How should policymakers address the long-standing youth unemployment problem in Puerto Rico, which only worsened in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria? After natural disasters, the government tends to focus its recovery efforts on infrastructure repairs and mental health services. But employment and economic security are equally important. With support from the W. T. Grant Foundation, MDRC partnered with Instituto del Desarrollo de la Juventud, or the Youth Development Institute, to develop recommendations that can create pathways into the workforce for young people and that are supported by evidence-based and promising practices relevant to the current situation in Puerto Rico. 

 

Join Katie Beal as she talks to John Martinez, Director of Program Development at MDRC, about the recommendations we made to facilitate and support training and employment opportunities for young people in Puerto Rico, and the challenges of implementing those recommendations.