Local Evaluations of the Cohort 1 P3 Pilots: A Synthesis of Their Findings

This report synthesizes findings from the local evaluations of the Performance Partnership Pilots of Disconnected Youth (P3) Cohort 1 pilots. It assesses the extent to which the local evaluations established a causal impact between the studied intervention and participant outcomes and, for interventions that had such evidence, whether the evidence indicated the intervention had improved outcomes for youth. Research in this report answered three key questions: (1) What interventions and outcomes are the focus of the local evaluations? (2) What is the level of rigor in the local evaluations? and (3) Do the local evaluations find the expected impacts for their interventions with youth? The synthesis showed that eight of the nine Cohort 1 pilots had local evaluations supporting causal evidence on how one or more aspects of their interventions affected education, employment, and other outcomes. Together, these evaluations covered six types of interventions: (1) case management (only), (2) case management and soft skill training, (3) case management and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) services, (4) leadership training, (5) the Teen Outreach Program® (TOP®), and (6) a two-generation education and training program for young parents and their children. All interventions were assessed by one local evaluation, with the exception of case management (only) which was assessed by three local evaluations.

Of the six types of interventions covered by the local evaluations, three demonstrated evidence of improving expected youth outcomes. Case management and WIOA services increased the probability of completing General Education Development (GED) tests and achieving readiness for college coursework. The two-generation education and training program showed evidence of increasing the probability that children attended a child care center and that their parents enrolled in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Case management (only) reduced school suspensions and increased course completion, return to high school, employability skills, employment, families’ participation in their children’s education, and service receipt from a partner. However, two of the three local evaluations examining case management (only) also found evidence of negative outcomes (reduced family member referrals to adult education and participation in career preparation and subsidized employment).