Opportunity Youth: Disenfranchised Young People

More documents

Recommendations

Info

dom assignment evaluation of nine career pathways programs. The evaluation will follow the study sample for 30 months, and early impact results are expected in 2016. 34 A randomized controlled trial of three sector-based training and employment programs found impacts on employment and earnings gains for young adults (ages 18 to 26) in two of the three programs evaluated: Jewish Vocational Service in Boston and Per Scholas in New York City. 35 These programs offered a combination of sector-specific training (health care in the case of Jewish Vocational Service and information technology in the case of Per Scholas), internships, job placement, and postplacement support. The interventions did not specifically target young people and, like Year Up, they required participants to enter the program with secondary credentials. Other evaluations of employment programs for young people are under way. Two programs in the Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration (STED) evaluation (which MDRC is leading and which includes a random assignment design) focus on young people. The Young Adult Internship Program serves young adults in New York City who are disconnected from school and work, many of whom have high school diplomas or high school equivalency credentials. The nine-month program uses a cohort structure (that is, it starts groups of young people at the same time so they progress together) and starts with an assessment of employability skills and social-support needs. Work-readiness training and supportive counseling are provided for the duration of the program. Participants engage in a 10- to 14-week paid internship, after which they receive placement support from the program to connect with education, advanced training, or employment. Impact results are expected in 2017. Chicago’s Bridges to Pathways program, also in the STED evaluation, is a six-month transitional jobs program for young men who have recently been incarcerated. The program includes online educational support, subsidized jobs, mentoring, and social-emotional/cognitive behavioral programs. Impact results are also expected in 2017. Education-Focused Programs Most disconnected young people lack secondary credentials, which greatly impedes their ability to connect to work or college. Employers may require a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential, putting young people without one at a disadvantage when applying for jobs. Not having a secondary credential can also prevent them from entering postsecondary education and receiving financial aid. A longitudinal study of disconnected young people found that by age 28, nearly threequarters had received high school diplomas and 10 percent had high school equivalency creden- 34 Interview with Karen Gardiner, Abt Associates, 3/20/2015. 35 Maguire et al. (2010). 13
tials. 36 These numbers indicate that a strong majority of young people who disconnect from school eventually achieve secondary credentials. There are multiple ways young people can achieve secondary credentials. Young people who have not aged out have the option of returning to public school, and many are served through alternative schools, which are either operated by the district or by charter organizations. The number of alternative schools that target at-risk and disconnected young people has increased in recent years. But for some young people, returning to school is not an option, either because they have aged out or because they are reluctant to return to institutions that were not able to meet their needs the first time around. For these young people, a number of program options can lead to a secondary credential. These programs vary in their structure and approach, but roughly fall into two categories: comprehensive programs that specifically target young people, and programs that target postsecondary education and serve a range of ages. Some of these programs incorporate career pathway approaches. Comprehensive Youth Programs Programs in this category specifically target young people and have age limits on eligibility. They tend to combine support services to address participants’ academic, employment, and life goals. Many of these programs are federally funded and operate at the national scale, and evaluation data from studies of these programs offer lessons on promising strategies to help disconnected young people. Two comprehensive youth programs are residential: Job Corps and National Guard Youth ChalleNGe. Job Corps is the largest federal program for disconnected young people, serving more than 60,000 each year across 125 centers. Participants can earn high school diplomas or equivalency credentials and receive career training in one of many fields, such as business, health, or construction. Participants also get health care, stipends, career counseling, and transitional support for a year following graduation. A four-year random assignment study found that the program increased the amount of education and training participants received, and increased literacy rates. The program generated employment and earning gains through a four-year follow-up period, but these effects were not sustained after the end of that follow-up period, except for young people who entered the program when they were 20 to 24 years old. 37 In ChalleNGe, participants engage in a five-month, intensive residential program that includes eight core components: education, life-skills training, leadership-skills development, community service, citizenship building, physical fitness, health and hygiene, and job-skills training and career exploration. The program also helps participants set up structured mentoring 36 Belfield, Levin, and Rosen (2012). 37 Schochet, Burghardt, and McConnell (2006). 14
Page 2 and 3:
Turning the Improbable Into the Exc
Page 4 and 5:
Page 4 of 72
Page 6 and 7:
Page 6 of 72
Page 8 and 9:
6. 1 We disseminate Quarterly publi
Page 10 and 11:
Page 10 of 72
Page 12 and 13:
Page 12 of 72
Page 14 and 15:
Page 14 of 72
Page 16 and 17:
Analysis has also examined the econ
Page 18 and 19: Larkin Street Lyric National Fund f
Page 20 and 21: success stories all around the coun
Page 22 and 23: meaningful, and community-enhancing
Page 24 and 25: There are also empowerment movement
Page 26 and 27: Educational activities that cite yo
Page 28 and 29: Page 28 of 72
Page 30 and 31: they will be on the way to a hopefu
Page 32 and 33: provide recognition for positive be
Page 34 and 35: the Caribbean to Central and South
Page 36 and 37: In 2006 the Commonwealth Youth Prog
Page 38 and 39: Participation," this spectrum ident
Page 42 and 43: who exhibit other problem behaviors
Page 44 and 45: Notes _____________________________
Page 48 and 49: MDRC Working Paper What Works for D
Page 50: Overview This paper was commissione
Page 54: Acknowledgments We are grateful to
Page 57 and 58: • Programs share some common impl
Page 59 and 60: Public Schools The public school sy
Page 61 and 62: In 2014, the company offering the G
Page 63 and 64: their education and move up the car
Page 65 and 66: terest in city-level Reengagement C
Page 67: social development, mental health,
Page 71 and 72: focus on recruiting young people wh
Page 73 and 74: they were considering pursuing. 49
Page 75 and 76: evaluation of CEPS also found that
Page 77 and 78: Behavioral Interventions Many menta
Page 79 and 80: • Strong links among education, t
Page 81 and 82: participation, and many communities
Page 83 and 84: y the end of the reporting period.
Page 85 and 86: these disincentives, however, a num
Page 87 and 88: programs specifically target the mo
Page 90: Appendix Selected Evaluations of Pr
Page 93 and 94: Findings expected in 2016 Findings
Page 95 and 96: 2009-2012 Varies Program 2012-2014
Page 98 and 99: References American Institutes for
Page 100 and 101: Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initi
Page 102 and 103: Sparks, Sarah D. 2015. “Many Drop
Page 104 and 105: About MDRC MDRC is a nonprofit, non
Page 106 and 107: Attachment B Disconnected Youth: A
Page 108 and 109: Disconnected Youth: A Look at 16 to
Page 118 and 119:
Disconnected Youth: A Look at 16 to
Page 120 and 121:
Page 122 and 123:
Page 124 and 125:
Page 126 and 127:
Page 128 and 129:
Page 130 and 131:
Page 132 and 133:
Page 134 and 135:
Page 136 and 137:
Page 138 and 139:
Page 140 and 141:
Page 142 and 143:
Page 144 and 145:
Page 146 and 147:
Page 148 and 149:
Page 50 of 72
Page 150 and 151:
2/9/2018 Disconnected Youth: Out of
Page 152 and 153:
Page 154 and 155:
Page 156 and 157:
Page 158 and 159:
Advocacy Foundation Publishers Page
Page 160 and 161:
Issue Title Quarterly Vol. I 2015 T
Page 162 and 163:
Issue Title Quarterly Vol. V 2019 O
Page 164 and 165:
LI Nonprofit Confidentiality In The
Page 166 and 167:
Vol. XVIII 2032 Public Policy LXXVI
Page 168 and 169:
Legal Missions International Page 6
Page 170 and 171:
XVII Russia Q-1 2019 XVIII Australi
Page 172 and 173:
The e-Advocate Newsletter Genesis o
Page 174 and 175:
Extras The Nonprofit Advisors Group
Page 176 and 177:
www.TheAdvocacyFoundation.org Page
show all

Opportunity Youth: Disenfranchised Young People

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?