Giving Compass' Take:

• Urban Institute examines a new US Department of Labor proposal that would allow teens younger than 18 to work longer hours at dangerous construction jobs. This raises alarms, but how can we address poverty so kids aren't tempted to take such jobs in the first place?

• Nonprofits working to expand opportunities for low-income families in the US should take such matters into account, making sure that more apprenticeships and training programs are available beyond those requiring hazardous work.

• What are sustainable ways to lift people out of poverty? This article explores.

A new US Department of Labor proposal that would loosen certain child labor laws has drawn pushback from people worried about kids facing a higher risk of injury in the workplace. The proposal would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to spend longer hours training for hazardous jobs such as roofing and operating chainsaws, occupations the government currently considers too dangerous for kids younger than 18.

Proponents of these looser rules hope they would expand apprenticeships and offer more opportunities for young people who don’t go to a four-year college, while critics point to the heightened danger for kids in these high-risk jobs.

Molly Scott, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute, explains why people should look at the bigger picture of why dangerous jobs might seem like good choices to young people living in poverty and what policy solutions could help improve their well-being.

"People assume that kids are not at risk if we have child labor laws. But kids are already at risk even with our existing laws," says Scott. "For our 2016 report, Impossible Choices, we had conversations across the country with low-income kids ages 12 to 17. We consistently saw that when there aren’t enough resources at home, young people are taking on an adult role at a very young age."

Read the full article about why we must address poverty to keep kids safe by Emily Peiffer at Urban Institute.