Young Adults

Young adulthood involves a series of high-stakes transitions in education, work, and family arrangements. MDRC develops and evaluates programs to ease these transitions for young people and to support those facing challenges and setbacks in finding a path to a stable adult life.

Issue Focus Population

College Students Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Young People in Foster Care Young People with Disabilities Young People Who Have Been in the Justice System

Highlights

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.

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Brief

How Can Community Colleges Increase Student Use of Year-Round Pell Grants?

Two Proven Strategies to Boost Summer Enrollment

Summer courses can help students progress to graduation, but most students do not enroll in them. An informational campaign incorporating behavioral science, tested with and without tuition assistance, increased summer enrollment. This brief presents findings from the Encouraging Additional Summer Enrollment (EASE) project following the reinstatement of year-round Pell grants.

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Report

Making Their Way

Summary Report on the Youth Villages Transitional Living Evaluation

This report summarizes an evaluation of a program that helps young people with histories of foster care or juvenile justice custody become independent adults. The program improved earnings, housing stability and economic well-being, and some health and safety outcomes. It did not improve education, social support, or criminal involvement outcomes.

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Current Projects

Montana 10 Population: Young Adults Locations: Montana	Evaluation of Generation Work Focus Area: Youth Employment Population: Young Adults Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Sectoral Training, Student Services, Career & Technical Education, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Connecticut, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington	The Texas Transfer Grant Pilot Program Focus Area: Developmental Education Financial Aid Student Services Population: Young Adults Locations: Texas
Optimizing Texting Technology through Engagement Research with Students (OTTERS) Project Focus Area: Financial Aid Transition to Postsecondary Population: Young Adults Locations: Washington	Evaluation of Management Leadership for Tomorrow’s Turn Pro Program Focus Area: Student Services Population: Young Adults Locations: Arizona, Dist. of Columbia, Kentucky	College Completion Fund Project Focus Area: Developmental Education Financial Aid Institutional Reform Student Services Instruction and Curricula Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes
The Noncredit Career and Technical Education Study at the Virginia Community College System Population: Populations with Low Incomes Young Adults Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Job Training	Evaluation of JPMorgan Chase’s Summer Youth Employment Program Focus Area: Youth Employment Population: Young Adults	Sectoral Training at the City Colleges of Chicago: A Case Study Population: Young Adults Intervention: Career & Technical Education Locations: Illinois
Green Jobs Case Study Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Intervention: Career & Technical Education Locations: New York	Covenant House Youth Transitions to the Labor Market Focus Area: Youth Employment Population: Young Adults	Career Impact Bonds (CIBs) Project Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Financial Aid Population: Young Adults Populations with Low Incomes
Tools for Postsecondary Schools (TfPS) Focus Area: Student Services Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services Locations: California, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas	An Intervention Return on Investment Tool for Community Colleges Focus Area: Student Services Financial Aid Developmental Education Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Tutoring, Learning Communities, Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives, Financial Aid, Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Developmental Education	Income Share Agreements and Related Programs to Finance College or Career Training Focus Area: Financial Aid Student Services Financial Incentives Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Student Services, Tutoring, Mentoring, Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives, Job Training
Evaluation of the CARES Act’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Focus Area: Financial Aid Population: Young Adults Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Financial Aid	Applying the Evidence in a Higher Education System Focus Area: Financial Aid Student Services Developmental Education Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Counseling/Advising, Financial Aid Locations: Minnesota	Pay for Success Clean Energy Training Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Youth Employment Population: Populations with Low Incomes Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: New York
On the Path to a Degree (OnPath) Focus Area: Financial Aid Population: Young Adults Intervention: Behavioral Interventions, Financial Aid Locations: New Jersey	California State University’s Proposed Quantitative Reasoning Admissions Requirement Focus Area: Transition to Postsecondary Population: Young Adults Locations: California	Evidence to Action Focus Area: Developmental Education Financial Aid Student Services Institutional Reform Population: Young Adults Locations: Indiana, Montana, Virginia
CTE Advise: Advising Tools in Secondary Education Focus Area: High School Transition to Postsecondary Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Youth Employment Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Employment Services, Dual-Enrollment/Bridge Programs	Rural Higher Education Initiative Focus Area: Institutional Reform Financial Aid Student Services Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Financial Aid	Roca Baltimore Study Focus Area: Youth and Juvenile Justice Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Employment Services Locations: Maryland
Pretrial Justice Collaborative Focus Area: Pretrial Justice Corrections and Reentry Youth and Juvenile Justice Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Young Adults	Reconnecting Youth Population: Young Adults	The Higher Education Randomized Controlled Trial Focus Area: Developmental Education Instruction and Curricula Student Services Financial Aid Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Tutoring, Learning Communities, Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives, Financial Aid, Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Developmental Education, Accelerated Programs Locations: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Washington
Men of Color College Achievement (MoCCA) Project Focus Area: Student Services Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Tutoring, Mentoring, Counseling/Advising, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: Maryland	Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) Focus Area: Financial Aid Student Services Financial Incentives Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives, Financial Aid Locations: California, Indiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio	MDRC Center for Criminal Justice Research Focus Area: Pretrial Justice Corrections and Reentry Youth and Juvenile Justice Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Young Adults
MDRC Center for Effective Career and Technical Education Focus Area: High School Transition to Postsecondary Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Youth Employment Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes 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 Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools Young Adults Families	Multiple Measures Assessment Project Focus Area: Developmental Education Institutional Reform Population: Young Adults Intervention: Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Developmental Education Locations: Minnesota, Wisconsin
The Cascades Job Corps College and Career Academy Pilot Evaluation Focus Area: Youth Employment Student Services Job Retention and Advancement Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Young Adults Children and Schools Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Sectoral Training, Student Services, Classroom Services, Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Washington	Latino Academic Transfer and Institutional Degree Opportunities (LATIDO) Project Focus Area: Student Services Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Counseling/Advising Locations: California	College Promise Success Initiative Focus Area: Financial Aid Student Services Population: Young Adults Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Student Services, Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives, Financial Aid Locations: California, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island
Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP) Focus Area: Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Youth Employment Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: GED Completion, Job Training, Dual-Enrollment/Bridge Programs Locations: Alaska, Arizona, California, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York	The TechHire and Strengthening Working Families Initiative Evaluation Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Work Support and Asset Building Population: Populations with Low Incomes Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Reemployment Programs, Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Employment Services	The Finish Line: Graduation by Design Focus Area: Institutional Reform Instruction and Curricula Population: Young Adults Intervention: Behavioral Interventions
New World of Work Focus Area: Instruction and Curricula Population: Young Adults Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: California	Text Ed Demonstration Project Focus Area: Transition to Postsecondary Student Services Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Behavioral Interventions, Counseling/Advising	STRIVE Future Leaders Implementation Study Focus Area: Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation 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
Career Ready Internships Focus Area: Financial Aid Population: Young Adults Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Financial Aid, Employment Services Locations: Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin	The Encouraging Additional Summer Enrollment (EASE) Project Focus Area: Financial Aid Financial Incentives Population: Young Adults Intervention: Behavioral Interventions, Financial Incentives, Financial Aid Locations: Ohio	Detroit Promise Path Focus Area: Financial Aid Student Services Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives, Financial Aid Locations: Michigan
Evaluating the Impact of Integrated Planning and Advising for Student Success (iPASS) Focus Area: Institutional Reform Student Services Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Counseling/Advising Locations: California, North Carolina, Pennsylvania	Comparative Case Study of Winning Talent Dividend Cities Focus Area: Institutional Reform Financial Aid Student Services Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Counseling/Advising, Financial Aid, Developmental Education, Accelerated Programs Locations: Florida, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia	Evaluating Replications of CUNY’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) Focus Area: Developmental Education Financial Aid Student Services Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Tutoring, Learning Communities, Counseling/Advising, Financial Aid, Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Developmental Education, Accelerated Programs Locations: New York, Ohio
GED Bridge: Strengthening the Link into College and Careers Focus Area: Transition to Postsecondary Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation 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	The Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR) Focus Area: Developmental Education Instruction and Curricula Student Services Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Counseling/Advising, Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Developmental Education
Addressing Students' Remedial Needs: The Evaluation of CUNY Start and Other Strategies Focus Area: Developmental Education Student Services Instruction and Curricula Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Tutoring, Counseling/Advising, Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Developmental Education Locations: New York	Dana Center Mathematics Pathways Focus Area: Developmental Education Instruction and Curricula Population: Young Adults Intervention: Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Developmental Education Locations: Texas	Developmental Education Acceleration Project Focus Area: Developmental Education Instruction and Curricula Population: Young Adults Intervention: Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Developmental Education, Accelerated Programs Locations: Texas
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	Aid Like A Paycheck Focus Area: Financial Aid Population: Young Adults Intervention: Financial Aid Locations: California, Illinois, Texas	Children’s Institute, Inc. Focus Area: Health Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Population: Young Adults Intervention: Counseling/Advising Locations: California
Community College to Career–California Focus Area: Student Services Population: Young Adults Intervention: Counseling/Advising Locations: California	Project Rise Focus Area: Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Young Adults Intervention: Career & Technical Education, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Missouri, New Jersey, New York	Evaluation of Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) for Developmental Education Students Focus Area: Developmental Education Financial Aid Student Services Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Tutoring, Learning Communities, Counseling/Advising, Financial Aid, Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Developmental Education, Accelerated Programs Locations: New York
YouthBuild Evaluation Focus Area: Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation 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 Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation 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 Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Low Incomes 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
Opening Doors Focus Area: Financial Aid Student Services Developmental Education Instruction and Curricula Financial Incentives Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Tutoring, Learning Communities, Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives, Financial Aid, Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Developmental Education Locations: California, Louisiana, New York, Ohio

Great Lakes College and Careers Pathways Partnership Focus Area: High School Transition to Postsecondary Instruction and Curricula Youth Employment Population: Children and Schools Young Adults Intervention: Classroom Services, Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin	Social Impact Bond Project at Rikers Island Focus Area: Youth and Juvenile Justice Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Corrections and 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: Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Young Adults Intervention: Residential Youth Programs, GED Completion Locations: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin	Performance-Based Scholarship Demonstration Focus Area: Financial Aid Financial Incentives Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Tutoring, Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives, Financial Aid, Developmental Education Locations: Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio	Youth Villages Transitional Living Program Evaluation Focus Area: Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Youth and Juvenile Justice Population: Young Adults Intervention: Case Management Locations: Tennessee
LaGuardia's GED Bridge to Health and Business Program Focus Area: Transition to Postsecondary Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Career & Technical Education, GED Completion Locations: New York	Completion by Design Evaluation Focus Area: Institutional Reform Population: Young Adults Locations: Florida, North Carolina, Ohio	Achieving the Dream Focus Area: Developmental Education Institutional Reform Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Learning Communities, Counseling/Advising, Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Developmental Education Locations: Florida, Massachusetts, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington
Learning Communities Demonstration Focus Area: Instruction and Curricula Institutional Reform Developmental Education Population: Young Adults Intervention: Student Services, Learning Communities, Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Developmental Education Locations: California, Florida, Maryland, New York, Texas	New Chance Focus Area: Two-Generation Programs Population: Young Adults Intervention: Parenting Skills Programs, Case Management, Counseling/Advising, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania

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Young Adults

Current Projects

Completed Projects