 as one of America’s best places for youth by the America’s Promise Alliance.
Some of the programs remain in place, and other agencies have re-focused their efforts on some of the problems. The YWCA’s Girls on the Run program for example was designed to address the lower than average self esteem issues in Mankato area girls as detailed in the Minnesota Student Survey.
Still, funding has been wildly inconsistent, and often just cut.
MSU researcher Nancy Fitzsimons notes that recent study did not cover the time since the economy has gone into deep recession and so she suspects many more youth are struggling even more than in good economic times.
The general population can’t be expected to favor many new funding streams or taxes, but we can, and should, make our voices known about priorities for funding. It may mean investing in youth programs and reducing investments in programs shown to produce fewer positive results. Many researchers agree efforts to get kids of to the right start in kindergarten and early grade goes a long way to preventing risky and costly behaviors in the future.
But programs and government can’t nurture youth alone. Parents have to make it a priority to make sure they know what their kids are doing, where they are and talk to them about the tough issues of drug use, early sexual activity and other destructive behaviors. And when necessary, parents have to talk to kids other than their own if they see risky behaviors evolving.
These problems can be solved. We must make it a priority. A society that doesn’t take care of its youth, has no future.
