Only 68 of every 100 ninth-graders in public schools will complete high school on time. Among those who do graduate, many leave high school without developing the skills they need to succeed in the workplace or in postsecondary education. Helping these young adults improve their basic literacy and acquire the work and technical skills they need to qualify for higher-quality jobs, which are the ticket to rising wages and career advancement, is emerging as one of the nation’s major challenges in the decades ahead.
MDRC projects test a range of innovative interventions for low-income youth who have dropped out of school, are at risk of dropping out, are teen parents or youth offenders, or are disabled. Some programs focus on improving participants’ marketable job skills or high school completion rates; others use more comprehensive strategies aimed at addressing a broader range of needs.
Current Projects
In 2005, MDRC kicked off an evaluation of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, which serves youth ages 16 to 18 who have dropped out of high school and have not yet found a place in the labor market. The program begins with a six-month residential phase that emphasizes completion of a high school diploma or a General Educational Development (GED) certificate and a range of other activities and support services, followed by a one-year postresidential phase in which participants work with a mentor in the community. In addition, the U.S. Social Security Administration has contracted with Mathematica Policy Research and MDRC to develop and evaluate the Youth Transition Demonstration for young people who are either receiving disability benefits or who are likely to need them. By waiving certain federal disability program rules and offering services to disabled youth, this project is expected to encourage young people to work or continue their education.
In 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor contracted with MDRC to evaluate YouthBuild, a prominent “second-chance” program for out-of-school youth. YouthBuild provides construction-related training, educational services, counseling, and leadership development opportunities to low-income, out-of-school youth ages 16 to 24. As part of their training in construction, participants work on renovating or constructing housing for low-income or homeless people.
About two-thirds of high school dropouts eventually get a high school credential, most often a General Educational Development (GED) certificate. But labor outcomes for GED recipients are worse than for high school graduates because few GED holders go on to postsecondary education or training. MDRC is working with the LaGuardia Community College on a small-scale, random assignment evaluation of its GED Bridge to Business and Health Careers program, which includes a specially designed GED prep curriculum that integrates material from the fields of health care and business, as well as transitional support to help students identify the career or course of study that is right for them.
MDRC is collaborating on a Social Innovation Fund Project with the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation that seeks to expand the pool of organizations with proven programs that can help low-income young people make the transition to productive adulthood. The project is particularly focused on those young people at greatest risk of failing or dropping out of school, of not finding work, and/or of becoming involved in the foster care or juvenile justice system.
In July 2010, the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City and the NYC Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) won a grant from the federal Social Innovation Fund (SIF) to build national evidence for antipoverty programs. MDRC is the design and evaluation partner in the initiative, which aims to replicate, improve, and continue testing five programs that draw on strategies that have shown some evidence of effectiveness in New York City and elsewhere. Among the five programs is the Young Adult Program, which seeks to reengage 18-24 year olds who have dropped out of school and are not working. The core of the program includes case management, an intensive educational experience, and a paid internship. Eligibility for the internship is conditioned on participants’ consistent engagement in GED or other educational activities.
Finally, MDRC is evaluating the Youth Villages Transitional Living Program in Tennessee, which provides about nine months of intensive counseling and support to youth who “age out” of state custody, generally at age 18. Nationally, more than 20,000 young people each year age out of care, and their outcomes are troubling. Most of these them entered foster care in their teens after having spent years in difficult circumstances, and their need for services to help them make a successful transition to independent adulthood is great.
Completed Projects
Some prior MDRC projects have evaluated programs serving young adults outside the traditional education system. The Literacy in Libraries Across America study identified ways that libraries can strengthen adult literacy programs. In the New Chance demonstration, MDRC developed and studied a program for young mothers to help them complete GEDs, increase their parenting skills, acquire job skills, and become self-sufficient. In Ohio’s Learning, Earning, and Parenting Program evaluation, MDRC studied a state initiative that used a combination of incentives and sanctions to encourage young mothers receiving welfare to attend school and earn a high school diploma or a GED certificate. MDRC organized the JOBSTART demonstration to test a program of education, training, and support services for low-income young adults who lacked a high school diploma or GED. MDRC examined its implementation and its effects on employment, welfare receipt, and other outcomes. Finally, MDRC and Berkeley Policy Associates studied the national replication of the Center for Employment Training, a program that, in its original site in San Jose, was identified as effective in serving young adults.
Key Documents on Youth Transitions to Work
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Reengaging High School Dropouts
Early Results of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program Evaluation
Listed: March 2009
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The Challenge of Repeating Success
in a Changing World
Final Report on the
Center for Employment Training Replication Sites
Listed: May 2007
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"One Day I Will Make It"
A Study of Adult Student Persistence in Library Literacy Programs
Listed: January 2005
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Working with Disadvantaged Youth
Thirty-Month Findings from the Evaluation of the Center for Employment Training Replication Sites
Listed: June 2003
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New Chance
Final Report on a Comprehensive Program for Young Mothers in Poverty and Their Children
Listed: January 1997
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LEAP
Final Report on Ohio’s Welfare Initiative to Improve School Attendance Among Teenage Parents
Listed: January 1997
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JOBSTART
Final Report on a Program for School Dropouts
Listed: October 1993
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