A record number of 500,000 offenders will return to their communities in 2001, with juvenile offenders representing an important segment of this reentry group. Without structured aftercare supervision and services, youth offenders reentering their communities may relapse, commit crimes, and return to confinement in either juvenile or adult correctional facilities. Evidence shows that active intervention for young offenders can help raise employment and decrease crime and recidivism, reducing their costs to society.

As a result, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Justice funded 14 local demonstration projects in Program Year 1998 which were designed to assist youth at risk of criminal involvement, youth offenders, and gang members ages 14 through 24 into long-term employment at wages that prevent future dependency and break the cycle of crime and juvenile delinquency. This process evaluation provides an interim assessment of the implementation process undertaken by each project and determines the extent to which each was effective in building upon existing programs and systems to serve targeted youth.