Grants Serving Young Offenders Evaluation - Developing Pathways to Justice and Emergency Services Careers for At-Risk Youth: A Formative Evaluation Brief

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Release Date: November 01, 2019

Grants Serving Young Offenders Evaluation - Developing Pathways to Justice and Emergency Services Careers for At-Risk Youth: A Formative Evaluation Brief

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About the Brief

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Youth from low-income neighborhoods are at risk of poor outcomes throughout their lives. Many will drop out of school, which can lead to economic hardship and a greater chance of getting involved in the criminal justice system—making their lives even more difficult.

In response to these issues, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) awarded Pathways to Justice Careers (PJC) grants to 13 organizations in 2016. These programs are designed to improve the outcomes of at-risk, in-school youth by providing exposure to the world of work in the career fields of justice and emergency services, mentoring, and supportive services.

The brief discusses the findings of a formative evaluation of these 13 PJC programs. It describes the data used in the study, program recruitment, the program participants, the services provided, and the partnerships that grantees developed. It also examines the challenges that grantees have encountered thus far in implementing their programs and the lessons they have learned.

Key Takeaways

  • Offering career pathways in justice and emergency services is a promising approach for helping at-risk youth. It can be difficult—youth often distrust law enforcement, and partners are not always willing to take on the challenges of working with at-risk youth—but it can also be rewarding.
  • Grantees and communities deepened their understanding of career pathways and expanded use of this strategy, a key approach emphasized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIA).
  • Building relationships between education, workforce, and employer partners has both present and future value for at-risk youth.

Citation

Geckeler, C., Pryor, L. (2018). Mathematica. Developing Pathways to Justice and Emergency Services Careers for At-Risk Youth: A Formative Evaluation. 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.