Report: 110,000 Ky. youth 16 to 24 aren't in school or employed; state's rate of 'disconnected youth' exceeds U.S. average

Almost 110,000 teens and young adults in Kentucky are not enrolled in school and are not employed, even part-time, according to a new Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.  Nationwide, the number reaches nearly 6.5 million. In Kentucky between 2000 and 2011 the number of 16-19 year-olds not in school and not employed rose by 3 percent, but the number of idle young adults ages 20-24 climbed by a whopping 88 percent. Both rates exceed the national rate. (Getty Images)

The Kids Count report, "Youth and Work: Restoring Teen and Young Adult Connections to Opportunity," termed these 16- to 24-year-olds "disconnected." It found that they face many obstacles on their path to securing a stable financial future. For starters, many haven't finished high school and are competing with older Americans for the few entry-level jobs. In addition, they lack skills for higher-paying jobs. Many are poor and have attended under-performing schools. The report explains that, as such, this group can present a significant cost to taxpayers. (Read more) View the report here.

Almost 110,000 teens and young adults in Kentucky are not enrolled in school and are not employed, even part-time, according to a new Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.  Nationwide, the number reaches nearly 6.5 million. In Kentucky between 2000 and 2011 the number of 16-19 year-olds not in school and not employed rose by 3 percent, but the number of idle young adults ages 20-24 climbed by a whopping 88 percent. Both rates exceed the national rate. (Getty Images)

The Kids Count report, "Youth and Work: Restoring Teen and Young Adult Connections to Opportunity," termed these 16- to 24-year-olds "disconnected." It found that they face many obstacles on their path to securing a stable financial future. For starters, many haven't finished high school and are competing with older Americans for the few entry-level jobs. In addition, they lack skills for higher-paying jobs. Many are poor and have attended under-performing schools. The report explains that, as such, this group can present a significant cost to taxpayers. (Read more) View the report here.

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Studies show that preteen girls who get the HPV vaccination are not more inclined toward promiscuity than those who don't

An electron micrograph of the
human papilloma virus.
(National Cancer Institute photo)

 

The most recent study of preteen girls who received the vaccine for the human papilloma virus (HPV) found that they were no more likely than unvaccinated girls to get pregnant, develop sexually transmitted infections or seek birth-control counseling. The findings in Monday's issue of Pediatrics are in line with recent studies on British teens, which also dismissed concerns that getting the vaccination might encourage promiscuity.  USA Today reporter Michael Healy writes that while the latest results were based on parental or self-reporting, the reports were corroborated by medical tests, clinical markers of sexual activity and other behavior markers.

Robert Bednarczyk, a clinical investigator with the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research-Southeast and an epidemiologist at Emory University in Atlanta., queried 1,398 girls, aged 11 and 12, and analyzed their medical records. He and colleagues divided the girls into two groups and followed them for three years. "One group of 493 girls received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine Gardasil, along with other recommended vaccines for tetanus and meningitis. A comparison group of 905 girls received the tetanus and meningitis vaccines, but not HPV," Healy writes. "There was a very similar rate of testing, diagnosis and counseling between both groups," with no increase in pregnancies, STIs or birth-control counseling, Bednarczyk reported. Fewer than 1 percent of all girls tested positively for a sexually transmitted infection, and fewer than 1 percent had a positive pregnancy test.  (Read more)

An electron micrograph of the
human papilloma virus.
(National Cancer Institute photo)

 

The most recent study of preteen girls who received the vaccine for the human papilloma virus (HPV) found that they were no more likely than unvaccinated girls to get pregnant, develop sexually transmitted infections or seek birth-control counseling. The findings in Monday's issue of Pediatrics are in line with recent studies on British teens, which also dismissed concerns that getting the vaccination might encourage promiscuity.  USA Today reporter Michael Healy writes that while the latest results were based on parental or self-reporting, the reports were corroborated by medical tests, clinical markers of sexual activity and other behavior markers.

Robert Bednarczyk, a clinical investigator with the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research-Southeast and an epidemiologist at Emory University in Atlanta., queried 1,398 girls, aged 11 and 12, and analyzed their medical records. He and colleagues divided the girls into two groups and followed them for three years. "One group of 493 girls received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine Gardasil, along with other recommended vaccines for tetanus and meningitis. A comparison group of 905 girls received the tetanus and meningitis vaccines, but not HPV," Healy writes. "There was a very similar rate of testing, diagnosis and counseling between both groups," with no increase in pregnancies, STIs or birth-control counseling, Bednarczyk reported. Fewer than 1 percent of all girls tested positively for a sexually transmitted infection, and fewer than 1 percent had a positive pregnancy test.  (Read more)

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