This publication discusses the results of an opinion poll on the political views of young African Americans.

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Date Published: 2001

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In a national “Call to Action” released in 2003, the Surgeon General of the United States challenged public and private institutions to ensure that all Americans achieve optimal oral health. As the report states, “oral health is essential to general health and well-being and can be achieved.” The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, through its Health Policy Institute, is taking up the challenge with this special report on strategies to improve the oral health status of African American men — one of the most neglected groups.

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Historically, the focal point of the discourse on the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents has been teen pregnancy, and the population of interest has been adolescent females ages 10-14 and ages 15-19. Issues related to the sexual and reproductive health of young males were seldom considered, as reflected in the type of data collected—or not collected—for male and female teens. In the late 1980s, this began to change with an increased emphasis on issues related to male teens, in part due to the spread of infections such as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and chlamydia. Our knowledge about the sexual and reproductive health outcomes and behaviors of young men of color (Hispanic or Latino, black or African American, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander) is shaped by the methods used to gather and analyze the relevant data. These methods and the resulting data, however, do not always accurately reflect trends for this group. This report traces our knowledge about the sexual and reproductive health of young men of color from outcomes to behaviors, and then discusses some of the complexities associated with studying this population.

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Men of color face many challenges in achieving and maintaining good health. Their social circumstances and cultural norms, as well as the larger society’s discriminatory treatment of them, often engender in these men unhealthful responses. When social circumstances include poverty, limited education, and scarce employment opportunities, the impact on health can be especially harmful. This brief provides an overview of factors that influence the health and longevity of men of color in the United States, and makes policy recommendations for improving their health status.

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Although a few highly visible African Americans have reached positions of high status, income, and power in the United States, most blacks still live separately from whites, and significantly lag behind whites in terms of income, housing, health, and education.1 Other non-white groups, including Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans, also rank lower than whites on many measures of living conditions and opportunities, and tend to live in ethnic enclaves. Of all those not classified as members of the dominant white group, young men of color (YMC) are particular objects of stereotyping, fear, anger, misunderstanding, and rejection. Indeed, public attitudes and emotions restrict their lives and keep them from enjoying the full range of opportunities and benefits of American society.

This background paper focuses on the impact of decisions to transfer young men of color from the juvenile justice system to adult criminal courts, as well as the impact that alternative sentences and alternatives to incarceration have on these youth. In addition to providing historical perspective and an overview of the relevant literature, the paper offers promising practices in alternative sentencing and alternatives to incarceration, and policy options to ensure proper interventions and assistance for young men of color.

During the past twenty-five years, a series of public policies have had a negative impact upon young men from communities of color.

To assess and ultimately help meet the needs of youth who age out of foster care in the United States, the Joint Center Health Policy Institute (JCHPI)—with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and in partnership with the Black Administrators in Child Welfare Inc. (BACW)—conducted reconnaissance on the unmet needs of these youth. This project was undertaken to guide the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in thinking about steps they might take to help meet the needs of youth who age out of foster care in this country. Conducting a literature review, a telephone survey, and listening sessions enabled us to develop insights into the workings of the foster care system and the experiences of youth while in the system and when aging out of it.

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