Youth at Risk in Latin America and the Caribbean

Realizing the potential of Latin America and the Caribbean's youth is essential not only to their well-being, but also to the long-term welfare of the whole region. Young people's families, communities, and governments - as well as private, nonprofit, and international organizations - have a responsibility to help youth reach their potential. There have been many successes but also important failures. How to build on the successes and correct the failures is the subject of this report.

• This book has two objectives: to identify the at-risk youth in LAC, and to provide evidence-based guidance to policy makers in LAC countries, that will help them to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their youth investments.
• The book concludes that governments can be more effective in preventing young people from engaging in risky behavior in the first place and also in assisting those who already are engaged in negative behavior.

To support governments in this endeavor, the book provides a set of tools to inform and guide policy makers as they reform and implement programs for at-risk youth. The key messages are:

• Many young people in LAC are at risk, and investing in them will have a positive impact on social and economic development in the region, both today and well into the future;
• Understanding the nature and prevalence of risky youth behaviors helps us to recommend the best policies for at-risk youth;
• A core set of factors lies behind risky behavior by young people.

The Five principles of good policy to design effective interventions for youth, namely,

1. Treat the youth portfolio as an investment and design it accordingly,
2. Include programs for preventing risky behavior that begin at birth,
3. Include programs for at-risk youth who need second chances,
4. Target those most at risk,
5. Prioritize policies and programs that affect multiple risks.

Seven "core" programs and policies that should be a definite and immediate part of every investment portfolio for youth are,

1. Integrated early childhood development (ECD) for children from poor households,
2. Secondary school completion,
3. School-based prevention and remediation programs,
4. Youth-friendly health and pharmaceutical services,
5. Use of the media for prevention messages (combined with improved services),
6. Improved caregiving,
7. Monitoring indicators to track progress.

Three recommended strategies to inform the selection of programs:

1. Evaluate the impact of programs to identify which have the greatest positive effect on the kinds of behavior that is of interest to policy makers,
2. Use cost-effectiveness criteria to select the program that has the biggest "bang for the buck.",
3. Identify outcome-based goals for the portfolio and monitor these outcomes

(Selected excerpts from Overview, pp. 1-20)