Center on Rural Youth
Today’s Rural Youth
Today’s rural communities are changing, some for the better and others for the worse, but across the country many rural youth are at high risk of failing during the transition from youth to adulthood. Lack of opportunities and resources mean they are more likely to be delinquent, drop out of school, abuse substances, fall prey to obesity, and fail to develop the work skills and community ties that ensure a healthy engaged adult life.
The Carsey Center on Rural Youth partners with local leaders to investigate the complex challenges facing today’s rural youth and provide the rigorous research and analysis that is critical for developing programs and policies that can create positive, measurable change in these communities.
Current Projects Include:
Panel Study of Coos County Youth: The Carsey Institute is conducting a 10-year study in Northern New Hampshire, following 7th and 11th graders to learn what familial, academic, economic, and community factors affect their success as they transition into adulthood.
National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health: Using three waves of data from this survey, Carsey researchers will provide the first systematic, national comparison of urban and rural delinquency and substance use.
Demonstration study: In a two-year project in New Hampshire’s North Country, Carsey has proposed to work with local partners to develop a community-based intervention that builds opportunities for at-risk youth in their communities.
Policy Analysis that Makes a Difference
Past publications from the Carsey Center on Rural Youth include:
Children’s Health Insurance in New Hampshire: An Analysis of New Hampshire Healthy Kids by Sally Ward, Sarah Savage, and Nena Stracuzzi ,
Rural Children Increasingly Rely on Medicaid and State Child Health Insurance Programs for Medical Care, by William P. O’Hare
The Center on Rural Youth is supported by funding from the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.