Effects of Variation in Length of Stay in a Residential Job Training Program on Developmental Outcomes of Vulnerable Youth

• In Event: 3-006 - Program Evaluation and Identifying Intervention Targets via Secondary Data

Abstract

Background: Job Corps is the nation’s largest vocationally focused education and training program for vulnerable youth. Evaluating the impact of Job Corps has been of great interest to policymakers because other job training programs for vulnerable youth have not been found to be effective. Previous studies examining the Job Corps effects have improved our understanding of cost benefit aspects of the program. However, the literature lacks an explanation for how the program works. This study investigates the likely heterogeneous effects in terms of length of stay. Because the youth enroll for different lengths of time, we hypothesize that heterogeneous duration of stay leads to heterogeneous program effects. We then investigate which training classes were more useful than others for attainment of desirable youth outcomes.

Methods: We perform a secondary data analysis of the National Job Corps Study. Our analytic sample includes 11,313 youth aged 16 to 24 at the time of the baseline interview. Youth outcomes are employment and earnings, welfare dependency, and criminal behavior, measured at 48-month follow-up. Intervention variables are five discrete lengths of stay. Our analysis includes twenty class variables that constitute academic and job training programs. We use a regression tree technique to separate the length of stay into a number of different parts. We next construct multivariate generalized linear models to understand the heterogeneous effects of length of stay.

Results: Results indicate that length of stay plays a key role in determining the program effect on youth outcomes. Optimal length of stay for labor market outcomes is 6-8 months, and 8-14 months for criminal behavior. Less than 2 months of stay has deleterious effects on all youth outcomes. As to class effects, world of work and performance panels classes are beneficial for increasing total hours worked and earnings per week. Clerical and parenting skills classes help reducing criminal activities. Surprisingly, reading, math, and GED classes do not play key roles in promoting positive youth development.

Conclusions: This study brings new empirical evidence to the debate on the Job Corps effects in youth development. The study establishes that there is indeed a net association between length of stay and youth outcomes. Exploration of exact program content was intrinsic to a better understanding of the program impact, and the results suggest the ways in which future program can be improved.

Author

• Youngjo Im, Chicago State University
  Presenting Author