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The report from the Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3) evaluation’s implementation study reflects on the early experiences of the nine Cohort 1 pilots. The data primarily come from interviews with pilot stakeholders conducted in spring and summer 2017. Across the nine pilots, the evaluation team interviewed 169 stakeholders, including P3 administrators, staff, and partners. The report begins by describing P3 as envisioned by the Federal government, describes the nine pilots to provide context for the emerging findings, and then presents the early findings. Subsequent products focusing on the implementation study will be based on an additional round of visits to the Cohort 1 pilots and the six pilots awarded as part of the 2015 and 2016 Appropriations Acts.

Key Takeaways

• Pilots that were starting to make system changes were led by state or local agencies that frequently convened and coordinated with local youth-serving organizations.
• All pilots brought together a diverse set of partners.
• Not all leaders of pilots’ grantees and their partners had a full understanding of the available flexibilities.
• Five pilots had proposed in their applications to create shared data systems, but, in the first year, none accomplished this goal, largely due to logistical and privacy concerns.

Research Gaps

• In response to calls from state and local providers of youth services for a more efficient and integrated system to serve disconnected youth, the U.S. Congress (2014) authorized the Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3) in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014. Under the Act, up to 10 P3 pilots could be awarded to states, local, or tribal governments to pool funds from at least two Federal discretionary programs and, as needed, to apply for waivers from the programs’ requirements. To assess P3, Federal agencies sponsored a five-year national evaluation, under the direction of the DOL Chief Evaluation Office. As pilots sought to implement the flexibilities afforded them, the following findings emerged: 1. Pilots that were starting to make system changes were led by agencies that frequently convened and coordinated with local youth-serving organizations. These lead agencies were able to bring together partners from across different program areas, such as education and labor. 2. All pilots brought together a diverse set of partners. Pilots indicated that government and community partners were willing to work across their different program areas, such as education and labor, to coordinate their youth-related services. Future papers from the evaluation of P3 will explore these and other implementation topics involved in the realization of the P3 authority. (pages iii-iv; 18)

Citation

Rosenberg, L., Brown, E. (2019). Mathematica. Early Experiences of the Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3): Cohort 1 Pilots. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.