Youth Offender Demonstration Project Process Evaluation: Final Report, Round Two

“The U.S. Department of Labor initiated the Youth Offender Demonstration Project to identify, prepare, and place this underutilized labor force into employment that would break both the cycle of crime and patterns of dependency on public support....This report documented the implementation progress made by projects in the second cohort of the demonstration…The demonstration’s goal was to assist youth at risk of court or gang involvement, youth offenders, and gang members between the ages of 14 and 24 to find long-term employment at wage levels that would prevent future dependency and would break the cycle of crime and juvenile delinquency. The demonstration’s objective was to identify effective community strategies that support youth in becoming work ready and capable of attaining and keeping employment that provides a future of economic stability and supports civic engagement” (p.i). (Abstractor: Author)

• “Partnerships played a crucial role throughout all aspects of a project—from planning through service delivery to sustainability” (p.158). • “While they were active in the project, few youth were convicted of a new crime or incarcerated for a new crime. Counselors frequently reported that a value of the demonstration was keeping youth constructively engaged in activities all day as a crime prevention factor” (p.158). • “A major lesson from Round Two is that youth needs will vary, and lock-step curricula are unlikely to address their different developmental and therapeutic needs” (p.159). • “One of the most challenging elements of the demonstration was developing a network of employers willing to hire youth offenders and youth at risk of court involvement” (p.158). • “A lesson especially for administrators is the importance of finding coaching/training resources for staff who commit to the difficult work of serving youth who have multiple problems and to serve them through cross-agency alliances” (p.160). • The recommendations in this report include the following: 1. “Despite the difficulty of implementing…complex service arrangements, communities should be encouraged to develop coordinated service delivery mechanisms for youth for the sake of the youth and for the economic and public safety well-being of the community” (p.163). 2. “Communities should be encouraged to support cross-agency/cross-system partnerships that share the burden of high-need clients and share the credit for their progress as well” (p.164). 3. “The ultimate concern should be for the youth, especially youth who are suspicious of civil systems in which they have experienced failure (e.g., school and juvenile justice). Projects that have raised their hopes of a better life need to be resourceful in accommodating enrolled youth’s needs for service or redirecting those they can no longer serve to other service providers” (p.164). (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2004
• Author(s): MacGillivray, Lois; Miller, Ed; Shah, Snehal; Jenks, Stephen
• Organizational Author(s): Research and Evaluation Associates, Inc.
• Funding Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Melissa Mack
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies