Getting In Staying On Moving Up - GiveWell

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10 Working Ventures Recruitment, Program Eligibility and the Screening Process In 1997, Moving Up enrolled 293 students from an initial pool of roughly 900 applicants. To attract eligible students, a fulltime recruiter makes presentations about Moving Up to foster care programs, public housing community centers, group homes and other places where out-of-school youth are likely to congregate. Counselors in high schools and the juvenile justice system also generate a large number of prospective participants. All those enrolled are economically disadvantaged youth no longer attending school, and its participants fall into many of the categories normally associated with a low probability of success in the workplace: 90 percent have dropped out of high school; 32 percent are on public assistance; 97 percent are minorities; and an alarming 60 to 70 percent test positive for some form of sexually transmitted disease at their initial medical examination. VFI does not test for use of illegal drugs (except when an employer requires job applicants to be tested), but staff believe that most of those enrolled have used drugs at some point. Participants must demonstrate a basic capacity for employment. They must be able to read at least at a sixth-grade level and have at least fifth-grade math ability, and they must demonstrate enough motivation to participate fully in the program. Moving Up’s extended application process not only measures academic ability but also vigorously tests clients’ motivation. Applicants often must appear for multiple interviews and must participate in preenrollment activities or submit additional written information. In the interviews, according to one case manager, the conversation ranges among many topics that may be unrelated to the program: “I just get to know them, how they talk, how they think, their body language.” One result of this extended screening process is that up to two-thirds of prospective clients typically self-select out of the program before they are ever officially enrolled. Some applicants decide the program is not for them and discuss that conclusion with case managers. In those cases, VFI furnishes referrals to other more appropriate programs (unless the case manager disagrees and talks the applicant into remaining). Many applicants, though, simply fail to show up despite regular call backs. In the end, however, whatever their educational deficits and difficult backgrounds, those who stick it out have proved by their perseverance that they have the desire to work and succeed that is essential for the program to be effective. VFI allows its case managers wide latitude in evaluating prospective clients. Some prefer to meet with applicants one-on-one; others prefer a group setting or some combination. “I can tell what a person is really about in a group setting,” says one case manager. “One-on-one they know they’re being observed and they stay on their best behavior. In a group, they relax a little and show their true colors.” All prospective clients must come back for at least a oneon-one meeting with the basic paperwork
GETTING IN, Staying on, Moving Up 11 The Cost of Moving Up Since VFI’s employment retention efforts are as extensive as any in the employment field today, it comes as no surprise that they command significant resources. In fiscal year 1997-98, VFI spent approximately $713,000 on employment retention assistance for the 803 people in the caseload. These expenses, summarized in Figure 3, include direct staff costs for nine career advisors and the unit supervisor, as well as related rent, utilities and overhead expenses. Including overhead, Moving Up spent just under $900 per participant last year—or $1,800 per person for the two years they remain in the program. Approximately $720 per participant was spent on direct services, while $180 was spent on overhead, rent and other indirect expenses. It should be noted that New York salaries are significantly higher than those in many areas of the country; VFI pays its career advisors between $32,000 and $38,000 annually. Figure 3 The Annual Cost of Moving Up's Employment Retention Program Telephone, postage, etc. $11,977 Supplies $14,298 Travel $23,724 Rent, utilities, etc. $24,716 Client expenses $27,560 Consultants/instructors $38,883 Administrative overhead $85,733 Salaries and fringes $485,938 Source: P/PV analysis of VFI data. Figure 4 Allocation of Staff Time With Clients 24 Months of Post-Employment Services 40 35 Much of the retention effort occurs soon after placement. VFI estimates that 40 percent of the time staff spend on post-employment services is during the first six months after a participant graduates and 90 percent during the first year, as Figure 4 illustrates. Percentage of Time Spent 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Months 0-6 7-9 10-12 13-18 19-24 Source: P/PV analysis of VFI data.
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