[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-585022-105":59,"doc-detail-585022-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","how-state-policy-can-transform-career-navigation-for-young-people-a-50-state-analysis-585022","How State Policy Can Transform Career Navigation for Young People - A 50-State Analysis","","This brief examines how state policy can improve career navigation for young people by addressing fragmented education-to-career systems. It identifies why current supports are too dispersed across K-12, postsecondary, workforce, and community partners, leaving young adults without actionable guidance. Drawing on research indicators about unemployment, education-to-employment alignment, and employer skill assessment, it proposes a unified policy environment spanning actionable information, personalized guidance, work-based learning, and short-term credentials. It also summarizes 50-state progress across essential policy components and highlights persistent implementation gaps.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/how-state-policy-can-transform-career-navigation-for-young-people-a-50-state-analysis-585022/585022/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/how-state-policy-can-transform-career-navigation-for-young-people-a-50-state-analysis-585022/585022.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Maya Linwood","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-02","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":29},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What problem does the brief describe in career navigation for young people?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It explains that the education-to-career ecosystem is too complex and fragmented across K-12, postsecondary institutions, workforce development, industry, and community organizations, leaving many states without a supportive policy infrastructure.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why does the brief say career navigation matters?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It highlights that a significant share of 16–24-year-olds are not in school and not working, and it notes employer uncertainty about college degrees as a reliable measure of skills.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What four policy areas does the brief recommend for an effective career navigation system?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It recommends actionable information, personalized guidance, work-based learning, and short-term credentials to connect young people’s education and career pathways.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},585022,1792913321,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":29,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":14,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":24,"preview_page_count":4},962084928432,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","IN BRIEF  \nHow State Policy Can Transform Career Navigation for Young People:  \nA 50-State Analysis   \n~~The Challenge~~  \nFew young people have access to the essential career navigation services they need to make informed decisions about their education and career options after highschool.  \nWhat’s wrong? Today’s education-to-career ecosystem is too complex to navigate. Existing services are scattered across K-12 schools, postsecondary institutions, workforce development, industry, and community organizations, and most states lack a supportive policy infrastructure to help make critical connections.  \nThe gaps leave career navigation professionals unable to meaningfully collaborate, align their supports, or improve the quality of their services. This leaves young adults without the information, guidance, or learning and work opportunities they need to pursue their career goals.  \nWhy Career Navigation Matters  \n 10.9%  of young people ages 16-24 are not in school and not working. That’s 4.3 million young people.  \nSource: Measure of America, 2024  \n The youth unemployment rate is ~~12.9% ~~ for 16-to-19-year-olds and 8.3% for 20-to-24-year-olds.  \nSource: Federal Research Economic Database, 2025  \n 72% of employers don’t see a college degree as a reliable assessment of applicants’ skills yet 52% of employers still hire applicants from degree programs.  \nSource: Morning Consult Survey for JFF, 2025  \nThe Solution  \nAll 50 states should aim to develop a policy environment that supports aligned, integrated, and comprehensive career navigation services across education, workforce, and related systems. This is a critical way to help young people access key information, use available financial support, and pursue pathways that are meaningfully connected to their chosen career.  \nThe ASA Center for Career Navigation at JFF helps young people ages 16-24 find, evaluate, access, and pay for high-quality education and training programs while helping employers identify workers with skills that match their needs.  \nTo learn more about the center’s policy work, [email Erica Cuevas at ecuevas@jff.org](email Erica Cuevas at ecuevas@jff.org).  \nTo develop an effective career navigation system for young people, each state’s policymakers should focus on four key areas:  \n\n| \u003Cbr>Actionable information\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>Every young person needs access to high-quality information about postsecondary education and career opportunities to help them make informed choices about their future.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>Personalized guidance\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>Young people can work with career coaches to clarify their goals, acquire critical skills, and choose from available postsecondary education and training programs. | \u003Cbr>Work-based learning\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>These opportunities bridge the gap between education and employment by providing young people with hands-on experience and skills that are directly applicable in the workplace.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>Short-term credentials\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>These pathways can rapidly equip young people with skills needed to meet the demands of a dynamic job market and secure credentials valued by employers. |\n| --- | --- |\n\nState Progress in Advancing Career Navigation  \nWe identified 19 policies across the 4 components above that are essential for supporting effective career navigation services. They include quality standards, cross-sector partnerships, financial incentives, clear service definitions, and more. Few states have made significant progress in adopting these policies. Our scan of all 50 states’ policies revealed the following:  \n~~Limited Adoption of Key Policies~~  \nFew states (Iowa, Maryland, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington) have adopted a majority of the policies that contribute to a comprehensive career navigation system.  \n~~Incomplete Utilization of Policy Components~~  \nMost states have not yet enacted the full range of policies available to them to support the development of an effective career navigation system; 31 states have","cbCaihDoAQB9mDHs","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihDoAQB9mDHs","pdf",200078,"English","# The Challenge\n# Why Career Navigation Matters\n# The Solution\n## Four Key Areas\n# State Progress in Advancing Career Navigation\n## Limited Adoption of Key Policies\n## Incomplete Utilization of Policy Components\n## Advancements in Funding and Incentives\n## Gaps in Policy Implementation","[{\"question\":\"What problem does the brief describe in career navigation for young people?\",\"answer\":\"It explains that the education-to-career ecosystem is too complex and fragmented across K-12, postsecondary institutions, workforce development, industry, and community organizations, leaving many states without a supportive policy infrastructure.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the brief say career navigation matters?\",\"answer\":\"It highlights that a significant share of 16–24-year-olds are not in school and not working, and it notes employer uncertainty about college degrees as a reliable measure of skills.\"},{\"question\":\"What four policy areas does the brief recommend for an effective career navigation system?\",\"answer\":\"It recommends actionable information, personalized guidance, work-based learning, and short-term credentials to connect young people’s education and career pathways.\"}]","How State Policy Can Transform Career Navigation for Young People - A 50-State Analysis | PDF",1792053371]