Building a future: interim impact findings from the YouthBuild evaluation

Making the successful transition to adulthood has become more and more difficult for many American young people. Unemployment rates among young people are more than double those among older adults, and young people were hit especially hard by the recent recession of 2007-2009. YouthBuild is one program that attempts to help this group. YouthBuild is a federally and privately funded program operated at over 250 organizations nationwide, serving over 10,000 young people each year. Each organization provides construction-related training and may also provide training in other in-demand industries, along with educational services, counseling, and leadership-development opportunities, to low-income, out-of-school young people ages 16 to 24. This report presents the interim effects of the program two and a half years after young people applied to YouthBuild, examining participation in the program, effects on education and training, and early effects on work and earnings. The findings show that YouthBuild led to a number of positive effects on this group of young people, including a notable increase in the rate at which they earned General Educational Development (GED) credentials and a small, positive effect on college enrollment.

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