My Future

How can I improve my potential for economic flexibility? 

Several things determine whether someone will be able to live their dream. One main one is your economic potential. Your potential is based on your circumstances at birth. 

Generally, we know what happens to most people born in the U.S. based on what they’re born into. Native youth face many economic challenges and your “potential” is considered low compared to other social groups. 

We spend a lot of time and energy trying to change our potential to change our lives and improve our happiness. That's because we think that money equals happiness. 

Instead of worrying about how fast you can move up the financial ladder, consider following a balanced way of using awareness and choice to find security. This is known as economic flexibility. It's your ability to balance “work” with relational Native traditions of balance, respect, and harmony. 

Young Native parents are often at a disadvantage because you may not have the same financial resources and education as parents who had their first child after the age of 25. Education is your greatest weapon. This is linked to higher incomes later in life. These stats reveal a lot:

• The high school graduation rate for Native youth in the U.S. is 74%, compared to the national average of 87%.
• Unemployment among high school graduates is almost twice as high as that of individuals with a college degree.
• A study on young parents (people who had their first child between the ages of 16-24) found that each 1% increase in parents’ time spent combining work and education leads to a $451 bump in annual family income at age 30.

We’re not going to lie and tell you that it will be easy to parent, go to work, and continue your education—all at the same time. There will be challenges, starting with child care.

Some Native young parents may have family or the larger community around to help with child care. If you are together with your child’s other parent, and there’s no one else but you two, then child care will have an impact on your income potential. If you aren’t living with your child’s other parent, then it becomes even more expensive because you have to manage more and constantly make and change arrangements.

Colorado offers several programs to help parents find affordable child care, early childhood education, and preschool for their child:

• Colorado Child Care Assistance Program for Families
• Universal Preschool Colorado
  • In Colorado, every child can access free preschool the year before kindergarten.
• Head Start / Early Head Start

Now that you’ve learned about child care options, what about finding a job or getting your GED / paying for college? The resources section along the left side of this page includes links to several programs, including some specifically designed for Native youth, that help young parents find jobs and continue their education.