February 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 28

SOCIAL EQUITY

Addressing Social Equity
Through Teen Programming
By Jessica Gilzow, CPRP, and Michelle Rojas

s park and recreation professionals, we must think about how to
ensure the programs and services we offer are equitable. Another
topic many of us contemplate is how to engage teenagers. We
also must consider how to hire enough high-quality staff to lead
programs, lifeguard at pools, maintain trails and work in guest services.
What if all three concerns have
a common solution? What if there
was a way to address social equity
and create a pipeline for staffing by
changing teen programs to attract
more participation?
The solution is simple: Incentivize participation in low-income
neighborhoods by creating a work
training teen program, tie successful participation to school credit
and pay teens to participate.

But What About the Budget?

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT

Start by making all teen programs

free. Childtrends.org published
" Why Teens Are Not Involved in
Out-of-School Time Programs:
The Youth Perspective, " which
outlines input gathered from adolescents in low-income families
who were not enrolled in out-ofschool time programs. The teens
reported several reasons for their
lack of participation, including
financial problems. Some of the
barriers to participation they identified can be mitigated by program
planning.
If financial problems are a bar-

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rier, charging a fee will make teen
programs inaccessible for many
from low-income families. Free
teen programming would make
the activities more accessible to
more teens. Incentivizing participation with a stipend or payment
may even help families in your
community make ends meet. In
addition to enticing teens to participate in out-of-school time programs, paying teens can have an
impact on social equity and longterm earning potential.
Teen programs designed to introduce responsibilities related to
employment, such as a counselor
-in-training or park ranger cadet
programs, can be fun for teens while
helping them develop job skills.

Higher Future
Earning Potential
According to the Brookings Institute, studies reveal that adults who
worked during their teenage years
earn salaries 16 percent higher
than those who didn't work. The
increased earning potential has
lasting implications that can follow
them nearly their entire career.
In 2000, 45 percent of Americans ages 16 to 19 worked in
an average month. That number
dropped to just above 25 percent
by 2014. " This is the first generation not to have major work
experience as part of their adolescent development, " according
to Jeylan Mortimer, a sociologist
who studied teenagers and work
at the University of Minnesota.
Another alarming trend related to
youth employment is 38 percent

Engaging diverse teens with park and
recreation programming and services
can help to address equity concerns by
creating a pipeline for staffing.

February 2020 - Parks & Recreation

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