About the Study

In 2017, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and funded contractor Insight Policy Research to conduct the Estimating Job Corps Cost per Enrollee and Cost per Graduate study. This study examined six methodologies for estimating the cost per enrollee and cost per graduate for program year 2017 to help inform ETA’s performance reporting on the Job Corps program, as required by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

Job Corps is the nation’s largest residential education and job training program for at-risk youth, administered by the Department of Labor’s (DOL) ETA. The program reaches an estimated 60,000 participants each year at numerous locations across the country.

This Department of Labor-funded study project supports ETA in fulfilling requirements under WIOA Section 169 to report performance measures. It contributes to the labor evidence-base to inform employment and training programs and policies and addresses Departmental strategic goals and priorities.

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.