This research on National Guard Youth ChalleNGe — a residential, quasi-military program for people aged 16–18 at risk of not completing high school — and Job ChalleNGe — a continuation program focused on job training and workplace acculturation — integrates the perspective of ChalleNGe staff and participants and leverages national demographic data and state education and labor data to provide insights for program leadership to use in decisionmaking.
Authors
Wenger, Jennie W., Kushner, Jonah, Nguyen, Peter, Falgoust, Grace, Trail, Thomas E., Mihaly, Kata, Wrabel, Stephani L., Eagan, Joshua, Kramer, Jenna W., Kroger, Jack, Ness, Erik C.
- Division
- RAND National Security Research Division Personnel, Readiness, and Health Program
- Pages
- 132
- Published in
- United States
- RAND Identifier
- RR-A1229-3
- RAND Type
- report
- Rights
- RAND Corporation
- Series
- Research Reports
- Source
- https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1229-3.html
Table of Contents
- About This Report 3
- RAND National Security Research Division 3
- Acknowledgments 3
- Summary 5
- Focus of This Report and Description of Project Tasks 5
- Data Sources and Methodologies Employed 6
- Key Findings 6
- Recommendations 7
- Contents 9
- Figures and Tables 11
- Figures 11
- Tables 12
- Introduction and Background 15
- Overview of Youth ChalleNGe and Job ChalleNGe 16
- RANDs ChalleNGe Research 20
- Contribution and Organization of This Report 22
- Youth ChalleNGe Participants and Their Home Communities 23
- Trends in the U.S. Youth Population 23
- Describing Youth ChalleNGe Cadets Communities 25
- Data and Methods 25
- Comparing Cadets Neighborhoods with All U.S. Neighborhoods 27
- Subgroup Analysis Comparing the Neighborhoods of Different Groups of Cadets 29
- Have Cadets Neighborhoods Varied over Time 29
- Limitations 31
- Conclusion 32
- Job ChalleNGe Implementation 33
- Prior Job ChalleNGe Findings and Study Contribution 34
- Data and Methods 34
- Standardized Information Request 35
- Staff Interviews and Participant Focus Groups 35
- Limitations 39
- Program Implementation Findings 39
- Joining Job ChalleNGe 39
- Motivated to Find a Job 39
- Interested in Continuing the ChalleNGe Experience 40
- Hesitant Due to Prior ChalleNGe Experience 40
- Unsure About Program Length 40
- The Residential Experience 41
- Training Program 43
- Challenges 44
- Services and Supports 45
- Educational Resources 45
- Health Services 47
- Career Services 48
- Personal Development and Interpersonal Skills 52
- Role of Education Partners 53
- Budgeting Priorities and Shortfalls 54
- Conclusion 55
- Long-Term Outcomes for Youth and Job ChalleNGe Graduates in Georgia 57
- Analysis Overview 58
- Data Sources 59
- Analytic Methods 60
- Descriptive Analysis of Geographic Distribution of Youth ChalleNGe Cadets 60
- Descriptive Analysis of Background Characteristics 60
- Descriptive Analysis of Long-Term Outcomes 61
- Impact Analysis of the Youth ChalleNGe Program 63
- Analytic Samples 65
- Analysis Samples for Long-Term Outcomes 66
- Results 67
- What Is the Distribution of Youth ChalleNGe Cadets Across Schools in Georgia 67
- How Do the 8th-Grade Background Characteristics and Behaviors of Youth ChalleNGe and Job ChalleNGe Graduates Compare with Non- ChalleNGe Graduates in Georgia 67
- How Do the Outcomes Among Youth and Job ChalleNGe Participants Compare with Each Other and Non-ChalleNGe Graduates in Georgia 71
- What Is the Impact of Youth ChalleNGe on Postsecondary and Labor Force Outcomes 75
- Limitations 79
- Conclusion 80
- Summary and Recommendations 83
- Summary of Key Findings 84
- Recommendations 85
- Identify Opportunities to Assist Graduates Who May Require Additional Supports to Realize the Benefits of the Program 85
- Utilize the Full Scope of Resources Provided by Job ChalleNGe Training and Education Partners 86
- Support Job ChalleNGe Sites to Develop Consistent Messaging and Recruitment Materials 86
- Continue Exploring Avenues for Data Collection and Long-Term Outcome Analyses 87
- Areas for Future Research 88
- Additional Information About Neighborhood Analyses 91
- Additional Information on Data and Methods 91
- Results for All Variables Comparing Zip Codes with Cadets to All U.S. Zip Codes 93
- Differences in Social Capital 94
- Differences in Demographic Measures 96
- Differences in Poverty and Income Levels 97
- Differences in Labor Market Outcomes 99
- Additional Tests for Robustness 100
- Long-Term Outcome Supplemental Materials 103
- Overview of Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Data 103
- Facilitating a Linkage Between Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems and ChalleNGe Data 104
- Estimation Methodology for Impact Analysis 104
- Supplemental Results 106
- What Is the Distribution of Youth ChalleNGe Cadets Across Schools in Georgia 106
- How Do the 8th-Grade Background Characteristics and Behaviors of Youth ChalleNGe and Job ChalleNGe Graduates Compare with Non- ChalleNGe Graduates in Georgia 107
- How Do the Outcomes Among Youth and Jobs ChalleNGe Participants Compare with Each Other and with Non-ChalleNGe Graduates in Georgia 109
- What Is the Impact of Youth ChalleNGe on Postsecondary and Labor Force Outcomes 111
- Survey Development and Administration 119
- Instrument Development 119
- Instrument Development Process 120
- Preparing for Survey Administration 120
- Selecting Site Survey Administrators 121
- Selecting a Survey Platform 121
- Producing a Crosswalk 121
- Deploying the Survey 122
- Transferring Data to RAND 122
- Survey Administration and Response 122
- Barriers to Implementation 124
- Staff Capacity 124
- Maintenance of Unique Identifiers 124
- Structuring Survey Administration with Participant Schedules 125
- Lack of Participant Contact Information 125
- Abbreviations 127
- References 129
