ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the pathologies in America's inner city neighborhoods. It provides a brief overview of four pathologies: unemployment and underemployment, dropping out of high school, mass incarceration, and unwed motherhood and teen pregnancy. The book also focuses on current federally funded rehabilitative efforts for disconnected youth and adults as well as ex-offenders, who are often unemployed and unemployable. It examines how nonprofit organizations can meet the challenges presented by those with criminal convictions and others disconnected from the American mainstream. The book also examines intermediate-term—three to five years—preventive strategies and programs to facilitate employment through skills development. It describes vocational education in urban high schools, both public and charter. The book also presents evidence-based research pointing to the positive benefits of a vo-tech approach in terms of increased high school graduation rates and subsequent earnings gains.
