At-Risk Young People

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.

Issue Focus Area

High School Dropouts Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Youth Employment

Highlights

Report

Focusing on Girls’ Futures

Results from the Evaluation of PACE Center for Girls

PACE provides academic and extensive social services in a gender-responsive environment to girls at risk of juvenile justice system involvement. Over a one-year period, PACE increased school enrollment and attendance, as well as girls’ likelihood of being “on track” academically.

Overview »

Full

Brief

Helping Young People Move Up

Findings from Three New Studies of Youth Employment Programs

Over four million young people in the United States are “disconnected,” meaning they are not in school and are not working. In the past few months, studies of three programs aimed at such young people have released new findings. This brief discusses these findings and their implications.

Overview »

Full

Podcast

After the Hurricane: Youth Employment in Puerto Rico

How should policymakers address the long-standing youth unemployment problem in Puerto Rico, which only worsened in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria? With support from the W. T. Grant Foundation, MDRC partnered with Instituto del Desarrollo de la Juventud, or the Youth Development Institute, to develop recommendations that can create pathways into the workforce for young people and that are supported by evidence-based and promising practices relevant to the current situation in Puerto Rico. Join Katie Beal as she talks to John Martinez, Director of Program Development at MDRC, about those recommendations and the challenges of implementing them.

More »

MDRC Center for Effective Career and Technical Education Focus Area: High School Transition to Postsecondary High School Dropouts Youth Employment Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Employment Services, Dual-Enrollment/Bridge Programs	MDRC Center for Data Insights: Improving Programs and Systems with Actionable Data Science Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations Children and Schools Young Adults Families	The Cascades Job Corps College and Career Academy Pilot Evaluation Focus Area: Youth Employment Student Services Job Retention and Advancement High School Dropouts Population: Young Adults Children and Schools Low-Income Populations Intervention: Sectoral Training, Student Services, Classroom Services, Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Washington
Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP) Focus Area: Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Youth Employment Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations Intervention: GED Completion, Job Training, Dual-Enrollment/Bridge Programs Locations: Alaska, Arizona, California, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York	P-TECH 9-14 Evaluation Focus Area: High School Transition to Postsecondary Instruction and Curricula Institutional Reform Youth Employment Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Classroom Services, Comprehensive School Reform, Career & Technical Education, Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Dual-Enrollment/Bridge Programs, Accelerated Programs Locations: New York	STRIVE Future Leaders Implementation Study Focus Area: Foster Care and Juvenile Justice High School Dropouts Youth Employment Youth and Juvenile Justice Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Mentoring, Case Management, Career & Technical Education, Behavioral Interventions, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania
Process and Impact Evaluation of New York City’s Pretrial Supervised Release Program Focus Area: Pretrial Justice Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations Locations: New York	Youth-Led Tech Focus Area: After-School/Out-of-School Time Youth and Juvenile Justice Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Sectoral Training, Mentoring, Career & Technical Education, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: Illinois	Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) Focus Area: Youth Employment After-School/Out-of-School Time High School Dropouts Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Student Services, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: New York
GED Bridge: Strengthening the Link into College and Careers Focus Area: Transition to Postsecondary High School Dropouts Population: Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Career & Technical Education, GED Completion Locations: Wisconsin	Strengthening Nonprofit Financial Management Focus Area: Institutional Reform Population: Young Adults Intervention: Professional Development/ Teacher Training Locations: Illinois	PACE Center for Girls Focus Area: Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Youth and Juvenile Justice Elementary and Middle School High School Institutional Reform Transition to Postsecondary Population: Young Adults Children and Schools Intervention: Student Services, Classroom Services, Case Management, Counseling/Advising Locations: Florida
Project Rise Focus Area: High School Dropouts Population: Young Adults Intervention: Career & Technical Education, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Missouri, New Jersey, New York	YouthBuild Evaluation Focus Area: High School Dropouts Youth Employment Population: Young Adults Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services	Social Innovation Fund Project with the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation Focus Area: High School High School Dropouts Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Population: Children and Schools Young Adults Intervention: Residential Youth Programs, Reading Instruction, Student Services, Transitional Jobs/Subsidized Employment, Classroom Services, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Curricular/Instructional Reforms
Mayor’s Fund & Center for Economic Opportunity Social Innovation Fund Project Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Financial Incentives High School Dropouts Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Low-Income Populations Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Reemployment Programs, Asset Building, Financial Incentives, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas	Youth Villages Transitional Living Program Evaluation Focus Area: High School Dropouts Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Youth and Juvenile Justice Population: Young Adults Intervention: Case Management Locations: Tennessee

GED 21st Century Learning Pathways Pilots Focus Area: Instruction and Curricula High School Dropouts Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Curricular/Instructional Reforms, GED Completion Locations: New York	Social Impact Bond Project at Rikers Island Focus Area: Youth and Juvenile Justice Foster Care and Juvenile Justice High School Dropouts Reentry Population: Young Adults Intervention: Residential Youth Programs, Classroom Services, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Locations: New York	Youth Transition Demonstration Focus Area: Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Youth Employment Transition to Postsecondary Population: Young Adults Children and Schools Intervention: Transitional Jobs/Subsidized Employment, Case Management, Benefits Planning, Employment Services Locations: California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, West Virginia
Evaluation of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program Focus Area: High School Dropouts Population: Young Adults Intervention: Residential Youth Programs, GED Completion Locations: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin	LaGuardia's GED Bridge to Health and Business Program Focus Area: Transition to Postsecondary High School Dropouts Population: Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Career & Technical Education, GED Completion Locations: New York	Ohio's Learning, Earning, and Parenting Program Focus Area: High School High School Dropouts Financial Incentives Two-Generation Programs Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Youth and Juvenile Justice Population: Young Adults Intervention: Case Management, Financial Incentives, GED Completion Locations: Ohio
Center for Employment Training Replication Focus Area: High School Dropouts Youth Employment Population: Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina	JOBSTART Focus Area: Youth Employment High School Dropouts Population: Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas

Search form

Want to learn more about this and related topics?

At-Risk Young People

Current Projects

Completed Projects