Spring 2014 - 63535 - PA388K - Advanced Topics in Public Policy

Investing in the Next Generation

This course is a seminar that will explore policies aimed to promote human, social, and emotional resources among children and adolescents so that they may participate fully in the economic and social mainstream. In Texas within the next 10 years, if present trends continue, over 2/3s of the children in elementary school will be Latino, and just over half of these children will finish high school. Additionally, approximately half of all children will be born to unmarried parents and most will spend a good portion of their childhood in single parent homes, and will thus be at a high risk of poverty. As goes Texas, so goes the rest of the nation. What do these statistics portend for the future of our nation's economic competitiveness, for the future of our families and communities, and for the future of policies? How do we ensure that the next generation of workers and parents are prepared for their roles? These are the topics we will explore in this class. The course will require students to complete all of the assigned readings and participate actively in class. In addition, students will develop a policy proposal and present it orally in class