Evaluation of the Cascades Job Corps College and Career Academy (CCCA) Final Report

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Release Date: April 01, 2022

Evaluation of the Cascades Job Corps College and Career Academy (CCCA) Final Report

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About the Report

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The report from a Job Corps pilot focused on enrolling students in college to prepare for a career in healthcare or information technology (IT), conducted February 2017 through June 2019 with 488 students from the Pacific Northwest (ages 16-21) with at least a sixth-grade level of competency in reading and math) enrolled in Job Corps’ Cascades College and Career Academy (CCCA). This report describes the pilot vision and the pilot contract, summarizes the findings of the evaluation, and considers some discussion.

Research Questions

  • How was the CCCA model implemented?
  • How do students flow through and experience the CCCA model?
  • How did receipt of training and services for eligible applicants offered CCCA differ from what their experiences would have been in the absence of CCCA?
  • How did outcomes differ for eligible applicants offered CCCA differ from what their experiences would have been in the absence of CCCA?

Key Takeaways

  • National Office of Job Corps and operator Adams and Associates succeeded in implementing most of the program vision.
  • The pilot revealed substantial demand for a college-focused Job Corps model.
  • Much of the demand for a college-focused Job Corps model is from students who would not otherwise be interested in Job Corps.
  • Recruited Job Corps students can succeed in college—with crucial caveats.
  • The offer of CCCA increased total time in education and training (the study’s single, prespecified, confirmatory outcome).
  • The offer of CCCA increased time in college, but—through 27 months—there was no detectable impact on attainment of college degrees or other credentials.
  • Short-term impacts of the offer of CCA on earnings are strongly negative, as expected in early follow-up.

Citation

Klerman, J.A., Grossman, J., Saunders, C., Olejniczak, K., Herr, J., Ibok, A., and de Sousa, T. (2021). Abt Associates. Evaluation of the Cascades Job Corps College and Career Academy (CCCA) Pilot: Final Report. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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This study was sponsored by the Employment and Training Administration, Office of Policy Development and Research, Division of Research and Evaluation, and was produced outside of CEO’s standard research development process.