NRS Co-Sponsors Teen Report Card, Adults Need Improvement in Understanding Issues Facing Youth
CHICAGO (June 28, 2005) – Adults received a D+ average in understanding why teens leave home, according to the 7th Annual Uhlich Children's Advantage Network (ucan) Teen Report Card, which asked more than 1,000 teens ages 12 to 19 across the country to grade adults in more than 20 different categories. The D+ grade was the worst grade of the 2005 report card.
"Adults need to carefully examine the issue of teens running away because teens obviously view this as an area where adults can improve their efforts," said Maureen Blaha, executive director of the National Runaway Switchboard (NRS), a co-sponsor of the Teen Report Card. "In addition to helping at-risk youth, NRS is also a resource for parents to gain a better understanding of issues their child may be dealing with. Our website offers tips for parents and a parent guide that can be downloaded and passed along to other adults."
When asked to grade adults on how they are doing on stopping teens from running away, 33 percent of teens gave adults a C, followed by 32 percent who gave a B. Only 9 percent of teens gave adults an A, while another 9 percent gave adults a failing grade.
When asked to grade adults on their understanding of why teens leave home, 31 percent of teens gave adults a C, followed by 21 percent who gave a D. Twenty-four percent of teens say parents are failing in this area.
For the third year in-a-row NRS co-sponsored the Teen Report Card and helped develop a series of questions to learn more about what adults can do to prevent youth from running from home.
Conducted in January and February of 2005, the survey is a representative sampling of teens across the country. Teens received the questions via a mail survey, with the results weighted to reflect regional, ethnic and gender distribution across the U.S. The research division of the Child Welfare League of America, Washington, D.C., provided long-term trend analysis of the grades received by the adults and facilitated the participation of its member agencies in L.A., D.C. and Baltimore.
The survey was conducted for ucan by the nation's premier research organization on teenage attitudes and trends, Teenage Research Unlimited, in Northbrook, Ill.
The survey carries a +/- 3% margin of sampling error. A full copy of the ucan Teen Report Card, including all grades and ancillary materials, and a teen/adult discussion guide can be found at www.1800runaway.org.
The National Runaway Switchboard, established in 1971, serves as the federally-designated national communication system for homeless and runaway youth. Recognized as the oldest hotline in the world, NRS, with the support of more than 150 volunteers, has handled more than 3 million calls in its 34-year history and handles an average of 115,000 calls annually. NRS provides crisis intervention, referrals to local resources, and education and prevention services to youth, families and community members throughout the country 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Over 10,000 youth have been reunited with their families through NRS’ Home Free program, done in collaboration with Greyhound Lines, Inc. The NRS crisis hotline is 1-800-RUNAWAY. For more information, visit www.1800runaway.org.