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The issue brief series explores emerging findings from a 2-year implementation study of the Urban Employment Demonstration Grants for Youth and Young Adults, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Chief Evaluation Office (CEO). In 2015, DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) awarded seven urban cities with 2-year grants to develop projects to address the workforce needs of disconnected youth and young adults (ages 16–29) in U.S. cities and communities experiencing high unemployment, crime, and poverty rates, and low high school graduation rates.

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Key Takeaways

• Programs that were able to overcome initial challenges in recruiting disconnected youth to workforce development programs typically used a combination of recruitment strategies simultaneously.
• According to site staff, leveraging staff or community partners with street-corner presence and credibility to engage in word-of-mouth conversations to build trust and invite participation helped grantees overcome recruitment challenges.
• Sites reported finding that developing youth-based community service centers that reflected youth culture and youth successes, located in places where youth could easily access them, helped improve youth retention and engagement.

Citation

Gordon, E., Ullrich, S. (2017). 2M Research Services. Recruitment Strategies and Practices for Disconnected Youth: Findings from an Implementation Study of the Department of Labor Urban Employment Demonstration Grants. 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.