A new report by Cynthia Miller and colleagues at MDRC examines four-year results from a national evaluation of YouthBuild. The report describes YouthBuild as a program that attempts to improve prospects for less-educated young people, serving over 10,000 individuals each year at over 250 organizations nationwide. Each organization provides hands-on, construction-related or other vocational training, educational services, case management, counseling, service to the community, and leadership-development opportunities, to low-income young people ages 16 to 24 who did not complete high school.
MDRC evaluated the YouthBuild program using a randomized controlled trial. Study participants were either invited to enroll in YouthBuild (the intervention group) or referred to other services in the community (the control group). A total of 75 programs across the country were included, with a sample of nearly 4,000 young people who enrolled in the study between 2011 and 2013. Data included in-person observations, survey data, and administrative records.
Key findings of the evaluation included:
- YouthBuild increased the receipt of high school equivalency credentials.
- YouthBuild increased enrollment in college, largely during the first two years. Very few young people had earned a degree after four years, and the program had a very small effect on degree receipt.
- YouthBuild increased survey-reported employment rates, wages, and earnings, but did not increase employment as measured with employer-provided administrative records, which might not include certain kinds of employment and other types of informal work.
- YouthBuild increased civic engagement, largely via participation in YouthBuild services. It had no effects on other measures of positive youth development.
Overall, the authors say the effects observed through four years indicate that the program provides a starting point for redirecting otherwise disconnected young people.
Best Evidence in Brief Index 