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Using data collected as part of the Reentry Project (RP) Grants Evaluation, the brief describes the differences and similarities between adult and young adult grantees in terms of the services they offered and the implementation challenges they reported. The analysis draws on quantitative data from a survey of all 116 organizations that received RP grants. Data from the grantee survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as chi-squared tests to determine whether differences across grant types were statistically significant. The brief also draws on in-depth qualitative data—including from grant applications, clarifying telephone calls conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual site visits conducted in early 2022—from a subset of nine grantees that received both adult and young adult grants. The qualitative data are not representative of all grantees but provide anecdotal evidence to support results from the survey.

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Key Takeaways

• Young adult grants were more often awarded to intermediaries with multiple subgrantee locations compared to CBO grantees serving a single location.
• Analysis of grantee survey and qualitative data suggest that adult and young adult services differed in four key areas: (1) positive youth development components (2) legal services for child support and diversion, (3) educational services and requirements, and (4) program length.
• Young adult grantees faced unique challenges. Based on the survey, young adult grantees were significantly more likely than adult grantees to report challenges with recruiting participants (94 versus 52 percent), engaging and retaining those participants throughout the course of service delivery (96 versus 77 percent), and placing participants in employment (88 versus 64 percent).

Citation

Stapleton, T., Ladinsky, J., Bellotti, J. (2022). Mathematica. Adult and Young Adult Reentry Project Grants: Differences in Service Offerings and Implementation Challenges. 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.