WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- America's strength depends on workforce-ready, law abiding men and women who are able to defend our nation. Unfortunately, a new report shows the majority of America's young adults fail to meet at least one of these indicators. More than three-fourths of the states (37 states) earned a grade of C or worse based on the percentage of young adults who miss the mark. Nationwide:

12 percent of adults aged 17-24 have been arrested at least once;





Approximately 1 in 8 young adults aged 16 to 24 are neither employed nor in school;





More than 70 percent of those between the ages of 17 and 24 cannot qualify for military service due to problems with obesity, education, drug abuse or crime.

See the report and state-by-state rankings: http://bit.ly/2BGLyIb

The 2017 Citizen-Readiness Index is produced annually by Council for a Strong America (CSA), a national, bipartisan, nonprofit uniting organizations comprised of five pillars of society. It reveals how each of the 50 states ranks in the number of young adults who fail to meet the Citizen-Ready criteria (with Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina and Tennessee earning a grade of "E" based on collective indicators and Hawaii, Massachusetts and Vermont earning "A"s).

Listen to the concerns of the Council's members: https://youtu.be/T9Nv8_lOOKg

"Yes, this report is full of bad news that the nation cannot ignore, but we don't have to take it lying down," said Lieutenant General Norman R. Seip, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), a member of Mission: Readiness, an organization of more than 700 retired admirals and generals. "Quality early education, strong families and good nutrition and physical activity in our nation's schools will prepare young people to succeed in today's economy or the military if that's the path they choose."

CSA recommends three steps Congress can take to address these challenges:

Ensuring kids are ready-to-learn when they start school , by expanding access to early education through support of Head Start, Child Care Development Block Grants, and Preschool Development Grants.





, by expanding access to early education through support of Head Start, Child Care Development Block Grants, and Preschool Development Grants. Keeping kids healthy while they're in school , by staying the course to improve the nutritional content of school meals and snacks.





, by staying the course to improve the nutritional content of school meals and snacks. Strengthening families, by reauthorizing the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program.

SOURCE Council for a Strong America