Opportunity Youth: Disenfranchised Young People

focus on recruiting young people who are “ready for change.” 42 An interim impact report is expected
in 2017 and the final report is expected in 2018.
Project Rise combines education, work-readiness training, and paid internships. The
yearlong program targets 16- to 24-year-olds who do not have high school diplomas or high
school equivalency credentials. Participants start with career-readiness and educational programs
before they are placed in paid internships; continued participation in the internship is
contingent on a young person’s consistent engagement in education. The program started in
New York City and is being replicated in Newark, New Jersey, and Kansas City, Missouri, in
connection with funding from the Social Innovation Fund. An implementation study of the
program released in fall 2015 found that it was challenging to implement the internship component
as intended. The report also describes difficulties the programs had sustaining the engagement
of participants, including the finding that participants with child care needs faced
particular challenges. 43
Two comprehensive youth programs in California are also undergoing evaluations. The
Los Angeles Reconnections Career Academy targets high school dropouts ages 16 to 24, reconnecting
them to school and subsidizing vocational training in the health care field. Implementation,
impact, and cost-effectiveness studies of the effort are under way, funded by a Workforce
Innovation Fund grant. Linking Innovation and Knowledge (@LIKE), is a program in three California
counties for 18- to 24-year-olds who have been out of school and work for more than 90
days. It includes a mix of educational and employment services. Each participant works with a
life coach. A quasi-experimental study and cost-benefit study are planned for 2016. 44
As mentioned earlier, many alternative schools target disconnected young people, offering
them the chance to earn high school diplomas or high school equivalency credentials. Some
school districts have developed “GED Plus” programs, which offer students a way to earn their
high school equivalency credentials and include other forms of support to connect them to the
next step on a college or career pathway. GED Plus programs also often include partnerships
with community-based organizations serving young people. Examples of this type of initiative
include the Pathways to Graduation programs (formerly GED Plus) in New York City. Though
public school systems provide data on outcomes of individual schools, there are few independent
evaluations of programs for disconnected young people in public schools.
One evaluation of a network of alternative schools in Florida is under way and will be
publishing results in coming years. The PACE Center for Girls is a statewide program that provides
academic services, counseling, and transition support in a gender-responsive environment
42 Wiegand et al. (2015).
43 Manno, Yang, and Bangser (2015).
44 Workforce Innovation Fund (n.d.).
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