Roundtable:
Effective Routes to Self-Sufficiency for Disconnected Youth Need More Roundabouts
(Family and Child Policy)
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Existing studies and the evolving context of labor markets, career paths, and knowledge of adolescent development point to needs for policy and program innovations that create better and stronger routes to self-sufficiency for disadvantaged and disconnected youth. Current evidence from research and evaluation consistently point to three findings that should be considered in development of new innovations: (1) few program evaluations have demonstrated impact on earnings for disadvantaged and disconnected youth and young adults; (2) heterogeneity in youth characteristics, experience, and development contribute to variation in youth pathways to independence; and (3) accomplishment of various developmental markers of adolescence are associated with increased self-sufficiency and, in some instances, economic gains.[1]
In this roundtable, leaders from two national youth self-sufficiency programs for youth involved in the child welfare and/or justice systems and their program evaluators will discuss experiences using existing evidence and emerging contexts to craft innovative, efficient, and effective program designs. The resulting evaluation and program innovations represent intentional roundabouts in both design and practice. In design, innovations simultaneously look back at existing knowledge and look forward to emerging tools and contexts. They are informed by, for example, new methods to incorporate data in decision making, the increasingly critical nature of the intersection of the employment and education sectors, and new findings about the influence of cognitive and behavioral psychology on adolescent functioning. In practice, these innovations are developing individualized approaches that create opportunity for youth to address needs, make informed decisions about direction, achieve outcomes, and connect to their next step.
Roundtable participants will begin with a description of their respective programs and their engagement evidence building through use of evaluability assessment, continuous quality improvement, predictive analytics, and/or summative studies. Then, participants will describe how past findings and emerging knowledge inform improvement, planning, and practice innovations, as well as evaluation questions and further study. Examples of discussion topics include:
- Strengths and challenges associated with standardized program models that target highly specific populations of youth and/or identify the same program services and expectations for all participants.
- Links between social, emotional, and behavioral health and development and human capital development that connect to self-sufficiency outcomes
- Analytics and modeling to identify youth subgroups and service needs in real-time and throughout the period of program enrollment
- Connections among systems to enhance the ways in which youth enter and sustain career paths within both youth and adult service systems
- The role of continuous quality improvement in increasing effectiveness and efficiencies while enhancing focus on diverse, individualized approaches
- The ways in which evaluation methods and goals influence understanding of the impact of services and programs on the transition to adulthood and self-sufficiency
- Potential of current innovations to demonstrate long-term impacts on self-sufficiency and policy implications.
[1] Fein & Hemadyk, 2018; Valentine, Skemmer, and Courtney, 2018; Courtney, Zinn, Johnson, & Malm, 2011; Millenky, Bloom, Muller-Ravett, & Broadus, 2011; Courtney, Hook, and Lee 2010; Macomber et al. 2008; Institute for Educational Leadership, 2008; Keller, Cusick, and Courtney 2007; Schochet, Bughardt, & McConnell, 2006
