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Opportunity Passport™ Holders: Most Are Girls, More Are Working
Who are the Opportunity Passport™ participants? A picture of them emerges from the most recent report of findings from 10 Initiative sites. Of the 569 young adults who have filled out more than one survey about their participation:
- 38 percent have been participants for less than six months; 29 percent have been participants for 7 to 12 months; 33 percent have been participants for a year or longer.
- Two-thirds are female. In contrast, males actually make up about half of the foster care population in the nine states in which the sites are located.
- Most identify as African American or Caucasian.
- 57 percent of those participating for less than six months are in foster care; 42 percent of those participating for longer than a year report being in care.
- 81 percent of short-term participants were enrolled in school; of those participating for more than a year, three-quarters were enrolled in school at the time of the first survey, but that number had decreased to 61 percent at the time of the most recent survey.
- The number of both short- and long-term participants who had completed their high school diplomas or GEDs had increased from the time of the first survey to the most recent one.
- The number of both short and long-term participants who were employed also increased from the time of the first survey to the most recent one.
- Two-thirds of participants who are out of school are not receiving public assistance.
- The 569 participants had deposited a total of $392,616.
- 70 percent of the long-term participants made deposits less than once a month, while slightly more than a quarter of them made deposits more than once a month.
- 30 percent of long-term participants were depositing an average of $75 a month, and 26 percent of short-term participants made similar monthly deposits.
- The 569 participants had matched withdrawals totaling $107,869.
- 41 percent of the long-term participants had purchased one or more asset; interestingly, 6 percent of the short-term participants had purchased one or more asset.
- The vast majority of participants say they are successful in accessing information and resources in the community. However, there appears to be a gap between that perception and their actual success in finding employment, housing, and health care, the report says.
- Very few out-of-school participants report that they have safe, stable, affordable housing located near public transportation, work, or school.
- Over time, long-term participants have poorer health coverage than short-term participants, and the insurance coverage actually decreases for both of the two groups. When they enrolled in the Opportunity Passport™, for instance, 75 percent of the long-term participants had health insurance, but that number had dropped to 66 percent by the most recent survey.
Another important finding shows that more work needs to be done to help these young adults achieve a safe, enduring relationship that lasts a lifetime. While most participants say they do have a supportive adult in their lives, about 30 percent say they do not have an adult in the community they could go to for emotional support or advice or guidance about school or a job.
