Projects

Preparing Young People for the Future: Evaluating the Impact of the YouthBuild Program

2010-2017
Prepared For

U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration

Compared to peers who remain in school, high school dropouts are more likely to be disconnected from school and work, incarcerated, unmarried, and have children outside of marriage. The YouthBuild program helps high school dropouts attain a diploma or general equivalency diploma and teaches them construction skills geared toward career placement.

The evaluation of YouthBuild is measuring core program outcomes—including educational attainment, postsecondary planning, employment, earnings, delinquency and involvement with the criminal justice system, and youth social and emotional development. The target population is out-of-school youth ages 16 to 24 who are from low-income families, in foster care, offenders, migrants, disabled, or are children of incarcerated parents. The study team recruited 75 YouthBuild sites (funded by DOL or the Corporation for National and Community Service) and enrolled nearly 4,000 young adults. Study participants were randomly assigned to either the treatment group, to receive YouthBuild services, or to the control group. Participants are being followed for four years to address the following research questions:

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Shawn Marsh

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