Interim Impact Findings from the YouthBuild Evaluation

YouthBuild is a program funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). It helps high school dropouts achieve success by providing education, vocational training, leadership development, and more. This report looked at 75 YouthBuild programs across the country to understand the program’s effect on young people after two and a half years.

Study Goals

The YouthBuild report has three major components. This report addresses the second part, which is an impact study that examines:

• The effects of the program on young people after two and a half years.
• The participation in the program.
• The effects on education and training.
• The early effects on work and earnings.

Research Purpose

The report will examine the YouthBuild program’s effects on a wide range of outcomes:

• Education and educational attainment.
• Work and earnings.
• Involvement in the criminal justice system.
• Family structure.
• Social and emotional development.

Results

The report examined 75 YouthBuild participants two and a half years after they applied to the program and found that:

• Participants rated their experiences in YouthBuild favorably.
• YouthBuild increased the rate at which participants earned high school equivalency credentials, enrolled in college, and participated in vocational training.
• YouthBuild led to a small increase in wages and earnings at 30 months.
• YouthBuild increased civic engagement, especially around volunteering.
• YouthBuild had few effects on involvement in the criminal justice system.

Download the final report to see all the information from the evaluation.