In the United States, over six million young people are “disconnected” — neither in school nor working. Over a million of these disconnected young adults are between the ages of 18 and 24 years but lack either a high school diploma or equivalency certificate. These young adults’ limited education and work experience severely reduce their prospects for becoming economically self-sufficient members of society. Neglecting these young people can exact a heavy toll not only on the individuals but also on society as a whole. Based in part on findings from the Center for Economic Opportunity’s (CEO’s) Young Adult Internship Program and Young Adult Literacy Program, Project Rise combines paid internships with high school equivalency education to improve participants’ future education and employment prospects.

As part of a larger Social Innovation Fund (SIF) project, the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and CEO conducted the Project Rise implementation evaluation to assess the feasibility and promise of a yearlong program in which participation in internships is conditional on participation in education activities. The program serves low-income young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 years who lack high school diplomas or equivalency certificate, have been out of school or work for more than six months, and read at the sixth-grade level or higher (with half reading between the sixth- and eighth-grade levels). Participants are required to attend high school equivalency classes in order to remain eligible for part-time paid internships. The Project Rise study tracked the program’s implementation at five sites in three cities (New York City; Newark, NJ; and Kansas City, MO) and examined participants’ program activities and outcomes over 12 months. MDRC released the final project findings in October 2015.