Abandoned: America's Lost Youth and the Crisis of Disconnection

(Hardback)

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Description

For the majority of young adults today, the transition to independence is a time of excitement and possibility. But 4.5 million young people or a stunning 11.5 percent of youth aged sixteen to twenty-four experience entry into adulthood as abrupt abandonment, a time of disconnection from school, work, and family. For this growing population of Americans, which includes kids aging out of foster care and those entangled with the justice system, life screeches to a halt when adulthood arrives. Abandoned is the first-ever exploration of this tale of dead ends and broken dreams.

Reviews

Praise for Abandoned:
Perhaps the most compelling group in Kims book are the teens who have aged out of the foster care system. . . . We may not be able to provide caring parents, but as Kim notes, we can do a better job bolstering schools in poor areas and provide more training, employment, and family planning programs.
Associated Press

"A remarkably important book. . . . Kim has set the table for a much-needed conversation about a population of young people neglected for far too long."
Alex Kotlowitz, Washington Monthly

"Kim diagnoses a 'crisis of opportunity' among America's youth in this substantial and cogent analysis of U.S. public policy. . . . Policy makers and social justice advocates will find valuable insights in this sobering well-sourced examination."
Publishers Weekly

"A quietly powerful nonfiction debut. . . . the author enlivens the text with miniprofiles of beneficiaries of high-impact programs. An outstanding book for policymakers and people who work with adrift young people."
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"In defiance of stereotypes of lazy and unmotivated youth, Kim depicts young people who are eager to break into the workforce but face personal and structural obstacles that sabotage their efforts at every turn... [A] smart, solutions-focused examination of an often-overlooked social crisis."
Booklist

"This comprehensive overview of the problem of disconnection among young adults in the U.S. offers proven solutions and concrete policy recommendations."
Shelf Awareness (starred review)

Author Bio

Anne Kim is a writer, lawyer, and public policy expert with a long career in Washington, DCbased think tanks working in and around Capitol Hill. She is also a contributing editor at Washington Monthly, where she was a senior writer. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, Governing, TheAtlantic.com, the Wall Street Journal, Democracy, and numerous other publications. She lives in northern Virginia.