Steptoe's Responses to DC Alliance of Youth Advocates (DCAYA) Questionnaire

"The Campaign Trail Comes Through DCAYA. This year we are debuting our DCAYA Candidate Questionnaire. As advocates for the youth of DC, we recognize that one of the critical starting points of a youth-friendly city is educating potential policymakers and the people who vote for them.

This year we chose the Socratic method - ask the candidates basic questions about youth issues in DC and have them research, then articulate their answers in less than 150 words.

The candidates’ answers will be released on our website this Monday, February 24. They answered the five questions listed below."

View all candidate responses posted on DCAYA's website: http://www.dc-aya.org/resources/election-questionaire/4

www.dc-aya.org



CANDIDATE STEPTOE'S RESPONSES TO DC ALLIANCE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES' QUESTIONNAIRE--2/19/14

DC Alliance of Youth Advocates (DCAYA) is the citywide coalition that works to ensure policies, programs and practices within the District of Columbia that promote and propel youth into a productive and healthy adulthood.


In 150 words or less: - http://www.dc-aya.org/resources/election-questionaire/4

WARD CANDIDATES

1) WHAT YOUTH-SPECIFIC LEGISLATION WOULD YOU INTRODUCE IN YOUR FIRST 100 DAYS OF OFFICE?

I would introduce legislation seeking D.C. Council to vote to repeal the 2010 D.C. Council Act 18-344, “Expanding Access to Juvenile Records Amendment Act of 2010.” Prior to 2010 in the District of Columbia, the mere existence of law enforcement records for a juvenile could not be disclosed to the public. However, the new law makes changes to juvenile confidentiality. This disclosure applies if the juvenile is adjudicated of certain kinds of offenses. In addition, officials from the Family Court, the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS), or the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) can disclose certain information from a juvenile’s law enforcement records to school officials or mental health professionals if, in their professional judgment, they believe it will help the juvenile. Regardless of the offense charged, victims, eyewitnesses, or their attorneys may be permitted to access some information contained in a juvenile’s case records

http://beforeyouplea.com/dc, “Think Before You Plead: Juvenile Collateral Consequences in the District of Columbia.”

http://www.childrenslawcenter.org/sites/default/files/clc/Fact%20Sheet%20Juvenile%20Records%20Act%20(May%202011).pdf “FACT SHEET: Expanding Access to Juvenile Records Amendment Act.”

2) HOMELESSNESS IS A CLEAR AND PRESENT ISSUE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. HOMELESSNESS AMONG MINORS (UNDER 18), YOUTH (18-24), AND YOUNG PARENTS (UNDER 24) IS A PARTICULARLY ACUTE AND COMPLEX ISSUE. HOW WILL YOU ADDRESS THIS ISSUE?

In the face of the city’s prosperity dividend, far too many families live homelessness as an unfortunate daily reality. DC has seen a dramatic increase in homeless families over past several years. Yet, our city budget does not reflect additional assistance needed for homeless residents. A longtime provider of runaway and homeless youth services for District called out the city for falling short of its commitment to help homeless youth. With an estimated 1,880 homeless youth in D.C., recidivism of youth incarceration carries a hefty price tag for D.C. taxpayers. To address this issue, I would introduce and push to enact two key legislations: (1) substantive voucher or subsidized housing/transitional discharge program for aged out emancipated teenage foster children and aged out foster youth and (2) allocate substantive city funds to create not less than 1 emergency shelter per ward.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/19/sasha-bruce-youthwork-homelessness_n_2908568.html
http://www.dcfpi.org/guest-blog-dcs-prosperity-must-be-shared-in-by-all-its-residents
http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/homeless-and-runaway-youth.aspx
http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/homeless-and-runaway-youth.aspx


3) ONLY 13.2% OF 16-19 YEARS OLDS AND 42% OF 20-24 YEARS OLDS WERE ABLE TO FIND PAID, UNSUBSIDIZED EMPLOYMENT THAT THEY WERE QUALIFIED FOR IN DC IN 2011. WHAT IS YOUR PLAN TO IMPROVE SUCCESSFUL ENTRY TO THE WORKFORCE FOR DC YOUTH?

Our city must substantively allocate funds to re-introduce job readiness (career wage earning trade and technical vocation schools) for our youth and young adult residents. In addition to creating accredited vocational and technical educational schools, I would elicit that local universities, public and private sector collaborative partnerships become re-established as a feeder gateway to ensure successful entry for our youth into living wage earning careers. Trade and vocational programs would range accounting to bookkeeping, automotive technology, nursing; computer information systems, welding, cosmetology, microcomputer support, digital media to graphic design. Our city has historically, long heralded and budgeted taxpayer dollars for trade and technical vocation training. To our credit, our wise city tax dollar investments proved a viable, sustainable benefit for all. We must enact legislation and policy which creates and promotes substantive technical and vocational educational training to ensure the successful workforce entry of our youth and young adults.

4) RECENT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT QUALITY EXPANDED LEARNING IMPROVES DC YOUTHS’ COGNITIVE AND NON-COGNITIVE SKILLS. YET, EACH YEAR THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF DC YOUTH WHO REMAIN UNABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN PROGRAMS THAT IMPROVE ACADEMIC, SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL, HEALTH AND WORKFORCE READINESS OUTCOMES. WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE BARRIERS? HOW WOULD YOU REMOVE THE BARRIERS YOU’VE IDENTIFIED?

The stresses of poverty — such as crowded conditions, financial worry, and lack of adequate child care — lead to impaired learning ability in children from impoverished backgrounds. The theory is based on several years of studies matching stress hormone levels to behavioral and school readiness test results in young children from impoverished backgrounds. If many so-called education reformers really want to close the student achievement gap (cognitive and non-cognitive), we must direct fire away from public school educators and take aim at the real issue—poverty. Substandard housing, lack of housing, erratic households, volatile neighborhoods, crimes, mental illness, addiction issues, unemployment, hunger, racism and overall life instability all directly affect cognitive progressive development during the infant-to-young adult stages. Tackling the effect of our city’s ongoing, institutionally disparate, residually entrenched poverty must be reflected as collective, dire importance in our city policy, legislative governance and budget allocations.

http://www.nih.gov/news/health/aug2012/nichd-28.htmhttp://www.naswdc.org/practice/adolescent_health/ah0503.pdf
http://www.teenink.com/hot_topics/all/article/561654/Rising-Poverty-Effect-on-the-Youth/

5) IN DC, AROUND 14,000 YOUTH ARE DISCONNECTED FROM SCHOOL AND WORK. THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE TRYING TO RE-ENGAGE, BUT THERE ARE MANY OBSTACLES INCLUDING A TIME-CONSUMING CHILDCARE VOUCHER SYSTEM, COSTLY PUBLIC TRANSPORT, AND HAVING TO GO TO SEVERAL BUREAUS TO GET PROPER DOCUMENTATION. HOW WOULD YOU MOST EFFECTIVELY ADDRESS THESE BARRIERS?

As consistently posited throughout this questionnaire, I believe the District of Columbia MUST put its money where its mouth is – and financially budget support for the many dire facets of our most vulnerable population. Our current and continuing prosperity dividends afford us the responsible behavior to care for our historically neglected and marginalized.





Paid for by Candidate Carolyn C. Steptoe, 1257 Lawrence Street, NE, 2013 Ward 5 D.C. City Council candidate (D.C. Official Code §1-1102.10). A copy of our report is filed with the Director of Campaign Finance of the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics (D.C. Official Code §1-1102.01(e)).