Economic times have driven jobs for teens into the hands of adults, unfortunately, who are struggling to support their families as well as themselves. However, since there is little funding to create jobs to hire teens to work, perhaps the state could orchestrate funding to create on the job training opportunities in the form of community service or internships that would benefit both the community and the students? Students could perform tasks that provide training, develop skills such as organization, responsibility, and communication, and students would also have real world experience that they could bring with them to the next stage of their lives, whether it is to the working world or to college. I see a lot of students struggle to keep jobs once they get them, and if they had had some kind of experience that prepared them for the demands of a job, they would have been more successful and felt better about themselves. Big companies and facilities would benefit from having a team of young individuals as interns or service volunteers, and the new Common Core describes skills for college readiness that students could practice in an environment outside the classroom where they put their skills into real world practice.

If the object is to just keep them off the streets, then they should volunteer.  It is a real character builder to do something without expecting anything back...that is what my teen did the past two summers, because only Boston kids get free jobs. But they should be honest, it is about the money for them...sadly, their parents are holding the minimum wagejobs that were meant for them...