DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 203 056 CE 029 106

TITLE The Knowledge Development Agenda. Knowledge

Development Framework. Youth Knowledge Development

Report 1.1.

INSTITUTION Employment and Training Administration (DOL),

Washington, D.C. Office of Youth Programs.

PUB DATE May 80

NOTE 246p.: For related documents see ED 029 107-126, ED

154 243, ED 163 113, ED 170 434-435, ED 170 485, ED

181 142, ED 183 721, ED 195 664-666, and ED 200

782-784.

AVAILABLE FROM Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing

Office, Washington, DC 20402 (Stock No.

029-014-00116-3, S6.00).

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage.

DESCRIPTORS *Demonstration Programs: Disadvantaged Youth:

Economically Disadvantaged: *Educational Planning:

*Employment Programs: Evaluation Methods: Federal

Programs: Program Descriptions: Program

Effectiveness: *Program Evaluation: *Research Design:

Research Methodology: Research Utilization: *Youth

Employment

IDENTIFIERS *Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act

ABSTRACT

The Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act

of 1977 (YEDPA) authorized a range of research, evaluation, and

demonstration activities to increase understanding of the employment

problems of youth and tohelp determine the most effective policies

and programs to address these problems. Although many programs, such

as the War on Poverty and the Comprehensive Employment and Training

Act (CETAI had addressed these problems previously, these programs had failed to provide a knowledge base for youth programs for the

1980s. Past knowledge development efforts were not adequately

balanced, coordinated, disseminated, or operationalized. The

knowledge development required by the 1977 YEDPA is documented in a

series of reports, grouped into 12 categories. This document, the

first of the reports, presents a rationale for the knowledge

levelopment effort, and an overview of the entire YEDPA program and

the reports stemming from it. The three plans contained in this

document provide the framework for the following "Youth Knowledge

Development Reports." The three plans build on each other. The first

plan emphasizes the coordinated assessment of "first order" issues

needed to legislate more effective youth programs. The second plan

fire tunes the questions and better structures the activities to

address more detailed administrative, service mix, and target group

issues, and to test longer duration interventions. The third plan

stresses follow-thror/h on previous activities and also emphasizes

dissemination and api ication of the findings. In addition,

implications for the ..!130s are discussed. (KC)
U.S. Department of Labcr

Ray Marshall, Secretary

Employment and Training Administration

Ernest G. Green, Assistant Secretary for

Employment ,nd Training Administration

Office of Youth Programs

Material contained in tnis publication is

in the public domain and may be

reproduced, fully or partially, without

permission of the Federal Government.

Source credit is requested but not

required. Permission is required only

to reproduce any copyrighted material

contained herein.

3
Youth Knowledge Development Report 1.1

THE KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT

AGENDA

Office of Youth Programs

hkr Nid by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Wnshington. It.e. 20402
OVERVIEW

The Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act of 1977

authorized a range of research, evaluation and demonstration

activities to increase understanding of the employment probl(

of youth and to help determine the most effective policies al

programs to address these problems. In the preceding 15 yea:

a massive array of research and demonstration activity had

been undertaken for this same purpose. Under the War on

Povertyland continuing under CETA, there had been thousands

of experimental projects and tests of alternative approaches

While much had been learned from these efforts, it was the

Congressional perception that there was no firm informational

basis for youth policies for the 1980s.

Although in fact we know as much or more about youth employment problems and programs than about any other major social

welfare issue, there are reasons why more progress was not

made through previous efforts--reasons that had to be recognized and overcome if the YEDPA "knowledge development" mand

were to be achieved:

First, past demonstrations mainly focused on trying out new

ideas and approaches. They were rarely implemented in

multiple rites with the varying conditions and large sample

sizes necessary to reliably capture the impacts of short-ter

interventions or to predict success in varied settings.

Second, too little attention was paid to "bread and butter

issues;" with the rewards all for "innovation," there was no

enough focus on how to improve conventional programs and

practices. Program evaluations were frequently launched

simply to defend funding levels and focused little on critical process issues. Experiments and demonstrations were

seldom used to assess conventional approaches.

Third, the assessment efforts were too balkanized. Rarely

were research, demonstration and evaluation activity harness

together in a coordinated way to focus on the same issues.

"Rigorous" statistical studies too often ignored "soft" process evaluations and as a result become little more than

econometric exercises. The research community concentrated

primarily on esoteric model building and testing from available data sets. The projects funded by the Department of

Labor put perhaps too much emphasis on economic outcomes

and too little on the psychological and behavioral changes E

important in understanding the youth experience. Studies I:*

other agencies frequently ignored employment issues.

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cJ
Fourth, there was minimal attention to the dissemination and

synthesis of the research, evaluation and demonstration findings. Balkanization reduced the potential for comparability and

integration across studies, but even this potential was far

from being realized. Simply put, hundreds if not thousands of

reports simply disappeared into the bowels of the sponsoring

bureaucracies. As a result, many promising and important

findings were ignored, and there was much overlap and duplication in the effort.

Fifth, and perhaps most critical, the lessons which were learned were rarely applied. There was no planned process of replicating promising ideas, no mechanisms for implementing improvements in conventional approaches, and no direct impact on the policy process. Not enough attention was devoted to the translation of research, evaluation and demonstration

findings into terms that could be utilized by practitioners

and policymakers.

In summary, past knowledge development efforts were not ade- quately balanced, coordinated, disseminated or operationalized. It is, perhaps, unrealistic to have expected much more since these activities were exploring new terrain, since the tech- niques and skilled personnel for research, evaluation and social experimentation had to be developed, and since re- sources were inadequate to pursue a comprehensive strategy. However, these explanations are no longer justification, and YEDPA had to do better based on these past lessons.

To improve the coordination, balance, dissemination and oper- ationalization of research, evaluatior and demonstration ac- tivity under YEDPA, three annual "knowledge development plans" were prepared which provided the framework for the use of discretionary authority under YEDPA and also the Summer Youth Employment Program and Job Corps. The three plans, which follow in sequence, build upon each other. (In the first year, there was a separate supplement on monitoring and evaluation.) The first plan emphasized the coordinated

assessment of "first order" issues needed to legislate more effective youth programs. The second plan finetuned

the questions, and better structured the activities, to

address more detailed administrative, service mix and tar- get group issues, and to test longer duration interventions. The third plan stressed follow-tnrougn on previous activities but also emphasized dissemination and application of the findings.

The emphases and products of knowledge development activities

were time sequenced. Research from existing data sets and

synthes s of previous research were undertaken first and most

rapidly in order to provide a foundation for further activity.

Evaluations of existing programs were initiated and mechanisms

ti
established to assess the new YEDPA program experience, with

an obvious lag in those findings. Multiple-site demonstrations

were put into place to test relatively conventional approaches

under adequately controlled circumstances. Promising approaches

from past demonstrations were identified and replication was

attempted to see if success could be achieved in alternative

circumstances. New ideas and methods were implemented in

a smaller number of sites on a somewhat slower time track

because of the lags in design and development. The research

and evaluation findings were widely disseminated as they

became available and applied in policy deliberations including

the Vice President's Task Force on Youth Employment which was

charged by President Carter with developing youth policies

for the 1980s. Institutional arrangements were developed

under the third plan for continuing dissemination and synthesis of findings, while administrative mechanisms were

established to operationalize the productive results.

In other words, knowledge development is a continuing and

evolving process. While these three plans provide the

framework, and while almost all of the elements described

have been initiated, the ultimate payoff of these efforts

will depend upon the follow-through. There are four basic

dimensions:

First, the activities which have been initiated must be completed. Certain projects were planned as multi-year activities to specifically test the impact of longer duration

services or to study problems over an extended period. To

test multi-year learning curves, at least some project sites

in most demonstrations should be continued. Unquestionably,

there will be a rapid phasedown in the volume of activity

beginning in fiscal 1982 and in the requirements for new resource commitments to complete existing projects beginning

in fiscal 1981. The challenge in this process is to sort

out what really needs to be continued for knowledge development purposes, as well as the successes and failures, in order

not to continue down dead ends. Given the diversity of

institutions involved and the scale of activity, it will be

difficult to phase down in an orderly fashion.

Second, priority must be placed on establishing the mechanisms

for longer-term followup on already funded activities. The

demonstration projects as well as certain evaluations and new

research surveys have gathered a wealth of data which provide

comparison and control groups to test the longer-term effects

of program interventions. Social security, income tax and

unemployment insurance records all might be tapped to track

longer-term developments for matched groups of youth. Alternatively, arrangements might be made for future sampling of

youth who have been matched under certain demonstrations and

tracked three and eight months after completion. Usually such

tracking efforts are initiated retrospectively, i.e., several

years after the fact there is an attempt to secure old records

of youth in different circumstances to determine how they fared

subsequently. Usually there is incomplete information to
control for key variables. With forethought and planning to create data files of experimentals and controls under the demonstration projects, it should be possible to improve on this process. It is not very costly since the information gathering has already occurred and this is really a question of consolidation and planning for the future.

Third, some new knowledge development

dent. activities will be pru- Perhaps the most effective approach is that of planned variation. For instance, where

a set of activities multiple-site projects offering are to be continued, a portion of them could alter the mix of services or the target group in order to te't whether this changes effectiveness. Already gathered data on effectiveness of the basic approach can be used to better assess the planned variations. Some of the demonstrations of new approaches which occurred in only one or two sites might be extended to others to assess replicability. Undoubtedly, the present research, evaluations and demonstrations will suggest some other ideas that need testing. New activities, however, will be on a drastically reduced scale compared to the initiatves begun in the fiscal 1978-1980 period.

Fourth, it is necessary to operationalize those ideas and approaches which are found to be effective. This is one of the implicit aims of the Administration's proposed youth legislation, and the major elements can be implemented admin- istratively without legislation. Incentives will be utilized to encourage CETA prime sponsors and other delivery agents to

words, national

replicate approaches which are found to be successful. In other discretionary funds will be provided to match formula-allocated local

In almost all the

funds if they are used for d3fined models. demonstration projects, one of the products is how-to-do-it guide. Additionally, delivery agents for the demonstrations were selected with the

projects were successful, anticipation that if the they could provide technical assis- tance on a continuing basis, sharing their expertise with the prime sponsors which are receiving incentive grants to imple- ment the exemplary approaches.

Another thrust of both the Administration's legislative proposals and of policy under the Office of Youth Programs is to increase priority on capacity building efforts at the local level in substantive subject areas. For instance, ifthe prime sponsor wanted to devote attention to improving career counsel- ing in projects it operated directly as well as those of local grantees, a nationally supported technical assistance agent would be available to assess local counseling activities, to

iv
offer a full range of services to improve these activities,

and to deliver the agreed upon cervices. These agents would

be the conduits for information learned from knowledge development activities which could be useful for local programs.

It is anticipated that as research, evaluation and demonstration activity declines in fiscal. 1981 and 1982, the discretionary resources utilized for these purposes will be redirected to dissemination and application through incentives

and vastly expanded capacity building efforts.

Fifth, there is a need to disseminate the products of the

knowledge development activities as broadly as possible in

order to assure the widest possible access for those who

might analyze and synthesize the information as well as those

who will actively apply it at both the policy and program

delivery levels.

As part of its knowledge development mandate, therefore, the

Office of Youth Programs of the Department of Labor is organizing, publishing and disseminating the written products of all

major research, evaluation and demonstration activities supported

directly by or mounted in conjunction with the knowledge development effort. Some of the same products may also be published

and disseminated through other channels, but they will-be included in the structured series of Youth Knowledge Development

Reports in order to facilitate access and integration.

The Youth Knowled e Develo ment Re orts, of which this is the

first, are ivided into twe ve roa categories:

1. Knowledge Development Framework: The products in

this category are concerned with the structure of knowledge

development activities, the assessment methodologies which

are employed, validation of measurement instruments, the

translation of knowledge into policy, and the strategy for

disseminating findings.

2. Research on Youth Employment and Employability Development: The products in this category represent analysis of

eTting data, presentation of findings from new data sources,

special studies of dimensions of youth labor market problems

and policy analyses.

3. Program Evaluations: The products in this category

include impact, process and benefit-cost evaluations of youth

programs including the Summer Youth Employment Program, Job

Corps, the Young Adult Conservation Corps, Youth Employment

and Training Programs, Youth Community Conservation and

Improvement Projects, and the Targeted Jobs Tax Credit.

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4. Service and Participant Mix: strations summarized The evaluations and demon- in this category concern the matching of different types of youth with different

This involves service combinations. experiments with work vs. work plus remediation vs. straight remediation as treatment options. It also includes attempts to mix disadvantaged and more affluent well as youth with participants, as older workers.

5. Education and Training Approaches: The products in this category present the

the impact and

findings of structured experiments to test effectiveness of various education and vocational training approaches including specific for the disadvantaged, education methodologies

alternative education approaches and ad- 1=anced career training.

6. Pre-Employment and Transition

this category Services: The products in present the findings

test the impact and of structured experiments to effectiveness of school-to-work transition activities, vocational exploration, job-search assistance and other efforts to better prepare youth for labor market success.

7. Youth Work Experience:

address the organization The products in this category of work activities, their output, pro- ductive roles for youth and the impacts of various employment approaches.

cutting analyses

8. Implementation

of the practical

Issues: This category includes crossdo-it." Issues such lessons concerning "how-to- as learning curves, replication and programmatic processes "batting averages" will be addressed this category, under as well as the

tive delivery agents. comparative advantages of alternain tais category

9. Design and Organizational Alternatives: The products represent assessments alternative of demonstrations of program and delivery

dation, year-round arrangements such as consoli- preparation for of incentives summer programming, the use and multi-year tracking of individuals.

present findings

10. Special Needs Groups: The products in this catecory on the special problems of and adaptatiDns needed for s::gnificant

mothers, troubled segments including minorities, young youth, Indochinese capped. refugees and the handi11. Innovative Approaches: present the findings The products in this category of those activities

new approaches. designed to explore The subjects covered including the Youth Incentive Entitlement. Pilot Projects, private sector initi- atives, the national youth service

initiatives in experiment, and energy weatherization,

reLtoration, windpower low-head hydroelectric dam and the like.

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12. Institutional Linkages: The products in this category

will include studies of institutional arrangements. and linkages

as well as assessments of demonstration activities to encourage

such linkages with education, volunteer groups, drug abuse

agencies and the like.

In each of these knowledge development categories, there will

be a range of discrete demonstration, research and evaluat''m

activities, focused on different policy, program and analycc-,

issues. For instance, all experimental demonstration proY..:.:J

have both process and impact evaluations, frequently under:.aken

by different evaluation agents. Findings will be published as

they become available so that there will usually be a series

of reports as evidence accumulates. To organize these products, each publication is classified in one of the twelve

broad knowledge development categories, described in terms of

the more specific issue, activity or cluster of activities to

which it is addressed, with an identifier of the product and

what it represents relative to other products in the demonstration. Hence, the multiple products under a knowledge

development activity are closely interrelated and the activities in each broad cluster have significant interconnections.

The three plans contained in The Knowledge Development Agenda

provide the framework for all of the following Youth Knowledge

Development Reports. By the same token, the other products in

the "knowledge development framework" category further

elucidate the discussion in the plans as well as fleshing out

the details. The most important and reports would

include the following: Knowledge Develonment Activities,

Fiscal 1978-1979, Knowledge Development Under the Youth

Initiatives--Proceedings of An Overview Conference, and The

Standardized Assessment System. The interim findings from

research, evaluation and demonstration activities through

March 180 will be summarized in Making Sense of the Knowledge Development Findings and Youth Knowledge Development

Summary.

ROBEAT TAGGART

Administrator

Office of Youth Programs
CONTENTS

A Knowledge Development Plan for

the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act of 1977

1

A Monitoring and Assessment Plan for YEDPA

40

A Knowledge Development Plan for

the Youth Incentives Fiscal

1979

5G

Completing the Youth Agenda 148

12
A KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

FOR THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND

DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS ACT OF 1977
I. KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Based on the premise that more information and experimentation is needed before developing a long-term youth

program, the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects

Act of 1977 (YEDPA) authorizes a large variety of innovative

demonstration projects to explore the relative effectiveness

of different approaches in assisting economically disadvantaged

and other youth to complete high school to enter the world of

work, and to achieve job stability and advancement. The

Congress purposely provided the Secretary of Labor with

discretionary authority for allocating about a fifth of all

YEDPA funds. The mandate was clearly expressed:

"Sec. 321. It is the purpose of this part to

establish a variety of employment, training and

demonstration programs to explore methods of dealing

with the structuel unemployment problems of the Nation's

youth. The basic purpose of the demonstration programs

shall be to test the relative efficacy of the different

ways of dealing with these problems in different local

contexts.

"Sec. 348. (a) (1) The Secretary of Labor is

authorized, either directly or by way of contract or

other arrangement, with prime sponsors, public agencies

and private organizations to carry out innovative and

experimental programs to test new approaches for dealing

with the unemployment problems of youth and to enable

eligible participants to prepare for, enhance their

prospects for, or secure employment in occupations

through which they may reasonably be expected to advance

to productive working lives. Such programs shall include,

where appropriate, cooperative arrangements with educational agencies to provide special programs and services

for eligible participants enrolled in secondary schools,

postsecondary educational institutions and technical and

trade schools, including job experience, counseling and

guidance prior to the completion of secondary or postsecondary education and making available occupational,

educational, and training information through statewide

career information systems.

"(2) In carrying out or supporting such programs,

the Secretary of Labor shall consult, as appropriate,

with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Health,

Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of Housing and Urban

Development, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director

of the ACTION Agency, and the Director of the Community

Services Administration.

1 4
"(3) Funds available under this section may be transferred to other Federal departments and agencies

to carry out functions delegated to them pursuant

to agreements with the Secretary.

"(b) The Secretary and prime sponsors, as the

case may be, shall give special consideration in

carrying out innovative and experimental programs

assisted under this section to community-based or- ganizations which have demonstrated effectiveness in the delivery of employment and training services,

such as the Opportunities Industrialization Centers,

the National Urban League, SER-Jobs for Progress

Mainstream, Community Action Agencies, union-related

organizations, employer-related nonprofit organizations, and other similar organizations."

It is clear that to fulfill this "knowledge development" mandate, the Secretary must devise a plan which will test a wide range of program approaches, While assuring in design and evaluation that the basic questions

underlying youth employment policies will be addressed,

and, so far as possible, resolved. It is also important to involve the many agencies and organizations which have played an active role in youth related efforts

over the years, and to identify, synthesize and

replicate the good things which have been done. Finally, it is vital that the discretionary resources are used, to the maximum feasible extent, to help youths who are in need. Research and evaluation must be integrated

into action programs in order to learn while doing.
-3

II. CONSTRAINTS AND CONSIDERATIONS

A variety of issues must be considerdd in designing a

knowledge development p1 .n for the YEDPA.

A. The Programmatic Foundation

In the past, many different programs for in-school

and out-of-school youth have been tried under MDTA,

EOA, CETA, and other social legislation. YEDPA

efforts must build on and be integrated witl, those

program approaches which have demonstrated effectiveness. However, since YEDPA represents a major new

source of funds, and since other resources have

grown slowly in the 1970's, there are pressures to

simply substitute YEDPA dollars for others. While

one aim is to provide the knowledge base for more

comprehensive youth employment policies, another is

to avoid locking resources into an operational mode

such that it would be difficult to transfer them in

the future to approaches which prove effective. Thus,

to make the programs work best, it will be necessary

to utilize many existing delivery mechanisms, but

at the same time, to seek to assure that the efforts

are seen as new, different, and not necessarily

permanent.

It will also be necessary to test different techniques

for nurturing and replicating the successes under

the diverse demonstrations. In the 1960's, many

unique and valuable experimental findings were lost

because of the lack of techniques for assessing

performance and disseminating and building on the

lessons. At the other extreme, there were in some

cases attempts to build national programs from

isolated demonstration projects or even untested

concepts without careful analysis of all the factors

involved.

B. Limited Staff Resources

At the Federal, regional and local government levels,

staff resources are extremely limited. Only a handful

of people at the national and regional offices will be

available to design, implement and operate what are,

in many cases, untried ideas and delivery approaches.

Research and experimentation are by nature very labor

intensive. It is difficult to meet knowledge development goals when resources are scattered over myriad
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projects. Some outside staff resources for research

and evaluation must be secured. Research aims must be

carefully structured and the results subsequently

integrated to cut down on wasted motion.

C. Program Diversity.

The objectives of YEDPA are quite complex. There are a range of target groups to be served including in-school/

summer youth, out-of-school youth, the economically

disadvantaged as well as the non-disadvantaged. There are a variety of approaches to be explored, including

residential and'non-residential conservation work on public lands, work/training in community improvement and other areas, work/training plus comprehensive

support services for career development, subsidies to

private-for-profit employers, and opportunities for youth under jurisdiction of the criminal justice system. This overall program diversity, combined with the

national spread of funds allocated by formula, is a

significant burden both administratively (in distinguishing programs from one another--many will be

labeled simply "work experience"), and technically (in systematically assessing the relative effectiveness and impact of differing programs for various target

groups).

D. Consultation and Coordination

To facilitate learning from past program experience, nurturing new worthwhile ideas and setting relevant and attainable research aims and procedures, it is important to coordinate YEDPA efforts with those

elseUhere in the Department of Labor as well as those of many other agencies. These include HEW, HUD, LEAA, ACTION, Agriculture, Interior, and the new Department of Energy. Community-based and public interest groups, unions, as well as private foundations, must be involved along with State and local government officials and

program managers.

E. Time Frames

The Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC) was authorized by Congress through FY 1980. However, the other YEDPA programs, which account for about 75 percent of total funds appropriated for FY 1978, were authorized only through FY 1978.
Clearly, the knowledge development objectives of

YEDPA must be achieved both in the short and longer

terms. Congress will want to know early about (a)

the feasibility of and processes in establishing

large scale efforts for in-school youth and returning

dropouts, (b) the number and characteristics of

youths enrolled in programs and of those rejected,

(c) the kinds of work being performed by youth, and

training and other services being provided to them,

(d) the length of stay in programs and reasons for

termination, and (e) the costs of various approaches.

In the long run, research and evaluation efforts aimed

at distilling "what works best for whom under what

conditions" "ill have to measure the outcomes of

programs in terms of (a) the value of the work produced

by enrollees, (b) effects of program opportunities, if

any, on school completion and youth employment, (c) relative cost-effectiveness of different program approaches

for similar target groups, (d) comparative outcomes for

enrollees and comparable non-enrollees, i.e., the net

impact of and cost for various programs, and (e) anticipated

program costs for national replication.

It should be noted that YEDPA was enacted as a job

creation component of the Administration's economic

stimulus package. Action must get under way as quickly

as possible. There is a tradeoff between careful

research design and rapid implementation to maximize

economic impacts. The four-fifths of YEDPA resources

which are not discretionary must be committed immediately,

while the demonstration efforts must be underway soon

thereafter.

F. Research Limitations

Experience with social research and experimentation has

suggested some of the inherent constraints:

First, new programs take time to launch and jell. Early

activities are influenced significantly by startup

limitations and the need to develop new capabilities.
What initial studies can do is identify who is enrolled, the services they receive, the immediate outcome on

termination, and the "correctable" operational problems which arise can tell how participants or others regard the program and what they see as its immediate benefits or shortcomings. They can indicate the wacticality of some designs and point up issues not adequately perceived beforehand. They cannot, however, tell how much modifica- tions or improvements will yield (until they, in turn, are implemented and studied). And, they cannot determine long-run impacts.

Second, efforts to track post-program effects on

participants require considerable time. For participants entering a 1-year program, measurement of experience in the year after leaving, allowing for followup interview and analysis time, requires some 2-1/2 to 3 years after entry before reliable conclusions can be reached.

Particularly for youth, the concern is with even longer- run impacts. It takes five to ten years for the "lasting" effects of program interventipns to surface, as youths mature into adult workers.

Third, estimation of the impacts

a comparision on participants requires group to indicate what would have happened otherwise, This is especially true for youth, whose employment and earnings tend to improve rapidly with each passing year. Development and tracking of a comparison group is technically difficult, costly, and often has not Yielded reliable results. It is especially difficult to find a good comparison group for youth, because the track record in the labor market and elsewhere is S6 limited and the future options are so variable.

There are additional problems of sample size and reliability if, as is likely with the general expansion of youth programs, a large proportion of youth in the comparison group end up in some program and no longer represent what happens in the absence of "program treat- ment."

Fourth, cost-benefit analyses, to determine if benefits of programs expressed.in monetary terms exceed the costs, are attractive in principle but difficult in practice. Estimates of benefits depend very greatly on such assumptions, as whether earnings improvements accelerate, stabilize, or recede over 25 years of adult are issues too worklife. There as to whether and how to combine multiple benefits, and difficulties in developing monetary measures to reflect such results as reductions in youth street crime.
7

This does not mean that nothing can be learned. It

merely :Jggests that knowledge building is incremental

and laborious. There are rarely any quantum leaps in

social research and experimentation, and it is unlikely

that any panaceas will be disco'ered. However, the

quality of the research strategy and its implementation

can have a major impact on the amount of progress which

is made. In the 1960's, there were a wide range of

experimental and demonstration efforts. Both the

successes and failures provided many useful lessons.

However, in this explorative stage, it was difficult

to structure these efforts so the results could be

synthesized, the problems avoided in the future, and

the successes replicated.

Our knowledge has advanced, but to move further, it is

necessary to more carefully integrate research and

demonstration efforts into a comprehensive plan

structured to rolve predetermined theoretical and

policy issues.
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III. A STRATEGY

There ar2 a vast array of unanswered questions about the career development, employment and training experience of youth and the effectiveness of government interventions. It is necessary to establish priorities at the outset.

A first priority is to assess what has been and is being learned. There have been diverse research, demonstration, and evaluation efforts over the years funded by a variety of agencies and carried out by a multitude of organizations. It is vital to identify i and synthesize the results. Many communities have launched "innovative" efforts, but there is no way to determine at the national level what is being done where, and what works most effectively.

A. Priority Issues

Based on a preliminary survey of research results and activities, priority issues must be decided. The following have resulted from the Office of Youth Programs' analysis:

1. Does school retention and completion increase the future employability of potential dropouts and the disadvantaged, and is subsidized tem- porary employment a mechanism for increasing

school retention and completion?

2. Can the school-to-volt transition process be improved? This involves several related

questions. Are new institutional arrangements feasible and warranted? Will increased labor

market information and assistance expedite the transition? Can employer subsidies and other

private sector approaches create new transition

routes?

3. Work experience has become the primary emphasis of youth programs. Jobs are to be "useful" and "meaningful" i.e., having both a worthwhile output and an impact on future careers. Are the jobs productive? Which ones are most "meaningful" and how can they be identified?

4. Does structured, disciplined work experience, have as much or more impact on future employability than other human resource development services or a combination of services and employment?
5. Are there better approaches or delivery mechanisms

for the types of career development, employment and

training services which are currently being offered?

6. To what extent are short-run interventions and outcomes related to longer-term impacts on employability

during adulthood? Put in another way, how do public

interventions affect the maturation and development

process?

7. What works best and for whomT. This is a perpetual

and critically important (pee:don of matching services with needs. To answer this, it is first

necessary to develop a set of performance or outcome

standards which determine what does and does not

work. The second step is to try to determine who

realizes these benefits under which programs and

approaches

8. What are the costs of fully employing youths?

Unemployment rates for youth are of questionable

meaning because of the substantial number of

"discouraged" individulas who are outside the

labor force but would seek work if they thought

it were available. Many other youths are employed

at low wages and would be attracted to minimum wage

jobs. Others are working less than the desired

number of hours. It is important to determine the

extent of the job deficit and the costs of eliminating

it.
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B. The Tools

The tools to resolve these issues include the following:

1. Surveys and syntheses of past research, evaluation and demonstration efforts.

2. Inventories of existing projects and determination of those with exemplary results or approaches.

3. Theoretical and quantitative analysis.

4. Basic research surveys, such as longitudinal analyses of employment and school-to-work transition patterns.

5. Demonstration projects to test new ideas.

6. Large-scale structured social experiments.

7. Programmatic performance assessments and process evaluations to determine operational effectiveness.

8. Tracking of participants to determine the net impact of program intervention by comparing program participant outcomes with the experiences of similar nonparticipants.

The following plan is structured to use these various tools to help resolve the basic policy issues with.ln the contraints which have been enumerated.

'3
IV. THE MAW

The knowledge development plan is structured in accordance with

YEDPA, which has four major programmatic components: the Young.

Adult Conservation Corps (YACC) which employs youth in conservation

work, Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects (Entitlement)

which guarantees employment to youth returning to or staying in

school, Youth Community Conservation and Improvement Projects

(Community Improvement) which employs youth in neighborhood

restoration and maintenance, and Youth Employment and Training

(YET), which provides a spectrum of manpower services to the

disadvantaged. The Entitlement program is structured by law as

a large-scale demonstration in a few locations. Under the

Community Improvement and YET programs discretionary funds are

provided for demonstration, evaluation, and research. The aim

is to learn as much as possible from the formula-funded operational

programs as well as the special projects established with discretionary resources.

A. Young Adult Conservation Corms,

The purpose of YACC is to provide employment and other

benefits to youth age 16-23, who would not otherwise be

currently productively employed, through a year-round

residential or nonresidential program of useful conservation work to maintain and improve public parks, forests,

and recreational areas, both Federal and non-Federal.

Of the $1 billion now available for YEDPA programs, $233

million is for YACC which is, through interagency agreement

with DOL, administered by the Departments of Interior and

Agriculture. If a supplemental appropriation of $500 million

is provided for youth programs, overall YACC funds may be

increased to $350 million.

11 This outline of knowleds1 development activities is a planning

document. It represents the Office of Youth Program's strategy

in the early stages of implementation. Elements of the knowledge

development effort are certain to change. In broad outlines, however,

it is hoped that this plan will provide the foundation for subsequent

efforts.

24
Knowledge concerning YACC will be gained from monitoring reports on program operations prepared by the Departments of Interior and Agriculture pursuant to their interegency

agreement with the Department of Labor. These reports will include information on enrollment, termination, and expenditure experience, as well as estimates of the value of the work performed. Additionally, however, independent evaluations will be needed to assess various program processes and to measure the economic and noneconomic

impacts:

1. Economic Impact

The study will focus on the net effect of the

program on participants' labor force status,

employment, earnings, and other related measures in the initial months after their termination

from the program, comparing the effects of the

YACC program to those of other employment and

training programs for similar target groups.

2. 1102MIMITILIMPEII

In determining noneconomic impacts, the study will

concentrate on:

a. the validity of the work value measures

established for the YACCs.

b. the effect on participants' relationship

with their family and community.

c. the extent to which YACC influences the

participants' receipt of transfer payments, level of criminal behavior, enrollment in

school or college and enlistment in military

service.

d. the effect of YACC on the attitudes and

motivation of participants.

3. Process Evaluation

The study will analyze key practices and experiences, continuing problems, and emerging issues concerning various administrative mechanisms established by the legislation, including:

e. the interagency agreements between the

Departments of Labor, Agriculture, and

Interior.

23
b. the referral of enrollees by Labor to

Agriculture and Interior.

c. the selection of sites after consultation

among the three agencies.

d. the arrangements for academic credit tc 'he

worked out with HEW.

e. the consultations with affected Governors,

and State and local officials.

It will also review past experience with the Civilian

Conservation Corps (CCC) during the New Deal and the

Youth Conservation Corps more recently.

B. Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects (Subpart I,

Title II, YEDPA)

The Entitlement program guarantees a jc4, and/or

training (part-time during school year/full-time in

summer) for all economically disadvantaged 16-19

year olds who (1) reside in selected geographic areas,

(2) are already in school or returning to school, and

(3) apply for this opportunity to which they axe

entitled. The primary objective is to encourage high

school retention, return and completion which, combined

with useful work experience and other services, will

hopefully improve future labor market success.

Congress did not require that funds for Entitlement

projects be allocated to States and or prime sponsors

by formula. Instead, the Secretary has discretionary

authority to determine hold many projects are to be

established and where they should be located.

However, the Act clearly seeks to mount such efforts

on a project scale which will test the feasibility and

costs of implmenting the program nationwide. The

estimated costs of Entitlement diccate that within the

funding levels, only a few such saturation projects can

be launched. On the other hand, there are a variety of

innovative ideas which are to be tested, requiring a

number of discrete demonstrations if their impact is to

be isolated.

4,0
- 1.4 -

The knowledge development plan, therefore, calls for a two tier project approach:

First-tier projects: The primary effort will

involve a few (4-6) saturation projects of

sufficiently large scale and basiC format, and

with rigorous experimental design to test the

efficacy of Entitlement under differing socioeconomic, regional and governmental circumstances.

A fundamental concern to be addressed in analyses of first-tier projects is whether and how Entitle- ment projects are feasible for entire sponsor jurisdictions, the probable costs of such programs, and the scope and nature of jobs which would be

created. The impacts on labor markets and school

completion and retention rates will be assessed

carefully.

The research/evaluation effort for first-tier

projects will also involve long-term tracing of

labor market and other experiences of samples of

youth who participated in Entitlement projects,

and analyses to compare outcomes for these youth with those for appropriate comparison groups. To insure that first-tier projects are operated

in accordance with the technical rigor and other

conditions specified by the experimental design, a careful selection of sites must be made from

among the many which might like to participate.

Pre-applications will be solicited nationally

from CETA prime sponsors in such a way to insure that only.areas with commitment and demonstrated

competence will apply. An assessment will be made of these pre-applications by an objective, balanced interdisciplinary team, to select a set of more promising applicants who will be

given planning grants. Based on the applications

and site visits, a final selection of projects will be made.

The best mechanism for the development of selction information and the organization of the selection process is the Manpower Demonstration Research

Corporation created by an interagency agreement

among Federal Departments and operated as a nonprofit interdisciplinary, research and demonstration mechanism, MDRC has performed admirably in its primary mission of testing the supported

27
- 15 -

work concept and has extended into other areas.

It is ideally suited to serve as the agent for

establishing and guiding first-tier projects,

and completing the necessary analyses to assess

the efficacy of the Entitlement approach.

Second-tier projects: Several (8-10) small scale

projects will supplement first-tier projects by

widening the range of new and improved program

approaches, methods, and techniques to be explored

and demonstrated. For instance, projects might

be funded which put special emphasis on attracting

unwed mothers back to school, or which would

utilize nontraditional education. Second-tier

projects will be selected on a competitive basis

in the same manner as those for Tier I, with somewhat greater emphases on their innovative features.

Studies of second-tier projects will focus on key

practices, continuing problems, emerging issues,

how-to-do-it guides, progress in facilitating

return to school, and retention in and completion

of school. Outside evaluation will be more

qualitative than quantitative. Knowledge developed

by studies of second-tier projects will compliment

the findings of the more rigorous analyses of

first-tier projects. To insure this, the same

outside organization to be used to conduct research

of first-tier projects will oversee the process

evaluation type studies of second-tier projects.

The use of a single analytic outside group for all

Entitlement projects will facilitate periodic

reporting of selected data from all projects in

order to be responsive to the various day-to-day

demands for program information.

Of the $1 billion currently available for YEDPA programs,

$115 million is for Entitlement projects. Approximately

$100 million will be used to finance the 4 to 6 large

scale first-tier projects and about $10 million will be

needed to finance the 8 to 10 smaller scale second-tier

projects. The remaining $5 million will be used to

finance special research and monitoring activities.

Should the requested supplemental appropriation of $500

million be provided for youth programs, $57.5 million

might be available for Entitlement projects and these

funds would be used to significantly expand the number of

second-tier projects and related studies.
-16

C. Youth Community Conservation and Improvement Projects

Community Improvement projects are to provide unemployed

16-19 years-olds, who are either in-school or out-of-school, with employment, work experience, on-the-job skill training, and opportunities to help their communities. Projects to be conducted could include, but are not limited to, improve- ment of public facilities, neighborhood improvement, weatherization and housing repairs, energy conservation,

and conservation, maintenance and other work on public lands.

Of available funds for Community Improvement, ($115 million out of $1 billion) 79 percent is to be allocated by formula among the States and other designated recipients, including sponsors of Indian and Migrant programs, and will support approved projects to be operated by prime sponsors. The

remaining 21 percent of funds is to be allocated at the Secretary's discretion. Knowledge development efforts

focusing on these projects will be undertaken as follows:

1. Formula-funded projects. Knowledge of the problems and progress of Community Improvement will be obtained

through three primary sources:

(a) monitoring reports on project operations

prepared by regional and national office

ETA staff.

(b) reporting systems which will require sponsors to periodically account for participant

characteristics, enrollment levels, termination

data, and expenditures.

(c) a process evaluation which will identify and

report on practices, problems, issues and

progress of operations for a national sample

of projects. This effort will be a part of

a broader process study which will also examine the formula-funded programs under YET.

2. Discretionary Efforts

Depending on the overall appropriation for youth programs, the Community Improvement discretionary funds will be $24 to $36 million. These funds will be divided among several special demonstration projects. The first demonstration

project will be a special effort to replicate in 5-10

communities around the country a selected Community Improve- ment program model drawn from a review of both appropriate past programs and designs of projects financed through the formula allocation for Community Improvement.

29
17

This program replication demonstration project will

be undertaken by a nonprofit corporation, established

under private foundation auspices, staffed with

individuals with particular experience and expertise

in the area of community conservation and improvement

work. This corporation will have an interdisciplinary

board of directors drawn from business, labor education

and community service. In addition to identifying a

program model worthy of replication, the nonprofit

corporation will be responsible for selecting project

sites from among competing CETA prime sponsors, planning

and establishing projects, monitoring project implementation, evaluating outcomes of the projects; and

conducting selected research for expanding knowledge

regarding the effectiveness of the Community Improvement

approach.

The underlying objectives of this demonstration project

are:

(a) to demonstrate and test the feasibility and

effectiveness of a replicating methodology

itself (i.e., how and under what conditions

can the program model be adequately replicated

in various communities).

(b) to develop and refine a "work evaluation''

methodology which may eventually be incorporated

into the formula-funded Community Improvement

type efforts.

(c) to compare the post - program experiences of

youth participating in the replicated projects

(which will mainly provide job experience) with

those for a comparable group of young people

of similar backgrounds who have participated

in other manpower programs (which have emphasized

classroom training, manpower and support services)

in the same localities.

The second demonstration project will explore the

feasibility and value of utilizing neighborhood-based

Community Development Corporations (CDCs) for planning

and running Community Improvement efforts. Funds would

be transferred from DOL to HUD, and HUD would channel

the funds to CRCs. The major areas of knowledge development to be addressed would include determining whether:

(a) CDC's can more effectively link youth

Community Improvement efforts to other

funding sources and, if so, whether there

is a multi.?lier effect reflected in project

outcomes;
- 18 -

(b) CDC's can facilitate particular productivity

by youngsters which is not generated by

formula- funded projects; and

(c) the nature and value of project accomplishments

have distinctive qualities which distinguish

the CDC efforts from those of formula-funded

projects.

The Community Improvement discretionary funds

transferred to HUD would be used to finance a few

concentrated projects. HUD would contract, for an independent study of the projects which would include

a process evaluation of practices, problems, and pro- gress, and would include appropriate research analysis

to compare the HUD/CDC effort to that of a sample of formula-funded Community Improvement projects on selected performance variables. The research agenda

and projects design would be carefully detailed in

an interagency agreement between the Departments of Labor and Rousing and Urban Development.

The third community improvement demonstration project will explore the feasibility of federal interagency work projects. Arrangements will be pursued with

the Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban

Development and Commerce (Economic Development Admin- istration) to link community improvement youth employment funds with other activities. The aim will be to package a few large projects to see whether this approach can provide an option to the decentralized

adMinistration implicit in the community improvement formula-funded program. It will test interagency

cooperation and the feasibility of developing projects quickly which can absorb large numbers of youth. First priority will go to developing linkages between DOT and DOL for roadbed improvement efforts in areas of severe unemployment.

D. Youth Employment and Training Programs

Youth Employment.and Training programs authorized under YEDPA are for a broad variety of efforts to enhance the job prospects and career opportunities of in-school and out-of-school young people. In addition to useful work experience opportunities, the Act authorizes on-the-job, institutional, and other training as well as services such as outreach, counseling, occupational information, education-to-work transition, job restructuring and child care.
- 19 -

Of available funds for YET, 85 percent ($537 million of the

initial $1 billion appropriation) is to be allocated by

formula to States, local prime sponsors, and sponsors of

Indian and migrant projects, and the other 13 percent of

funds is to be used at the Secretary's discretion for

carrying out innovative and experimental programs to test

new approaches for dealing with the unemployment problems

of youth. Knowledge development efforts focusing on YET

will be undertaken as follows:

1. Knowledge of problems and

progress of formula-funded projects for YET will be

Obtained through four primary sources:

(a) monitoring reports on project operations

prepared by regional and national office

ETA staff;

(b) reporting systems which will require sponsors

to periodically account for participant

characteristics/enrollment levels/termination

data/expenditures;

(c) a special study (process evaluation) to

identify and report on practices, problems,

and progress of areas; and

(d) special evaluations of State youth efforts

under the 5 percent formula-funded segments,

and studies commissioned by DOL's Office of

National Programs to assess Indian and

migrant programs.

2. Use of Discretionary Funds

YET discretionary funds ($70 million at the $1 billion

appropriation level) will be used to finance a number of

special studies and projects, including the following:

(a) Youth Service Demonstration Project

A demonstration project will be undertaken through

ACTION to develop and test the concept of a National

Youth Service Corps, and will be modeled on the more

successful experiences of various volunteer efforts.

Exploration of "Youth Services" as an additional

life cycle alternative for out-of-school young

people interested in "meaningful" community services

is conceptually relevent to the basic intent of

YEDPA. The efficacy of having this concept implemented on a "saturation" basis in a particular
-20-

sizable urban community will be tested.

Exploration will be made of the procedures

for implementing such an effort, non-CETA

resources which can be linked with supplemental funds and services, and the natIlre and

scope of jobs which can be created.

ACTION will provide the staff for an evaluation

of the Youth Service Demonstration Project.

The evaluation will be designed and monitored

by an independent review panel. This study

will be a process-type evaluation of practical problems and progress, but will also include

appropriate research analyses which compare the ACTION demonstration effort to that of

appropriate formula-funded efforts under YET

on selected performance variables.

(b) Education Entitlement Voucher Demonstration Project

Most of the new program initiatives to be under- taken under YEDPA focus on providing an employment experience for young people as a means of enabling

them to complete their secondary school edu8ation and/or prepare for subsequent entry to regular

nonsubsidized employment. Many youngsters will be motivated by their work program experience to

aspire to seeking advanced skills through post- secondary (or continuing secondary) education.

However, financial need will be a major obstacle

to meeting the cost of tuition, books, etc. To address this situation, a demonstration project will be undertaken to explore the feasibility and value of applying the "GI Bill" concept through an "Education Entitlement Voucher" to.youth

participants in selected employment and training

programs.

This demonstration project would seek to identify (1) the merits of alternative procedures for

providing the Education Entitlement Voucher--e.g., setting credits based on each month of program

participation, financial contribution/matching by participants as a deduction from stipends in the course of program participation, etc., (2) the various ways vouchers are perceived by youth

program participants, and (3) how and to what
- 21 -

extent youth choose to utilize the vouchers

in furthering their education skills. The

contractor selected to conduct this demonstration project would have to have special

abilities needed to work cooperatively with

a variety of operating youth programs, understanding of the available knowledge stemming

from use of the GI Bill and from various

special other "voucher" projects undertaken

in recent years, and capability for complex

analytical work to identify the relative

efficiency and effectiveness of various

methods of application of Education Entitlement Vouchers.

(c) Exemplary In-School Programs Demonstration Project

Under the formula-funded programs for YET,

there is a 22 percent set-aside of funds for

in-school programs. As a means of encouraging

innovation in these in-school programs, a

special demonstration project will be undertaken

as a mechanism for providing national recognition

and financial reward to selected exemplary projects.

This demonstration project will enable ETA to

identify and promote program models which are

selected by In independent panel of experts with

interdisciplinary capability and particular

knowledge of the problems of secondary school

students in completing school and making transition to the world of work.

Proposals would be solicited from schools through

CETA sponsors for the expansion and support of

exemplary in-school programs already underway.

The effectiveness and innovative use of YET

formula funded in-school monies, and linkages

with other community resources, will be among

the criteria used in project selection. Tentatively, three primary areas of focus would be

adopted:

(1) model programs relating to the application

and dissemination of occupational information;
-22-

(2) in-school projects to retain, attract, and

give special attention to high dropout

potential youth including unwed mothers,

the disabled and youths with social problems;

and

(3) efforts to provide academic credit for work

experience and to integrate employment and

the curricula.

A temporary nonprofit body would be constituted

to provide technical assistance to the recipients

of model project grants. This organization would

study the funded projects, preparing "how-to-do-it"

guides for other areas and serving as e nexus for

coordinating in-school employment related efforts.

(d) Career Oriented Alternative Education Demonstration

Projects_

One of the most carefully studied and demonstrably

successful models for career education of dropouts

and potential dropouts is the Career Intern Program

(CIP) funded by the National Institute of Education

and operated in Philadelphia by Opportunities

Industrialization Centers of America. The fundamental

aims, which are also those of the YEPDA, are to

improve career oriented education and to foster

school completion.

Because this is a project of demonstrated merit

recommended by HEW, because it is operated by a

community based group, and because it shares the

goals of the YEDPA, the CIP approach deserves to

be tested in several other localities. Operating

costs for serving 200 interns are roughly $500,000

annually, with additional start-up costs (though

reduced by the initial experience of CIP). The

model might, therefore, be tested in four additional

sites through a joint venture with the NIE, DOL

and OIC. It would be important to rigorously

analyze the outcomes as was done in the case of

the initial demonstration.

(e) Private Sector Initiatives for Youth

A demonstration project will be undertaken to

study and test four separate approaches to

increasing employment opportunities for youth in

the private sector:
- 23 -

(1) Direct employment subsidies will be provided

for each disadvantaged youth hired.

(2) Training cost subsidies similar tr., those

under the JOBS-contract program will be

tried, with varying levels of subsidy and

specification.

(3) Apprenticeship subsidies for smaller employers

to hire and train youths similar to those

tested in the Community Services fiministration's

exemplary Open Roads project will be further

tested.

(4) Entrepreneurship options for youths which

have been developed in some localities will

be carefully demonstrated and tested.

1.711.1e the YEDPA clearly articulated the Congressional

desire to test such private sector approaches, there

are problems mounting demonstration efforts within

the constraints of the law. Special arrangement's

will have to be made. Business and labor concerns

must be carefully considered, and the activities

must be structured as an experiment with the results

objectively assessed.

One approach would be to establish a temporary nonprofit corporation to administer the private sector

demonstration project. It would be staffed and

administered by individuals with recognized

experience and expertise in the structure and

workings of unions and private-for-profit employers,

.s well as in action research. Such a corporation

would be responsible for planning and implementing

the proposed demonstration efforts, and for monitoring and evaluation. Its board of directors

would include representatives of industry, organized

labor and the academic community.

Another approach would be to operate directly from

the Department of Labor, utilizing its established

business-labor advisory groups. Alternately, a

joint venture might be undertaken with the Department

of Commerce, or an existing "neutral" nonprofit

group might be funded.
(f) School-to-Work Transition Demonstration Projects

(1) The Department of Labor has supported the

establishment of 21 Education and Work

Councils, and has funded the National Manpower Institute and the American Association

of Junior and Community Colleges to provide

technical assistance and to assess the

effectiveness of these groups. Improvement of the school-to-work transition process is

one of the functions of Youth Advisory Councils

under the YEDPA. The discretionary funds will be used to continue the existing Education and

Work Councils and to provide te^hnical assistance to Youth Advisory Councils seeking to

improve local institutions. An independent

onoite investigation will supplement NMI and

AAJCC reports to determine progress to date.

Analysis of these and other school-to-work

activities will be prepared by the staff of

the Office of Youth Programs.

Additionally, agreement has been reached with

the National Institute of Education to co- operate in a comprehensive multi-year evaluation

of school-to-work transition institutions and

their effectiveness.

(2) A variety of agencies have been involved in

providing school-to-work transition services

including secondary schools, the federal/state

employment service and community-based

organizations. Services include counseling, activities to overcome sex stereotyping, pre- sentation of occupational information, placement, job-development and follow-up. A variety of

institutions and approaches will be adopted

under YETP. While the results of YETP will

provide some lessons about the effectiveness

of such services and the comparative success of different deliverers, it will be difficult

to disentangle the many variables. A more carefully structured demonstration project is needed to assess differences in approach and

their effectiveness.

Discretionary funds will, therefore, be used to

fund alternate delivery agents to. implement

projects in several areas each. Standardization

3?
- 25 -

of target groups, expenditure levels, testing

and reporting procedures will allow a refined

estimate of comparative effectiveness. The

analytical requirements will be built into the

grants to the delivery agents, but an outside

evaluation will be used to more carefully and

objectively assess the outcomes.

(g) Service Mix Alternatives Demonstration Projects

It is possible that some of the anticipated

demonstration and research projects in this

ambitious agenda will not be realized. In

this case, it is important to have a readily

implementable program which will benefit

youth in need and yet will realize knowledge

development objectives. Two alternative

treatment models will be developed for out-ofschool disadvantaged youth: one which provides

subsidized employment plus a variety of manpower activities and support services and a

second which concentrates primarily on the

work experience alone. Cost levels would be

equal for the two and the basic components and

eligible applicants specified in detail. CETA

prime sponsors would be selected to operate

the two with random assignment of participants

and equal placement efforts. Federal funds

would be provided for the operations and for

a two year, locally-designed followup evaluation. The paired models would be implemented

in as many areas as feasible with available

funds. These locally-run, but federallyfunded experiments would indicate the extent

to which services other than direct work

experience contributed to future employability.

(h) Assessment of Youth Perspectives

One of the major gaps in knowledge about youth

programs is uncertainty about the perceptions

of those who participate. Many of the

approaches and theories which underlie career

development, employment ana training efforts

have remained unchanged for decades. They

may have been misdirected in the first place

relative to the needs and capacities of youth,

but certainly the changes which have occurred

in our social and educational systems should
- 26 -

have generated some substantive revisions.

In all programs, the views of participants

should be solicited, but this is an especially

critical need relative to youth, who have had

little direct involvement.

Youth involvement will be promoted at all

levels under YEDPA. Locally, youth will

participate in youth advisory councils, and

prime sponsors will be asked to solicit the

views of participants and will be urged to

employ youth in the delivery of services so far as possible. Youth staffing will be a precondition in conducting all evaluation

studies, and these must all place a heavy

emphasis on the experiences of the youth

participants. The national staff will be

supplemented by youth workers.

In addition, discretionary funds will be

used to establish a "participant/observer

Youth Group" with a balanced representation

of young persons who are currently enrolled

or have recently been enrolled in youth

programs. Through periodic meetings and

communications, this group will keep the

Department of Labor informed of the views

of those who are intimately involved in the

programs. SupplementIng this, special

workshops or conferences will be held to

solicit the views of youth on how the programs

and services can be improved, and to

encourage their participation at the local

level.

(i) Evaluations of Formula-Funded Projects

(1) A process evaluation is necessary to

monitor the design and implementation of Community Improvement and YET and

their coordination with other existing

programs. Particular attention must be

addressed to potential problems such

as substitution of YEDPA funds for

those already being spent, wage issues

and how they will be resolved, and the

extent that targetting is being met.

39
- 27 -

The degree of local planning, coordination and innovation must be

determined, including assessment of

the effect of LEA-CETA agreements.

The best way to secure this information in a timely fashion is a set of

case studies covering a range of

geographical areas and a mix of

governmental units and economic

conditions.

(2) To evaluate program impact on participants,

the Continuous Longitudinal Manpower

Survey (CLMS) will be expanded to include

YEDPA participants. It would determine

in detail their characteristics and

backgroirad, duration of enrollment, perceptions of their work and services

received and what they see as the benefits

they gain, and their early postprogram

experience, that is, the extent to which

they stay in or return to school and

their employment and earnings history.

Tentatively, the annual CLMS sample would

be 1,500 for the Community Improvement

Program and 2,000, for YET (because of

its broader age range and income group

variation), with 3 interview, a baseline one in the quarter after enrollment, a followup approximately 7-10 months

after enrollment, and a second followup

16-19 months after enrollment.

Special Studies

A variety of special studies will be necessary

to meet the diverse knowledge development needs

of the YEDPA. These would include the following:

(1) mealaiaLE1112112312141sTIlag2MTTI

Problems

It is necessary to better estimate the

impact of the YEDPA and other youth

activities on the employment problems

of youth, since the new act is part of

the economic stimulus package and since

a basic intent of all youth programs is
-28-

to mitigate their structural employment

problems. We know very little about

the meaning of labor market measures as

they apply to youth. Surveys of teenagers

yield unemployment estimates substantially

higher than surveys of household heads.

Discouragement statistics exclude youths who are in school even though they may

want a job currently. Over geographical

areas, the measured rates of teenage

unemployment and their relationship to

adult rates, may vary for a number of . reasons other than the need for jobs.

The allocation formula for youth funds

must rely on a number of proxies foe

adequate needs measures. Furtherlyouth

participants in the expanding programs

may or may not be counted among the

unemployed depending on the types of

activities.

A first step in knowledge development

is to strengthen the theoretical base and

to resolve measurement uncertainties.

An integrated set of basic research must

therefore be carried out, including the

following:

a. Working with the National Commission

on Employment and Unemployment

Statistics, the Office of Youth

Programs will fund a conference on

"Employment Statistics and Youth"

to provide an overview of the 'ssues;

b. a series of theoretical analyses would be commissioned to present

different views of the youth labor

market and the school-to-work transition;

c. the long-term institutional, social

and economic factors affecting the

youth employment statistics would

be assessed with baseline projections

about the future; and

4i
- 29 -

d. the impact of government intervention

in the short and long-run would be

analyzed in one or more basic studies;

e. the special problems and needs of

minorities and women will be examined

in a variety of ways. Conferences

will be organized to assess the employment situation for nonwhite youths

and the effectiveness of various

interventions. Research grants will

be awarded for studies; of the special

difficulties of Spanish-speaking youths

and Indians. A conference will be

organized also to assess the particular

needs of females and their participation in employment and training programs.

(2) Work Assessments

A "virgin territory" of manpower research

is the output of work programs. There

have been some attempts at evaluation

under the supported work experiment, and.

a few dated assessments of job supervision

and discipline under summer employment

programs by GAO, but overall, little is

known about the hundreds of thousands of

jobs being filled by youth. Since work

experience plays such a central role in

youth efforts, it is important to try to

narrow the range of uncertainty about

the value of output so that the products

of young workers will offset the costs of

youth programs as much as possible.

In addition to output and work valuation

studies undertaken as part of previously

discussed demonstration and evaluation

efforts, the following activities would

be needed:

a. Theoretical work on output valuation

tools.

b. Attempts to assess in what job settings

and organizational arrangements youth

are most productive relative to adult

workers.

42
0,30-

c. Careful assessment of "meaningful"

jobs to determine their relationship

to career expectations and development.

d. Assessment of skills and competencies

gained in different job settings.

Performance Measures. A wide range of

services and approaches are authorized

under YEDPA, with differing intended

impacts on participants. Where placement

rates may be a good performance indicator

in programs serving adults, it is obvious

that they cannot be the sine quo non under

youth programs. There is a great deal of

uncertainty about the desired iutcomes

and the ways to measure them. Some work

has been done under a recent Job Corps

noneconomic impact study to develop tools

for noneconomic impact assessments. Some

materials have also been designed for work

experience programs. However, much more

is needed. The efforts would include:

a. the development of output valuation

methodologies mentioned above;

b. determination of methods for distinguishing between career potential or "meaningful" placements and dead-end

jobs;

c. developing the best means of assessing

maturation and improvement in job

readiness;

d. determining means of assessing improvements in occupational awareness;

e. assessing whether job placements and

training are in the types of opportunities

participants could have realized on

their own; and

f. developing methods for determining

whether high school dropout and completion rates are altered by public

interventions.
- 31 -

(4) Longitudinal Survey of Youth Transition

from School to Work

Much more needs to be learned about the

process of transition from school to work,

especially for youth likely to experience

difficulties. The National Longitudinal

Survey hes been widely recognized as one

of the most important research investments

of the Department of Labor. Unfortunately,

the survey focused on all youths and a

multiple of questions so that it provided

limited information on the way public

institutions impacted on the development

of disadvantaged youths. Many questions

were raised which can be resolved by

further study and improved design. It

would, therefore, be useful to introduce

a new longitudinal panel which would

focus primarily on the disadvantaged and

would examine their interaction with

schools, manpower programs, and employment in much greater detail. It would

be possible under a study directed primarily to persons with lower socioeconomic

status to include a sample of persons

already in employment and training projects.

Many more would enter as the years passed.

Initial estimates call for a total panel

size of approximately 6000 males and 6000

females. The NLS questionnaires, as well

as CPS forms, would be carefully tested

in a small pilot study of intensive interviews with disadvantaged youths in order to

avoid possible biases and misdireetions in

these questionnaires.

(5) Use of Nonprofit Corporations in Identifying,

NurturinundIellicating Exempiery Projects

There is some reliance in this knowledge

development plan on the use of temporary

nonprofit corporations with interdisciplinary

boards which will identify quality programs

and will permit norolitical decisions on the

allocation of discretionary funds to projects

and areas on the merit of proposals, and

that it will maximize the knowledge development. There are presumed advantages in
-32-

marshalling talented individuals in the

private sector to devote their energies

on a voluntary and fee basis, and to

flexibly address problems.

MDRC has already demonstrated that the

mechanism can work in the replication of

a given approach in a number of areas. It

will be trying something'new and far more aMbitiOus in dealing with the Entitlement

program, where there is much greater involve- ment with governmental decision-making units. The nonprofit corporations to be created to

replicate an exemplary community improvement

program and to support exemplary in- school

programs, and, if feasible, to test private

sector models, will provide further'tests

of this intermediary approach. The Ford

Foundation is ready to support the initiation

of these corporations.

it is important to assess the effectiveness

of these new administrative and organizational

mechanisms. The funds for such an assessment

should probably come from the Ford Foundation

which has taken a lead in this area, but the

Department of Labor should participate in the

development of this study.

(6) Mixing, outh Based on Family Income Level

The formula- funded YET programs are intended

to serve young people with greatest need, but

the YEDPA in Section 345 authorizes the use 10 percent of the funds under subpart 3 for

programs which would include youth from all

economic backgrounds. This provision was

intended to test the desirability of broadening the opportunities for participation

based on the premise that disadvantaged

youth would benefit more where they worked

and trained alongside the nondisadvantaged.

Prime sponsors who want to use 10 percent

of their subpart 3 funds for nondisadvantaged youth will be permitted to do so on the condition that they agree to conduct

an outcome study, meeting ETA specifications. These will assure a test of whether

special benefits accrue when there is a variation in the family income levels and

4 ;5
-33-

backgrounds of participants. Reports will

be required as part of the prime sponsor's

year-end review. These reports will be

assessed by the Office of Youth Programs,

and the results synthesized, to determine

the extent localities have been willing to

experiment and the results of their efforts.

(7) Use of Occupational Information in Aiding

out

The YEDPA amends Section 302 Section 4 of

the Comprehensive Employment and Training

Act of 1973 to require that at least $3

million of the Secretary's discretionary

funds must be transferred annually to the

National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee to carry out the provisions

of Section 348 (c) (1) of the YEDPA.

In transferring these resources to NOICC,

the Department of Labor will seek an

agreement which spells out the ways in which

the funds will be used, as YEDPA mandates,

"to give special attention to the problems

of unemployed youth." The aim is clearly

to focus any resources under this section

on issues which affect youth rather than to

merely augment the development of general

occupational information, delivery systems

and coordinating mechanisms. Among the

activities which will be encouraged are (a)

a national survey of occupational information

presentation at the secondary school level,

(b) a structured test of the effectiveness

of different types of information and

delivery on the measured occupational awareness of youth; (c) a test of the impacts on

disadvantaged 'youth from intensive exposure

to occupational information as compared to

those without special information.

(8) Technical Assistance for Youth Programs

The available ETA technical assistance funds

must focus on these highly experimental and

untried youth initiatives as well as the Job

Corps augmentation. It is estimated however,

that only $1.8 million of budgeted fiscal

1978 funds can be spared from other demands
-31,-

within the agency and still leave a

contingency fund. Preliminary estimates

suggest that $1.5 million will be needed

for YEDPA and $1.0 million for Job Corps,

assuming a heavy reliance on existing

TAT materials. It would therefore, be

necessary to transfer $.7 million to the

national Office of Technical Assistance

and Training to add to the other funds

set aside for youth. A detailed technical

assistance plan, specifying purposes,

strategies, materials, costs and administration will be developed by the Office of

Youth Programs.

One of the cornerstones of this technical

assistance effort will be a synthesis of

the past experience with career development, employment and training programs,

providing a theoretical and practical

framework for the design of local activities.

A group of experts will be commissioned to

prepare this review.
-35-

V. REALIZING KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

This knowledge development plan is ambitious. It seeks to maximize

the use of formula-funded and discretionary funds for learning purposes.

It uses a wide variety of mechanisms to achieve these ends. It does

not.take the "safer" path of merely developing some general guidelines,

passing the money out, and then commissioning evaluations after the

fact. Knowledge development will be built in from the outset as a

foundation.

A: Meeting Specific Legislative Requirements

The plan would carry out the specific mandates of Congress in

the YEDPA:

1. To evaluate the program practices and outcomes of the

formula-funded national programs for YACC, Community

Improvement and NET.

2. To demonstrate the efficacy of guaranteeing employment

during the school year and summer to disadvantaged youths,

including assessments of costs, impact on school retention

and completion, and determination of types of work.

3. To test the efficacy of a variety of subsidies to privatefor-profit employers.

4. To assess and support arrangements with unions to enable

youth to enter into apprenticeship training.

5. To test a variety of administrative mechanisms to facilitate

an entitlement arrangement.

6. To provide entitlement to youths age 19 to 24 who have not

received a high school diploma.

7. To test the importance of services in addition to employment

entitlement,

8. To test aid to youths in the Jurisdiction of the juvenile

or criminal justice system.

9. To test the notion of the value of disciplined, structured

work experience in community improvement.

10. To develop and assess new types of jobs in weatherization,

energy conservation and neighborhood revitalization.

11. To develop methods of awarding academic credit for competencies

gained in work experience.
-36-

12. To develop and support innovative, coordinated programs in school.

13. To test the benefits of mixing disadvantaged and nondis- advantaged clients.

14. To develop better occupational information and delivery mechanisms.

B. Addressing the Fundamental Issues

In broader terms, the knowledge development plan would help to resolve the fundamental policy issues which underlie youth

employment policies.

1. The Entitlement ro ram will demonstrate whether guaranteed emp oyment wi 1 increase school retention and will promqte a return to school by dropouts. The follow-up of participants ancicontrOls will suggest whether those youths who are discouraged from dropping out or encouraged to return will benefit over the longer run in terms of completion and sub- sequent employment. The longitudinal survey of mostly dis- advantaged youth should also provide an indication whether otherwise similar completers and noncompleters have comparable labor market experiences subsequently.

2. The longitudinal stud of disadvantaged ouths should shed is t on e se oo o-wor transi ion process. Li wise, the CLMS follow-up of in-school participants under YETP who are receiving a package of transition services should indicate whether these affect their future employability. The process evaluation of YETP will indicate the success of Youth Advisory Councils in achieving new institutional

linkages. The field studies of education-work councils and the review of the literature should provide a preliminary indication of the effectiveness of these institutions, while the NIE evaluation will in sew -rears provide a rigorous assessment. The work with °el , 1 information should suggest the improveme.ts in the ery system and the best

delivery approaches tc nrovide yowl. the information they need to develop their ..zreer plans. Finally, the structured

demonstration of alternative school-to-work delivery agents and approaches should slt.ld further light on the operational

issues and should indicate th* most effective mechanisms.

3. Assessments of the "vro,fliii., :222Elpsfulness" of work would come from

zources. Agriculture and Interior will "le repot CI w7*-iiinted value of work per- formed under YACC, and t. naili.4.1on of the program will validate these estimates. Woe,. 1.1.17.ation will he attempted under the Community Improvement ..:1!.igation model and the CDC approach. The theoretical and pr.:%ical'studies initiated with discretionary fund Jhr.uld provid a variety of perspectives on the ouqvt. organization and im!Acts of work.
-37-

4. The relative impact of supervised, disciplined work as

o osed to amixture of emloyment and services will be

assesses in a general way comparisons o an Community Improvement. The Community Improvement replication with its more rigorous control group approach would

again test this notion. Finally, to the extent that the

Service Mix Alternative demonstrations are undertaken,

they would yield a number of tests in different areas of

the relative effectiveness of these approaches.

5. The discretionary funds will be used to test a number of

new or different service delivery approaches. These would

include Entitlement, educational vouchers, various private

sector initiatives diverse school.- .to-work, transition

arrangements, and alternative career education arrangements.

Community Improvement will be conducted through ETA sponsors,

CDC's, a nonprofit replication corporation, and federal

interagency efforts. Such corporations, functioning as

intermediaries in demonstration programs, will be tested in

several different contexts. Likewise, there will be an

effort to involve CETA prime sponsors in local demonstration and evaluation efforts to determine whether this

function, which has traditionally been a Federal responsibility'

can be decentralized. The primary delivery agent is the CETA

system, and where alternatives are utilized it is only on a

demonstration basis to carefully assess comparative

effectiveness, with the maximum feasible involvement of

the CETA prime sponsors.

6. i.:ctoft)licinteentionThelon:er-runinrvswillbe

stu ied by the two longitudinal surveys. The national

survey with an emphasis on the disadvantaged will be

carefully structured to identify all contacts with the

government programs and to assess differential outcomes.

The more focused survey conducted in conjunction with the

Entitlement program will trace the effects of school enrollment on future employability. The theoretical work on the

labor market processes will review the literature and

especially previous longitudinal studies to determine how

employment, training and career development programs affect

youth over the long-run.

7. The performance measures study, will develop better outcome

.torefii_ierkn:.indicatorswhichcanbetouow1eeabout

primpacts

onpartiici nts. The comparisons between an wit in

based on the CLMS and the structured

studies under Entitlement and discretionary projects, should

indicate better the average impact of different approaches

and who benefits most from each.
-38-

8. Estimates of the costs of fully em2loyingLyouth will be derived from the theoretical work on youth labor markets. More directly, the Youth Service Demonstration and the

Entitlement. program will actually experiment with employment guarantees in a few localities, from which national estimates might be meaningfully projected.

9. The benefits of government programs will be more ,precisely measured. As mentioned previously, work valuation measures will be improved by a variety of means to indicate, at least crudely, the aggregate output of youth work experience activities. Impacts on school completion will be estimated, which may be used as a basis for projecting future employ- ability. In several of the structured studies, with the criminal involvement

justice system will also be assessed, yielding an estimate of any benefits from reduced crime. The opportunity costs will also be better understood as the theoretical and empirical work on youth transition

is advanced. processes

C. Practical Considerations

The knowledge development plan has also been designed to balance the many competing interests and to operate

light of the most effectively in

constraints outlined at the outset.

The plan is balanced to test out ideas while minimizing the commitments to any of them or to delivery institutions so that when ready, Congress can make relatively free decisions about what direction it wants to move. For instance, emphasis on research and the use of specifically created research and demonstration intermediaries somewhat retards the programs being "locked in" in operational terms by attachment to a locality or delivery groups. On the other hand, there is an attempt to guarantee that targeted efforts are not swallowed up by the employment and training system which serves other needs as well.

By the same token, the plan will provide the groundwork for an eventual youth employment policy nationally and locally. Information on model programs of all sorts will be gathered, standardized and assessed. Localities will be supported in inventorying local youth efforts--in some cases for the first time. The best approaches will be determined and tested. Replication methodologies will be demonstrated

used to build which can be on any new ideas or approaches which are dis- covered.
-39-

The plan would provide a balanced distribution of resources.

In-school tmprovements envisioned under the 22 percent targeted

segment of YET would be supported by the incentive discretionary

money. Efforts for out-of-school youths would be fostered under

the alternative career education approaches, the service mix

alternatives demonstration, and the private sector initiatives.

The Youth Service Demonstration and the Young Adult Conservation

Corps would try to deal with all youths. At the same time,

these efforts would generate interdepartmental cooperation

with HEW, Commerce, HUD, ACTION, DOT, Interior and Agriculture.

The actual choice of model programs would be made on the basis

of demonstrated merit in most cases by interdisciplinary panels.

This would avoid the competition for discretionary funds on

purely political grounds. Community-based organizations will

be represented on the nonprofit corporations dividing national

research funds. Since these, are national prbgrams, those

local CBO's of demonstrated merit which are not achieving due

supwrt may be funded where they have exemplary programs. CDC's

will he funded directly under the Community Improvement experiment to test their relative effectiveness. Finally, OIC would

be funded to extend and experiment with its highly successful

Career Intern Program.

Overall, then, the plan will explore a broad range of issues,

will build on and promote interdisciplinary and interagency

cooperation, can be accomplished with limited staff, and will

provide an objective and reasonable system for allocating

funds. file plan meets the specific and general knowledge

development mandates of the YEDPA. But perhaps most importantly,

it is an action program which can be implemented rapidly,

providing direct benefits to youths in need and requiring a

minimal amount of funds to be spent on evaluation and basic

research. Less than one percent of the expected $1.5 billion

committed for fiscal 1978 will be used for research or evaluation purposes which do not involve the employment or direct

delivery of services for youth. Even with this small amount,

and even with the limited time for design and implementation,

it is expected that we can make a substantial contribution to

the understanding of youth employment problems and the best

ways they can be overcome.
A MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT

PLAN FOR THE YOUTH

EMPLOYMENT AND DEMONSTRATION

PROJECT ACT OF 1977
- 40

Background

Monitoring and evaluation provide the basis for knowledge informational

development, indicating for program activities how many and who are

provided, the costs, served, the mix of services administrative arrangements, institu- tional change impacts and, most importantly, for participants, the outcomes both short-run and long-run. The ultimate aim is to insure that resources are distributed equitably and efficiently

the types of services among potential claimants, that

offered are most appropriate for the individuals selected, that activities are administered fairly and

costs minimized. effectively, that benefits are maximized and

Timely assessments are crucial in new operational programs to identify correctable problems and to assure that legislative mandates are being met. Longer-range evaluations are needed to determine whether the benefits warrant costs. Assessments are equally important for demonstration efforts to test the efficacy of the new

ment Plan, developed

approaches which are being tried. The Knowledge Develop- by the Office of Youth Programs, outlines a structured set of demonstration

addition to theoretical efforts in

ties. studies and other learning activi- It also lists a number of evaluations funded with discretionary which will be

resources. Basic policy questions are enumerated in the Plan, with indications will be addressed of how these under the formula-funde and demonstration programs through a synthesis of the findings of the separate assessments. If the policy

findings must be questions are to be resolved, the accurate, timely,

this monitoring comprehensive and detailed.

timeliness,

and assessment plan indicates how this accuracy, comprehensiveness and detail will be assured.

the Constraints

Evaluations of employment and training programs far mrpass those in other social welfare areas in terms of ;cope and sophistication,

lesired. but they still leave much to be There are inherent constraints which must be 'ecognized as well as other implementation tich can be shortcomings overcome.

First, the evaluation

stic burdens system must not impose unreal- on operators or

rom employment and extensive costs which detract training services. The Youth Employment nd Demonstration Projects Act (YEDPA) is a demonstration rogram, but it is also part of an economic hich must be stimulus package implemented rapidly. valuation is a dollar Every dollar spent on which does not immediately help those n need, and must be justified in terms of likely future nprovements in effectiveness.

Li
- 41 -

Second, new activities are not easily evaluated. It

is not clear at the outset which issues will become important. There is uncertainty about how to assess the initial

results. The effects of phase-in problems must be separated

from dimensions of performance inherent in the program

approaches.

Third, there must be a balance between immediate

feedback of operational developments, assessment of shortrun impacts, and determination of the longer-run effects.

Improvements should be made as rapidly as possible but

constant programmatic adjustments obfuscate early outcomes.

Immediate impacts, for instance, placement rates, may or

may not be reflective of long-run impacts.

Fourth, a variety of perspectives must be taken.

Implicit in any evaluation is a set of assumptions or

hypotheses. In dealing with such a complex subject as

youth development and the broad range of institutions

involved, it is necessary to view the acLivities from

many different angles. There must be independent as well

as internal assessments, locally focused as well as

nationally focused, quantitative as well as as qualitative.

Fifth, activities must be evaluated both in isolation

and in context. This is especially true where a range of

services may be provided. The entire package and delivery

mechanism must be analyzed with consideration of the institutional and economic environTent, yet it is also crucial

to focus on separate service components.

To minimize these problems, a complete spectrum of

analytic tools should be utilized. These should be refined

and adapted to the specific tasks at hand. Second, a

strategy must be developed to coordinate and structure the

separate assessments. This paper outlines the major elements

of the monitoring and review efforts. Further details will

be provided as they are developed.

Evaluation and Assessment Tools

A complete range of assessment and evaluation approaches

will be utilized to study the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act.

1. Office of Youth Programs Issue Papers: The principles articulated in the Program Planning Charter must be

applied through regulations, enforcement actions, the use of

discretionary resources and policy pronouncements. These

administrative decisions must respond to experience to

changing external conditions and program experience. In
- 42 -

order to evaluate performance, if. is necessary to understand the ongoing decisionmaking process and the background In other words, factors. a necessary foundation for any evaluation is an understanding of the policy goals and directions, which are continually adjusted. The Office of Youth prepare issue papers Programs will on each of the Charter principles, outlining major administrative decisions rationale. and explaining the This will help to sort out subsequent program experience and to provide a report on program evolution from a national perspective.

2. Grant Narratives:

the Youth Employment The State and local plans for and Training Community Conservation Programs (YETP) and Youth and Improvement Projects (YCCIP) will establish the basic

tives will reflect parameters for local efforts. The narra- the sophistication

sponsors in these endeavors. and commitment of prime The YETP plan calls for an assessment of other

and an identificationyouth programs in the prime sponsor area of model programs, so that it will shed light on the variance in youth employment and training systems nationwide. The narrative will also indicate the procedural steps taken to meet

agreements, special new requirements for LEA-CETA consideration for zations, and community-based organi- greater involvement of labor organizations. Knowledge of such .arrangements and procedures is critically

new linkages.

important in the first year of a program which aims. to forge

locally in the

Certain performance goals are to be established grant narrative, and there is a requirement for an annual review by the prime sponsor. These reviews from across the Nation should indicate the qualitative achievements of the program as perceived by prime sponsors yielding a "grass-roots" view of developments.

3. Program Data: The quarterly data reported by prime sponsors on expenditures, program levels and participant

characteristics provide

concerning who is comprehensive and timely information

costs. being served, in what ways and at what Since so many activities are authorized it is critically under YEDPA, important to summarize the separate

mix of services.

decisions made by prime sponsors to determine the overall Greater specification in the existing is required then CETA Title I reporting forms, since some new activities are authorized under Title III, Part C. Likewise, the participant charactersitics data needs to be expanded to determine fundamental questions such as how many in-school vs. out-of-school youth are being served, how many are from intact families vs. broken homes, and how many are attracted from other lower paid employment by the availability of minimum wage jobs. The same data base must allow for monitoring and assessment at the regional level, as well as for more detailed evaluations funded or conducted by the national office. For analytic
- 43 -

purposes, it would, of course, be preferable to have information presented on the services received and costs incurred

for separate client groups. However, the present reporting

system does not provide for such cross-classifications.

Experiments are underway in CETA to upgrade data capacities,

but most prime sponsors cannot now carry the workload. To

impose this, in a single segment of CETA, which is authorized

for only 1 year, would be unrealistic and overly demanding

even if desirable over the long-run in all CETA efforts.

For the Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC) program,

program data will be provided quarterly on enrollee characteristics and costs. Enrollee data will be important in

assessing whether the program is serving those in need, and

will allow the Department of Labor to assure that Agriculture

and Interior are fulfilling their responsibilities as defined

in the interagency agreement. The cost data will receive

careful analysis although it will be complicated by the

capital costs involved in preparations of camp and project

fe- ilities at the outset of the program.

4. Continuous Longitudinal Manpower Survey (CLMS): This

survey provides more detailed information on participants, the

services each receives, and the individual outcomes; and it

allows for the cross-classification of such information. An

expanded sample will cover YCCIP and YETP nationwide. While

there are time lags in the preparation of such information

and problems in doing rigorous analysis, the CLMS provides

the chief tool for determining inputs and outcomes for like

individuals to determine what works best for whom. The

existing CLMS questionnaire will be refined by adding some

questions applying specifically to the type of individuals

being served under YETP. Plans will be made from the outset

to trace movements between categorical programs, since this

proved to be one of the major difficulties in the previous

surveys. A large sample will be utilized to assure adequate

sample size. The interviews will be scheduled 1 year

apart in light of the finding from CLMS that 6-month

followup results are skewed by the special characteristics

of early terminees. The intervie'' techniques and data

processing refinements developed _ainfully under CLMS will

be used as a foundation. The results should, therefore,

be relatively dependable at an earlier stage.

5. National Longitudinal Survey: A new longitudinal'

survey is being supported with discretionary funds. It will

concentrate on disadvantaged youth, especially minorities,

and will trace their experiences for 5 years or more.

Emphasis will be placed on determining the role and impact

of public interventions, including employment and training

efforts. A battery of questions will be developed to

validate this information. This will yield the first

good evidence of how the many programmatic employment
- 44 -

and career development pieces fit together for different youth during their critical transition from school to work. As far as possible, this survey will be made consistent with CLMS and with other evaluation formats.

important to have

6. Outside Monitoring and Assessment Network: It is

an independent review of programs from the outset which provides timely identification of short- comings and accomplishments. One approach used with success in evaluating the Public Employment Program (PEP) and Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) was to fund an outside organization to support a network of part-time onsite evaluators in selected

areas. prime sponsor The Department of Labor has contracted with the National Council on Employment Policy to implement such an evaluation for the first year of the program and the second if YEDPA is reauthorized. This will cover YETP and YCCIP activities and related youth efforts, including such questions as coordination or integration of services or substitution. The aim is not to provide detailed impact measures, but rather a timely analysis of procedures and approaches which are being utilized and a qualitative assessment of whether goals are being met. An independ- ent process evaluation of YACC will also be supported which monitors performed in a range of sites.

7. Regional Office

ment and Training Assessment Reviews: The Employ- Administration will seek to use regional field representatives in national will be carefully assessment efforts. They selected on the basis of competence and interest, with selection of those covering a representative sample of prime sponsors. The groups will be provided background information on particular issues, will be brought together to discuss the assessment methodology, and then sent back to review particular aspects of prime sponsors' efforts. Since field representatives have.a continuing contact with the prime sponsors, they are likely to have a good understanding of the principals and institutions; their analysis will reflect the view of those responsible for enforcing national office decisions from the regional level.

8. National Office Reviews:

of Youth Progtams The staff of the Office will be sent to the fie3j to examine specific aspects of prime sponsors' efforts. These site visits will permit a two-way flow of information bn a range of subjects but

new or of high prioritywill focus on the issues which are

under YEDPA. Monitoring will also be done for the YACC program, focusing on the reasonableness of startup expenditures, the extent of service to all

the program and the

population segments, the efforts to enrich

relationship with SESA's, prime sponsors
- 45 -

and other community organizations. These reviews of YEDPA

programs will supplement regional and outside evaluations,

providing a diversity of perspectives. While previous inhouse reviews have varied in quality, the major drawback has

been a timidity in releasing the results, an inability to

deliver in a timely fashion, and the dearth or skilled

evaluators. The small staff of the Office of Youth Programs

will be intensively involved in every detail of YEDPA and

will be trained in assessment techniques. Since the programs are clearly experimental, there is an immediate need

to examine the results as objectively and straightforwardly

as possible--both what works and what does not--so that

release of information should nct be a problem.

9. Impact Assessments: Careful control group studies

are needed to supplement information which will be provided

by the Continuous Longitudinal Manpower Survey and from

other services. Currently underway are large-scale economic

and noneconomic impact studies of the Job Corps. A similarly

structured evaluation should be completed for the Young Adult

Conservation Corps after a substantial residential component

is established in order to test whether the costs of residency are warranted. The Entitlement program, by law, is

to be carefully studied to determine the extent that youth

return to school or avoid dropping out, the impact on their

futures, the feasibility of providing the guaranteed jobs,

and the cost implications. This will require a control

group study comparing sites with and without Entitlement,

as well as like individuals who do and do not receive

guaranteed jobs.

A comprehensive set of studies will examine the nature

of work under YEDPA, comparing it to other work experience

for youth and especially focusing on supervision, attendance,

work hours, and discipline. The value of work output for a

range of work experience activities will also be measured.

Each of the demonstration projects detailed in the Knowledge

Development Plan is required to have an approved evaluation

design. Every effort is being made to assure that the

results of the demonstrations are evaluated consistently

with those of the large-scale programs, with comparisons

wherever reasonable. Finally, basic research efforts will

be undertaken to identify the most realistic and appropriate

program outlines and related input measures so that the

performance of youth efforts can be better assessed.

The Analytic Framework

It is crucial that there be an organizational structure

for these diverse assessments. One approach is to use the

framework established in A Planning Charter for the Youth

Employment and Demonstration Projects Act which articulated
- 46 -

the following basic principles, assumptions and goals as the basis for the Office of Youth Programs' administrative decisions in the design and implementation of the YEDPA:

1. Knowledge development is a primary aim of the new youth programs.

2. The content and quality of work experience

must be improved.

3. Youth participationrshould be emphasized.

4. Resources should go to those in greatest need.

5. Substitution must be avoided.

6. Overhead must be minimized.

7. The new youth programs are not the cutting edge for institutional change.

8. Emphasis must be placed on approaches and delivery agents of demonstrated merit.

9. The development of a separate employment and train- ing delivery system for youth is not encouraged.

10. The new youth programs are not permanent.

Each of these principles, assumptions and goals provides an organizational focus.

Knowledge Development

YEDPA is supposed to be an experimental and demonstra- tion effort at both the national and local levels. The assessment of knowledge development activities would include an analysis of the progress and results of each of the national demonstration programs, as well as an examination of local CETA knowledge development efforts. A fundamental aspect of these prime sponsor efforts is to determine what employment, training and education services are already available for youth so that the new resources can be targeted and coordinated. Prime sponsors are to identify model programs and to support these with YEDPA funds. Prime sponsors are being urged to try different approaches and to establish knowledge development goals locally. They are required to enrich work experience efforts where these do not include adequate supervision and support services. Discretionary funds are to be channeled through the CETA system as much as possible with the results integrated

t)0
- 47 -

into local planning and operations. A range of technical

assistance materials are being provided by the Department

of Labor with the aim of improving the knowledge base

locally.

A variety of tools will have to be used to determine

whether these results are achieved. The YETP grant narratives are to include the local youth service inventories,

the lists of innovative programs, and the local knowledge

development goals. Analysis of the narratives will suggest

the enthusiasm and sophistication of the CETA system in

responding to this new mission locally. The independent,

national and regional office site visits should indicate

whether qualitative differences are in evidence. The

competitions for discretionary funds should surface the

most innovative ideas and the process of application

through the CETA system should help to assure integration

into local planning. The separate evaluations of the

national demonstration programs will document progress in

t.lis regard. Finally, the effectiveness of technical

assistance offerings meeting the needs of prime sponsors

will be assessed in a special end-of-the year review of

technical assistance offerings.

Work Experience

The nature of the work being funded under YEDPA can

be determined from a variety of sources. The data forms

will indicate the split between in-school and out-ofschool, and will yield estimates of unit costs. The CLMS

will identify the types of individuals being served in

these work experi( -.!e components and how work experience

is linked to other services. The grant narratives will

list the jobs being funded and the wage levels. The

National Longitudinal Survey will examine attitudes

toward these jobs and, eventually, the way they fit into

the development patterns of disadvantaged youth. The

independent, national and regional networks will all

examine work sites and types as a major evaluative

element. They will seek to determine whether there

has been a qualitative improvement in youth work

experience under YEDPA. There will be a comprehensive

assessment during the school year and the summer of a

random sample of job sites nationwide to determine

supervision, attendance, work products, satisfaction,

enrichment and other job characteristics. This will

be combined with theoretical studies which should

improve the methods of valuing work output. The

studies of YACC in particular will examine the validity of the valuation methodology already in use by

Agriculture and Interior. In ultimately doing the
- 48 -

benefits/costs comparisons, it is critically important that output be at least crudely assessed since work experience is a major program element and the work product must be one of its major social benefits.

Youth Participation

The extent of youth participation will be determined from several sources also. The grant narrative review will indicate the composition of youth advisory councils. The independent, national and regional monitors will seek to interview youth and planners to determine the extent of their input, and will measure the extent to which youth have been hired to deliver youth services. The demonstration programs include a national youth council and a series of regional conferences which should shed further light on the degree of youth participation.

Serving Those Most in Need

The targeting of resources on those most in need is, of course, a major goal. Nationwide, the program data will provide a good fix orvlient characteristics. Important changes have been made in the reporting format which will yield more germane information with only minimal changes in recordkeeping and reporting workloads. Both education and family status information is more complete, which should provide better information on the needs of partici- pants, for instance, whether they have breadwinning responsibilities. The national and regional reviews will include checks on the validity of reported data. In the early YACC monitoring effort, a sample of applicants will be tracked to determine whether selection procedures are fair and equitable. The issue of creaming within broad target groups is a qualitative judgment which will be made by the independent review teams having contacts with prime sponsors. Evaluations of demonstration projects using alternative delivery mechanisms such as community development corporations will indicate, by comparison, whether they are better., able or more willing to target resources. The National Longitudinal Survey which will include aptitude and achievement tests will be able to suggest what types of youth get into which types of programs and services.

Avoiding Substitution

The ultimate impact of YEDPA rests on the issue whether the new resources will supplement rather than substitute for those already being used for employment and training of youth. Substitution can take many forms

62
and it is 0.ifficut t) The regulations

maintenanc Title I, proscribing any

reduction it pr..7:2-c.ion of youth served and requiring

that the miv c ser,ices be maintained. The regional

offices be res;:onsible for enforcing this regulation.

The national and regional review teams will also carefully

study the substitution issue. The independent process

evaluation will pay special attention to this issue as

well. National data for YEDPA and Title I will provide

a basis for assessing national chahges in participation

levels and CLMS when it comes available will permit a

more sophisticated analysis.

More subtle forms of substitution must also be

assessed. At the national level, there has been pressure

to absorb projects previously funded from other sources.

This substitution must be identified. At the local level,

these same pressures will occur, for instance, in supporting services in school. The outside process evaluation will

be the chief mechanism for determining the substitution in

subgrants at the local level. The end result will be an

attempt to assess the share of each YEDPA dollar which

ultimately represented a net addition to youth resources.

Minimizing Overhead

The standard financial reporting forms provide the

major instrument for controlling overhead. A few minor

changes have been made to permit greater detail in supervisory costs. The information will be carefully evaluated.

However, administrative expenses are frequently hidden in

subgrants or by other obfuscations. Special national and

regional studies will examine the expenditures in detail

in a sample of areas. The independent review team will be

asked to do the same, with special attention to in-school

activities. The ultimate aim is to determine how many

dollars actually are used for the direct employment or

employability development of youth.

Institutional Change

Institutional change is a process which must be assessed

qualitatively and judgmentally for the most part. The

review of the grant narratives and subsequently -Df the MA

agreements will suggest the ambitiousness of CETA-school

system coordinations. These will be further documented by

the onsite investigations. The consideration given to

organized labor will be a subject of special reviews.

Progress in achieviwg locally established institutional

change goals is to be assessed in end-of-the-year reviews

by each prime sponsor, and the national office will assess

these in a special report.

t
- 50 -

Service Deliverers

The choice of delivery

is a major issue agents for the new youth efforts given the emphasis in the legislation and regulations on "special consideration" for community and neighborhood-based groups and the specification that 22 percent of YETP funds must be spent in-school under the terms of a LEA-CETA agreement. The review of plans and the various. site visits will indicate whether the intents of Congress and the Department of Labor are being met in these regards. More meaningfully, however, the reviews will indicate the effectiveness of procedures for choosing derivery agents and whether greater or less national specification is preferable.

The demonstration projects will test the comparative effectiveness of a variety of delivery agents and the evaluations will hopefully yield some answers about which deliverers are most effective in different tasks. For instance, there will be a structured test of school-to-work transition services offered by the Employment Service, various community-based groups, and the CETA system. Community improvement activities will be carried out by the CETA system, a nonprofit replication

and under Federal corporation, CDC's, interagency arrangements between the Department of Labor and the Department of Transportation. The aim will be to assess the

weaknesses of the comparative strengths and . alternatives.

Program Integration

The YEDPA programs are to be integrated with other employment and training activities for youth. Questions here concern the

the comparability

choice of assessment and intake mechanisms,

fill gaps in-the

with existing programs, the attempts to

be made based

existing system. Judgments will have to on a careful examination of grant narratives and the national, regional and outside evaluations. A special issue which will demand increasing the spring attention in and summer is the coordination of in-school and summer activities, since a major aim of YEDPA is to provide year-round employment and training packages for disadvantaged youth. Special policy issuances and evalua- tion procedures will be developed by the summer in addition to those contained in this report.

Implementation

The first year of YEDPA will be dominted by phase-in complications.

can move, to what

Basic questions are how fast prime sponsors extent early results can be improved in
- 51 -

steady-state operations, and what is the saturation level,

if any, of youth activities? The phase-in will be monitored

through regular program data. But the judgments aboat

startup implications and saturation levels will have to be

made through the process evaluations. Specific questions

relating to the interrelation between YEDPA and the summer

employment programs 1,,ast also be resolved. There are,

then, questions whether 21exibility is being retained for

different permanent prcgrams. The issue will, again, have

to be resolved through the process evaluations.
- 52 -

Monitoring and Review Schedule

Implementation of this comprehensive evaluation and assessment strategy will have to be carefully coordinated and scheduled to fit in with the operational activities of the Office of Youth Programs. There are certain report dates written into law which provide scheduling targets. An interim report on the progress of YACC is due to Congress February 1, 1978; this is to be a joint effort of the Departments of Agriculture, Interior and Labor. By March 15, 1978, the Department of Labor is to submit an assessment of the Entitlement program and its progress. This is to be followed by a December 31, 1978, assessment. Because of the immediate concern with youth unemployment

and the effectiveness of the new initiatives, the Office of Youth Programs will provide a comprehensive assessment of all YEDPA components on each of these two dates in 1978 and 1979 (as well as Job Corps progress reports). For each of the goals established in the Planning Charter, these reports will synthesize the findings from the entire range of evaluations and assessments. The focus will be on the planning processes, individuals served, the types of services received, the effectiveness of the delivery mechanisms, the implementation process, the costs and the measured

impacts. Additionally, knowledge development reports will be prepared on these dates describing the progress in addressing the underlying policy issues. These reports will interpret the evidence from the evaluations and will supplement them with the findings of experimental and theoretical studies. In other words, by March 15, 1978, Congress will be provided: (1) A progress report on all phases of YEDPA planning and early operations structured around the Program Planning Charter; (2) A progress report on the Job Corps augmentation; (3) A knowledge development report addressing the issues raised in the Knowledge

Development Plan. Similar, more sophisticated reports will appear December 31, 1978, and on the same dates in 1979.

The detailed schedule for the implementation of the assessment efforts is as follows:

1. Separate issue papers detailing the administrative decisions and considerations in achieving the Planning Charter's articulated goals will be prepared by the end of December 1977. There will be a total of 10,papers of varying lengths. These will provide the foundation for the structured national and regional office reviews as well as
- 53 -

the independent process evaluation. At the same time,

the papers will present useful information to the public

on the administrative processes and actions under YEDPA.

The papers will be updated per:-)dically.

2. The grant narrative or plan review must await

submission of a majority of prime sponsor applications

since there will be a sponse bias in surveying those

which are earliest. The implementation schedule calls

for bulk of plans to be approved by the end of 1977.

Hence, the review should be possible by early February.

The local education agency-CETA agreements are of special

interest. These can be submitted up to 2 months after

the plan. Review by the Office of Youth Programs staff

must, therefore, occur in late February. In both cases,

summary information should be available for the March 15,

1978, report to Congress. Additionally, each prime

sponsor assess its own activities and progress in

an annual review. These local reviews will be analyzed

early in fiscal 1979 to the March 1979 report to Congress.

3. Nationwide program data will be available beginning

in April or May 1978, while sample information and enrollment levels will be gathered prior to this through ad hoc

procedures. Comprehensive analysis of this information

at a national level will be on a quarterly and annual

bSsis. Enrollment data will be reviewed monthly during

implementation. Additionally, the data will be sampled

and validated by the national, regional and independent

process evaluation teams.

4. The Continuous Longitudinal Manpower Survey will

interview as its first wave those who enter the program

in the second quarter of Fiscal Year 1978. There will be

a 1 year followup only. Adjustments to the questionnaire

and the preparation for the new samples will be accomplished

in October and November 1978. Some dependable evidence

on enrollee characteristics and services received will be

available at the end of Fiscal Year 1978. Outcome information will not be useable until 1979 when there are 1 year

followups on four quarters of enrollees.

5. The National Longitudinal Survey is basic

research tool with a longer-run payoff. Design of the

questionnaire and pre - testing will be time-consuming, as

will the establishment of sampling procedures which will

focus on the disadvantaged and validated information on

program participation. Work on these aspects will continue

until the first survey in November 3978. The analysis

of the first survey results will be available 6-9 montils
- 54 -

later. However, the really important findings are the longitudinal ones which will depend on several years tracking of the sample.

6. The outside monitoring and assessment network was organized in September 1977, and evaluators will be in place by the time of the first enrollments. The contract for the outside evaluation calls for interim progress re- ports which can be included in the March 15, 1978, and December 31, 1C78,reports to Congress.

The outside process evaluation for YACC will be initi- ated in early 1978, with the selection of an evaluation by competitive bid in December 1977.

7. Regional office reviews will focus on specific topics as they become important. For instance, reports on youth participation and the phase-in process will be prepared as early as possible, hopefully before March 15, 1978. Targeting will be analyzed as information becomes available. Worksite evaluations, the integration of YEDPA, with CETA, substitution and overhead issues, institutional change efforts, and other activities will be studies later in Fiscal Year 1978.

8. National office reviews will follow the same general schedule as regional office reviews. The special review of technical assistance efforts and their effective- ness will be completed at the end of fiscal 1978.

9. The impact assessments will be established as early as feasible but will require careful structuring. The control group studies of YACC will be initiated once the program has overcome its growth pains and a residential component is established. Contracting for these studies would occur in the second quarter of 1978 with implementation of the evaluations in late 1978 or early 1979. The Entitlerrent studies will be in place by the beginning of the p2.ojects in January 1978. A pre-survey of the entitlement areas and residents will occur pricy to implementation. Research designs will be finalized in November and December 1977. Reports on preliminary progress will be prepared for the March 15, and December 31, 1978, submissions to Congress. A long- run followup of enrollees will be designed, with a decision on its implementation depending on the extent that school completion rates are affected by the guaranteed jobs. The studies of worksites will be conducted in the spring and summer of 1978. Contracting for this evaluation will
- 55 -

be done in December 1978 and January 1979. Finally, each

of the smaller demonstration programs will have an

evaluation system built in. Since most of tie projects

will be getting underway in the second quarter of Fiscal

Year 1978, a substantive report cannot be made until

December 1978, with assessments of outcome the following

year.

The wealth of information which will be gathered

will be presented in many different forms for different

audiences. The synthesis reports for Congress by the

Office of Youth Programs are critical in organizing and

presenting the information. Undoubtedly, there will be

delays in specific elements of the assessment package.

It will be a formidable challenge to integrate the

results. Clearly, however, a diverse array of monitoring and evaluation approaches are being implemented,

with a structured approach which should yield a high

caliber product. The Youth Employment and Demonstration

Projects Act will be more comprehensively evaluated than

any other employment and training effort in recent years,

and the result will hopefully be a significant improvement in the knowledge base for use by Congress and the

Administration in setting national policy and by prime

sponsors in designing and improving local programs.

C.)
A KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

FOR YOUTH INITIATIVES

FISCAL 1979
- 56 -

THE KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

Congress and the Administration have made a major commitment to expanding and improving employment, training and career development services for youth. On August 5, 1977, the President signed the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act (YEDPA) which created four new programs and provided signif- icant discretionary authority to test new approaches for aiding youth. The new programs have now been extended through fiscal 1978 and backed by sizeable appropriations. In addition to ....hese new efforts, the Job Corps program which provides comprehensive services in a residential setting for severely dis- advantaged youth is being doubled in size to 44,000 slots. Finally, the Summer Program for Economically

Disadvantaged Youth (SPEDY) is being reassessed and refocused with the goal of substantially increasing its effectiveness.

Knowledge Development activities are a critical element in these youth initiatives. Research, evaluation and demonstration efforts related to youth were a major priority in the 1960's but have received declining attention in recent years. While much was learned, many critical questions remain unanswered about the scale and nature of the problems and the effective- ness of public interventions. A primary aim of YEDPA was, therefore, to improve the information base for public policymaking. It was designed as a limited duration " demonstration act" mandating a range of experimental, research and evaluation efforts. Other initiatives have shared in this emphasis. Job Corps has traditionally been a laboratory for experimenting with new approaches to serve economically disadvantaged youth. With expansion, there was a need for innovative approaches as well as improved assessment of current operations. Basic information was also lacking about SPEDY, as well as about the new directions of program operation. Congress and the Administration wanted to know more before developing and implementing youth policies for the longer term.

An Office of Youth Programs was established in the Employment and Training Administration in July 1977 to implement these youth initiatives. A major dimension of its mission was to develop and coordinate knowledge development activities for YEDPA, Job Corps and SPEDY, while servi.bg as a nexus for linking with youth-related efforts of other agencies.
- 57 -

In fiscal 1978, an ambitious agenda of demonstration,

research and assessment activities was implemented.

A Knowledge Develoomyt Plan for the Youth Employment

and Demonstration :rnt1cts Act structured an array of

YEDPA discretionavorts which would address the

most basic questions of concern to national policymakers. These efforts included a massive experiment

with job guarantees as well as almost $100 million

in action programs designed to yield information about

what works best for youth. Demonstration programs were

mounted as part of the Job Corps expansion effort, and

previously commissioned research and evaluation work

was completed. Research and evaluation related to

the 1978 summer program was significantly broadened.

The aim of this fiscal 1979 Knowledge Development Plan

for Youth Initiatives is to further advance and coordinate the research, evaluation and demonstration activities concerning youth employment and training. The

extension of YEDPA programs through 1980 provides the

time needed to develop more complex efforts and to

follow up on short-term projects. The YEDPA plan for

fiscal 1978 necessarily focused on the "first-order"

questions which needed to be answered to design better

national policies. Hindsight has suggested additional

issues of great importance, while the continuation of

the knowledge development mandate also provides an

opportunity to address "second-order" questions--i.e.,

to explore the problems of significant segments of the

youth population, to focus on specific service components to determine how each can be improved, and to

further assess the comparative effectiveness of alternative delivery approaches. The new programs and

approaches can be refined and improved with continuing

operation. Longer-duration strategies for dealing with

youth can be explored. The integration of activities

across youth programs in ETA and the establishment of

linkages with similar programs in other agencies, can

also be pursued. Finally, the research, evaluation

and demonstration efforts launched with necessary

haste In fiscal 1978 can be modified, coordinated and

supplemented.

The activities to be funded under this plan, in conjunction with those funded in fiscal 1978, represent

an investment of nearly half a billion dollars. While

almost all of these resources are used to provide quality

services and employment opportunities to youth, and
- 58 -

on youth. Obviously, no information will be available in time to enlighten early 1980 decisions. These realities cannot be altered and it must be recognized at the outset that there will be limited participant outcome information to make policy decisions in late 1979. There are, therefore,

be used: some shortcuts which must First, research which can be completed more rapidly will yield much information about the youth labor market: and the potential impacts of interventions. It will help to synthesize the lessons from the past. It will provide a better fix on some of the benefits such as the value of work output. It will reveal in- formation about how to deal with special groups and special problems. It should suggest some better ways to measure performance

to the management and should clarify issues related

information system. A great deal of the uncertainty about youth programs and policies has to do with these types of issues which do not require new data gathering.

Second, model program identification efforts covering both new and existing programs can yield a better understanding of the state of the art as well as of ideas that might be replicated. Likewise, evaluation activities can provide important snapshot information about what is occurring in the field. In programs like SPEDY and Job Corps, there is a variety of information which can be developed relatively easily about the characteristics of the programs. Many policy decisions rest on simply knowing accurately who is receiving what services, and the quality of t-tese services as judged by reasonable observers--in other words, on input rather than output assessments.

Third, process evaluators will indicate whether legisare being realized.

latively intended changes in the nature of youth programs Much of YEDPA is concerned with process issues--improving coordination between the employment and training and education systems, in- creasing union

ation to community involvement, providing'special consider- and neighborhood based groups, and encouraging youth participation. New regulations were developed to achieve these objectives. A basic question is whether the desired changes and processes occurred. If they did not, it would be moot whether the achievement of the objectives had the desired out- comes on performance.
- 59

Fourth, many of the demonstrations are concerned with

the feasibility of certain organizational arrangements

and approaches. Perhaps the best example is the

legislatively mandated Youth Incentive Entitlement

Pilot Projects which, among other things, seeks to

determine whether jobs can be feasibly guaranteed for

all eligible youth, and the number which will be needed

and the costs. Early experience with this and many

other demonstrations will suggest a great deal about

the basic feasibility of the notions, the costs, and

the implementation problems which will be encountered.

Fifth, most of the demonstrations are structured so as

to test alternative approaches or delivery agents.

While long-term impacts are impo:...ant, much can be surmised from comparisons using entry and exit impact

instruments and short-term followups on the assumption

that the differences over the long-run in impacts on

comparable groups will be mirrored in the short-run.

For instance, if two or more delivery agents or

approaches offer occupational ,information and

counseling to in-school youth and the costr are

structured so that they are comparable, entry-exit

tests of occupational awareness, maturity or sex

stereotyping in aspirations will suggest which approach

or agent has had the greatest impact even if the longterm value of occupational information and counseling

cannot be determined for some time.

There is no doubt that in 1981 and 1982, much more information will be avr., to formulate national

policies than at the r:, YEDPA. However,

the basic issues which have been outlined can probably

be resolved to son degriw. . by late 1979 if the early

results are caref,Jy am; quickly synthesized and

assessed. The key Is to .ntegrate disparate research,

process evaluationa, in-peogram impact findings, early

followup results, idertlFad model program, and demonstration program ccinrarl ,ons, utilizing all information

as soon as it comE. ac. Table. The concluding section

seeks in a prelimi.1: y way to indicate: the types of

information which w.11 be provided from each knowledge

developmeut activity which pertain ewch of the basic

issues, an0 the general timeframes in wh3..:n this in

formation viJ.11 be available. Ongoim9 reilnements

this matrix will be needed as plans evolve and as aaw

issues and perspectives arise.
- 60 -

If this ambitious plan i.s achieved, the potential information yield is massive. The "knowledge develop- ment" activities in fiscal 1978 and 1979 are perhaps the most ambitious in Mstory. While the projects must be judged first tn terms of the immediate benefits they provide to youth they should yield lersons which can improve programs for many years to come. The vast agenda of activities which follows suggests the burden of subseque-t synthesis and analysis if this knowledge developmt potential is to be realized.
- 61 -

A SUMMARY OF KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT

EFFORTS IN FISCAL 1978

YEDPA Research, Evaluation and Demonstration Activities

The Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act

(YEDPA) of 1977 placed major priority on knowledge

devolopmnt:

"'llec. 321. It .;.s the purpose of this part to

establish a variety of employment, training and

demonstration programs to explore methods of

dealing with the structural unemployment problems

of the Nation's youth. The basic purpose of the

demonstration programs shall be to test the

relative efficacy of the different ways of

dealing with these problems in different local

contexts."

To achieve this mandate in a systematic fashion, the

Office of Youth Programs prepared A Knowledge Development Plan for the Youth Employment and Demonstration

Projects Act. This provided a structure for discretionary activities as well as a means of informing

the public and interested parties of the complex array

of activities which would be undertaken. The following

review highlights the major elements of this plan and

the progress in their implementation.

1. The Entitlement Program

Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects (YIEPP)

is a legislated demonstration program which guarantees a job and/or training (part-time during the

school year and full-time in the summer) for all

economically disadvantaged 16- to 19-year-olds

who (1) reside in selected geographic areas,

(2) are already in school or returning to school,

and (3) apply for this opportunity to which they

are entitled. , The aim of the demonstration is

to test the 'feasibility of providing enough meaningful jobs to employ all eligible youth who want

them, to determine the costs of a, nationwide

entitlement, to assess the impacts of a job

guarantee on school retention and return, and

to determine the impacts ofschooling and employment on the future earnings 'of economically disadvantaged youth.
- 62 -

Through a nationwide competition, 17 areas were selected as sites for Entitlement demonstrations. Seven of these sites are implementing large-scale

(minimum $8.5 million) projects testing the efficacy of a guarantee covering a large juris- diction. The remaining ten sites are implementing

smaller-scale projects (maximum size $1.25 million) testing alternative and innovative approaches. These projects were all funded for 18 months except two of the larger ones which tied in the.competition and were, therefore, both funded for only the 9 months remaining in fiscal 1978. A rigorous re- search effort has been implemented by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, which is assisting extensively in this program. By the end of June 1978, all projects were operational and 27,000 economically disadvantaged youth were employed in the 17 entitlement sites.

2. Community Improvement Discretionary Activities

a. Ventures in Community ImprovementThis demon- stration in 8 sites seeks to test the feasi- bility of using a nonprofit intermediary

corporation as a mechanism for replicating

a model community improvement program. It will seek to measure the value of output from these projects and the community impact, as well as the effect on participants. The nonprofit Corporation for Public/Private

Ventures is assisting in this demonstration.

Sites were selected and projects carefully

developed to become operational at the start of fiscal 1979.

b. HUD/CDC Community Improvement Demonstration-- This demonstration was established through an

interagency agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The projects in ten sites seek to determine the effectiveness of community development corporations as

delivery agents, particularly their success in linking with other funding sources, and

the efficacy of the direct Federal-local

approach in establishing programs for aiding

youth and their communities. Projects were operational by early Spring.
- 63 -

c. Railroad-Related Community IL-, .1ment Demonstration--This demonstration ,n .free States

tests the concept of iirect Fet-1:al/State

partnerships related to railroad improvements.

In two of the three projects, there has also

been an effort to link the jobs component to

correctional reform and deinstitutionalization

efforts.

d. Aged and Youth Joint Service Project--In rural

poverty areas there tends to be a concentration

of older workers with limited employment opportunities and youth who are likely candidates

for out migration. Operation Mainstream and

its related programs have proved very effective

in raising the income of the older poor, as

well as providing useful services and tangible

outputs for the community. Older workers are

sometimes used to supervise youth in work

experience programs. It is logicalto link

programs for the elderly and youth. To this

end, a demonstration project not specified in

the 1978 Knowledge Development Plan was initiated

in fiscal 1978. It provided jobs for youth to

work with eligible older workers. The aim was

to have joint participation and decisionmaking,

so that there could be a good deal of interaction.

Mature youth as well as older workers were to

serve in supervisory capacities. A knowledge

development objective was to determine whether

participation in such projects had a different

impact on youth than participation in projects

where all enrollees were young. This demonstration will begin operations at the start of

fiscal 1979.

3. Youth Employment and Training_ Programs Discretionary

Pro.ects

There were thirty discrete demonstration projects

launched in fiscal 1978 with more tt-in 200 separate

sites for activities by the end of the fiscal year.

A complete history is available from the Office of

Youth. Programs. The following is only a s..immary

of the major elements:

a. Youth Community Service Demonstration--This

project was established through an interagency

agreement with ACTION. It explores the national

youth service concept, particularly the notions of
- 64 -

a job guarantee and the development of new forms of community service. It was established in Syracuse, New York, and has been phased up gradually in fiscal 1978 with a large enroll- ment increase anticipated at the beginning of fiscal 1979.

b. Education Entitlement Voucher Demonstration Project--The project will test the feasibility and value of applying the "GI Bill" approach, providing an "Education Entitlement Voucher" to youth participants in selected employment and training programs. Conceptual development was scheduled for fiscal 1978 with implemen- tation in fiscal 1979. The developmental work was commissioned and largely completed.

c. Exemplary In-School Demonstration Project--This demonstration provides grants to education and other agencies through CETA prime sponsors for exemplary projects in the following areas: (1) career information, guidance and job seek- ing skills, (2) academic credit for work exper- ience, (3) expanded private sector involvement, and (4) job creation through youth operated projects. The aim is to promote cooperation between the local education and employment and training systems. The project has been developed utilizing a specially created nonprofit corpor- -ttion with representation of educators as well as manpower experts. In the competitive grants, 45 sites were funded for pfojects beginning in the 1978-1979 school year. Additional exemplary in-school programs were selected for discretionary funding.

d. Career-Oriented Alternative Education Demonstration Project--This demonstration seeks to replicate the successful Career Intern Program initiated by Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America, Inc. (OIC). The five projects for dropouts and potential dropouts will be operated by OIC under contract with the National Institute of Education, which

was transferred funds under terms of an inter- agency agreement.
- 65 -

e. Private Sector Initiatives for Youth--This

demonstration will carefully assess alternative

techniques for involving the private sector in

the employment and training of youth. A range

of projects will be funded and studied. The

subject areas include job restructuring and job

sharing, reducing transactional costs, youth

entrepreneurship, involving businessmen directly

in placement efforts, pre-employment services,

elimination of barriers to employment, and

wage subsidy alternatives. The varied projects

are being coordinated and assessed by the

Corporation for Public/Private Ventures. Program activities were initiated in the preemployment services and entrepreneurship areas

in fiscal 1978.

f. Youth Entrepreneurship Project--A Corporation

for Youth Enterprises (CYE) was created with

joint participation of the Department of

Commerce's Office of Minority Business Enterprise and the Community Services Administration.

CYE will support businesses run by youth in five

localities, with YETP funds supporting wages

of the young workers. The design period will

last through fiscal 1978 with program operations

beginning in fiscal 1979.

Work-Education Councils--The Department of Labor

continued support of education and work councils

established in 1976 in 33 local areas. OYP

commissioned indepdendent case studies of these

councils in fiscal 1978 and worked jointly with

the National Institutes of Education to develop

a major study of the effectiveness of these

councils in easing school-to-work transition.

h. School-to-Work Transition Demonstration Project--

A'set of alternative deliverers will provide

transition services to high school juniors and

.seniors. The results will be carefully assessed

to determine the comparative effectiveness of

the deliverers, which are mostly community based

groups, and the impact On economically disadvantaged youth of such services. The grants

were signed and all projects will be operational

in the 1978-1979 school year.

g.

i. Service Mix Alternatives Demonstration Project--

TMproject supporIFTocally der171Trexpea=

ments which test the impact of work projects

compared with those which combine work plus

education, training and other services. Three

projects were funded in fiscal 1978.

O11
- 66 -

. In-School Apprenticeship

The purpose of Demonstration Project-- this project is to develop and assess new apprenticeship

(1) enable opportunities which

disadvantaged high school juniors and seniors to have access to part-time

ticeship positions appren- and (2) facilitate youth transition from school-to-work in full-time apprenticeship unpon graduation The four from high school. grants in fiscal 1978 supplement similar efforts by the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training. All will be subject to be a coordinated study.

k. Longitudinal Survey of Youth Transition from School to Work--A

focused on national longitudinal survey economically

been undertaken. disadvantaged youth has

ducted in January

The first survey will be con- and February 1979 with annual

will be available

followups. Pretest results for a small sample in November 1979.

1. Use of Occupational

Funds were Information in Aiding Youth- - transferred to the National Occupational Information Coordinating

improve the Committee (NOICC) to content and delivery of occupational information for youth. To meet knowledge ment objectives develop- of OYP, NOICC

(a) a national has arranged for

survey of occupational at the secondary information school level, (b) a structured test of the effectiveness of different types of information and delivery on the tional measured occupa- awareness of youth,

impact on and (c) a test of the disadvantaged youth from intensive exposure to occupational information.

m. Research and Evaluation Studies and Model Iden- tification--The remaining research and evaluation studies outlined in the fiscal 1978 Knowledge Development Plan

included a

have been implemented. These conference on youth unemployment statistics and their meaning, of studies a coordinated set on black youth unemployment, an analysis of the impact of government prc;jrams on measured rates of employment and unemployment, assessments of youth program data systems, a study of the value of work outputs and another of the quality

the problems

of job sites and a conference on of young women. Additionally, a range of technical assistance contracts were developed to identify model programs.

U t
- 67 -

Learning More About the Summer Program

The Summer Program for Economically Disadvantaged Youth

(SPEDY) affects the lives of more than a million unemployed youth each year. It is basically a work

experience program, with increased emphasis on vocational exploration and ether services. Very little is

known about the quality of the work experience, the

extent of enrichment, or the impacts on participants.

In order to improve understanding of this critically

important element of our youth employment and training

efforts, "knowledge development" received extra emphasis

in the 1978 summer program. The following activities

were undertaken.

1. Job characteristics were assessed intensively

in a small sample of prime sponsor areas. The

study concentrated on supervision, attendance,

worksite discipline, hours of work, work activities, output and skill development. Exemplary

summer work projects were identified.

2. The integration of SPEDY with YEDPA and other employment and training efforts for youth was analyzed

under ongoing case studies of YETP and YCCIP.

3. National office review teams visited ten prime

sponsor areas in the spring and during the middle

of the summer to assess planning and implementation,

particularly focusing on the integration of summer

and year-round programs, targeting and enrichment,

with case study and summary reports to be completed

in fiscal 1979.

4. A stratified sample of summer plans was assessed

to determine characteristics of the program, particularly efforts to award academic credit, to provide

vocational exploration and to link with education.

5. Because of the problems noted in the 1977 New York

City program and the concentrated efforts to implement new monitoring and administrative procedures

in 1978, a special case study was commissioned of

the city's program.

6. In Elie national Vocational Exploration Program a

demonstration effort was undertaken to employ the

handicapped and offenders, as well as to aid youth

to enter nontraditional jobs. A process evaluation

was commissioned to assess the special problems

related to these activities. This report will be

completed in fiscal 1979.
- 68 -

1. The impacts of regular SPEDY, national and local VEP's, and the special components for the handi- capped, offenders, and entrants into nontraditional jobs were assessed for a sample of prime sponsors. The impact measures focused on maturity and job readiness, occupational awareness and attitude changes of participants. The results will be provided in fiscal 1979.

8. Model prime sponsor programs were identified and assessed in descriptive

with the aim analyses by prime sponsors of producing "how-to-do-it" guides.

Job Corps Innovations and Assessments

Knowledge development has always been Job Corps. a basic mission of With its broad mandate to provide sive services comprehen- to the disadvantaged,

uniform reporting with its detailed and procedures, Job Corps provides the controlled conditions so important in research and demon- stration activities. The law specifies that Job Corps should contribute "...to the development and dissemi- nation of techniques for working with the disadvantaged that can be widely utilized by public and private insti- tutions and agencies." The law also specifies that "The Secretary shall provide for the careful and systematic evaluation of the Job Corps program, directly or by contracting for independent evaluations, with a view to measuring specific benefits, so far as practical, and providing

ness of program procedures,

information needed to assess the effectivepolicies, and methods of operation."

In the last few years, resource stringencies and stabi- lization of the Job Corps program have reduced the priority on research and demonstration efforts. During fiscal 1978, the doubling of Job Corps to 44,000 slots was the major priority. However, with expansion, there were opportunities and needs to increase knowledge development activities.

A number of new approaches were implemented as part of the expansion:

a. Industry work experience. Work experience positions were created to provide on-the-job

training and job experiences before termination along with a full range of Job Corps support.

For CorpsmemberL. who have acquired basic skills and competencies but lack exposure to the labor market, temporary work experience situations are now offered along with active job search assis- tance For other youth who can benefit from
- 69 -

advanced training, work experience positions have

been arranged which are directly relevant to

career aims with the intent that a large proportion of participants will be subsequently employed

in the same firm or industry. The aim is to increase the proportion of training-related placements and the labor market success of Job Corps

participants.

b. Military preparation. Development was begun on

a special component of Job Corps to counsel and

train corpsmembers for military service in order

to regularize the flow of corpsmembers into the

Armed Forces and to improve their success rates,

as well as to help youth rejected by the military.

The design work has been initiated and implementation is planned late in fiscal 1979.

c. Advanced career training, in junior colleges and

technical schools. Residential slots were developed with community and junior colleges and postsecondary vocational schools. These opportunities

are available only to enrollees who have been in

the Job Corps program for 90 days or longer and

have demonstrated their maturity and competence.

The aim is vocational preparation rather than just

general education.

Additionally, demonstrations were mounted focusing on

services to subgroups of the universe of need. Three

varying types of arrangements have been developed for

serving young women with children. Three centers for

Native Americans were established. Development was begun on a center to provide assistance to handicapped

youth. Another utilized Job Corps as part of a comprehensive treatment system for troubled youth.

There was also experimentation with new delivery

approaches including centers operated by CETA prime

sponsors and others operated by community based groups.

Research and evaluation activities supplemented these

demonstration efforts.

1. A major assessment of the economic impact of Job

Corps was completed. This study compares the

experience of corpsmembers and a carefully selected

control group 6-9 months after the termination of

participants. It indicates the short-run impacts

on unemployment, wages, occupation, educational

status, armed services participation and contacts

with the correctional system.

b4
- 70 -

2. A pilot study to develop and test instruments and methods for assessing the noneconomic impacts of Job Corps was completed in fiscal 1978. While this does not provide general findings because of the very limited sample, it is suggestive of areas for further research.

3. In November 1976, three experiments were under- taken to assess the impacts of variations in allowances oh the length of stay. The results will be analyzed and presented in early fiscal 1979.

4. The Seattle Regional Office of the Job Corps conducted a careful study of early termination and its causes. The product, Managing for Success with Youth: A Strategy for Reducing Early Termi- nation Rates suggests ways to improve Job Corps center retention.

5. In February 1977, a demonstration was begun to determine whether home leave after 45 days would make a difference in retention rates. The results were analyzed and presented in a 1978 report.

6. A contract research report was completed on the special needs of women and their availability

for the Job Corps.

7. A pilot study was undertaken to validate placement data in all regions as a forerunner of instituting a periodic validation methodology.

8. Job Corps recruiting history and the present experience were studied to suggest ways in which

expansion needs might be met.
- 71 -

PLANNED KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

IN FISCAL 1979

The varied research, evaluation and demonstration

activities moUnted in fiscal 1978 promise to improve

understanding of the YEDPA, SPEDY, and Job Corps

programs. They will substantially increase knowledge about youth employment problems and programs.

For the next yeal:, work must carry forward, with gaps

filled, efforts better coordinated, and priority

knowledge development areas explored. While separate

plans are detailed for each program, every effort is

made to integrate the research, evaluations and

demonstrations.

YEDPA Programs

1. Continuing Tests of the Entitl. ment Approach

Since the Entitlement program was initially

authorized as part of the one-year YEDPA mandate, the

research and evaluation plans were developed to learn

as much as possible from 18-month demonstrations.

There were recognized limitations in this short-term

approach:

o Cleating a massive number of jobs in a short

time is a challenging administrative task.

Over time, there should be an improvement in

the quality and quantity of job sites and other

aspects of the program. Evaluations of 18-

mcnth projects will reflect startup problems

rather than the potential of continuing operations.

o Experience with other "entitlements", such as

food stamps, indicates that it takes time for

the eligible population to become aware of and

accept opportunities. It is likely that the

employment rate among eligibles will increase

over time.

o The impacts on school retention and return will,

of course, vary with the duration of the

entitlement period for each individual. A 19-

year -old entering the project in March 1978 may

have only 6-months of entitled employment. A

16-year-old could have 4 years if the project

continued this long. A one-year guarantee would

likely have a different effect on school retention

and completion than the four-year guarantee.
- 72 -

o To the extent that school completion rates depend on the duration of the entitlement for each individual, and to the extent that the impact of work experience depends also on its duration, the impacts of entitlement on future employability should increase under continuing projects.

Given these considerations, there are reasons for continuing some or all of the present Entitlement grants for more than the I8-month period, There are also some issues r-Used in the first round of funding concerning the adequacy of re$ources to provide quality educational services to youth -toying in or returning to school, as well as the difi,ulties of attracting out-of-school youth back into tip system. t,.aditional educational It would be worthwhile st the impacts of "enriched" educational offerings cm in order to participants de:mine the best mi. k. :T.,ployment and educational cy: ars. The best ainlr- 17- achieve this would be to inc :eagle educational jn several of the existing s. ,s and to comf,,,,ro. ,Ae Dut._.omes with the matched sites. This could be ::,)ne by ch(-3sing pairs of existing sites are most z.Ind nlndomly choosing between tns.n.

With the reautrization of the Entitlement program through 1980, there is an opportunity to examine the impacts of multi-year Entitlements and the effect of improved educational services. However, the legislation still emphasizes that this is a demonstration program. Unless it is eventually extended to all areas, current projects will have to be phased out. There is also no reason to implement 'new projects unless they will aid

does not make

in knowledge development. Nnother nacional competition sense because of the paperwork burdens and the aiministrative

effort. difficulties of mounting such an

Given these considerations, the strategy for the ncxt two years would be as follows:

a. Me two sites which were provided only 9-month 7,,Ading LIcause they tied in the competition would be extended to the full 18-months. This would carry all 17 projects through the 1978-979 school "ear.

b. All projects which are judged to acceptable performance will then be extended through the 979-1S*80 school year yielding a full 2 years of operating 9xperie're at all sites,
- 73 -

c. Beyond this point, projects wilt be scaled down

using fiscal 1980 funds as available and depganding on

the experienced rate of expenditures. pile phase down

will be achieved by the restriction that only youth

previously enrolled in the program would be entitled,

and only so long as they rer''ined within the eligible

age limits and in school. . limited number of sites

might be extended for a longer duration to test the

multi-year impacts further.

d. A test of the impacts of enriched education

services will be implemented beginning January 1979.

Entitlement sites will be given either 3 percent or

12 percent grant supplements to expand supportive

services. High support and low support sites will be

matched to determine whether the extra expenditures

for educational and other support services help to

attract and retain the more difficult to serve youth,

and whether the impacts are greater on school reention

and completion as well as future employability.

e. To provide for decisionmaking needs in late 1979,

special studies (apart from the comprehensive research

design) will be addad to determine youths' perceptions

and knowledge of the encitlement to collect early

evidence on net return-to-school rates in the first

year, and to assess private sector involvement and the

reasons.

2. Community Improvement. Wscretionary Projects

With discretionary Youth Community Conservation and

Improvement Projects (YCCIP) resources alternative

approaches were tested including the use of a nonprofit

intermediary to replicate a 111.)del program, direct Federal

relations between HUD and %...mmunity development corporations,

railroad projects demor-trat'ng the feasibility of

community improvements -elated to railroads toAng direct

State/Federal linkages, and mixed aged/youth in rural

areas using Operation Mainstream grantees.

a. The HUD-CDC project:, with demonstrated

effectiveness will be continued through fisc,1 1Si9;

most will operate under current grants through February

of 1979.
- 74 -

b. Rural Housing Improvement Project

Under an agreement with the Farmers Home Administration and the Community Services Administration, YCCIP funds will be used to provide wage support for youth involved in rehabilitation and construction of rural housing. The FmHA 502 and 503 programs provide for loans to low income elderly families for home improvements. The 113 program provides for below market rate loans to purchase homes. There is a substantial stock and annual flow of such homes which are in default and under the ownership of FmHA. The project will transfer funds to CSA to support rehabilitation and construction projects operated through rural cooperatives, community action agencies and community development corporations. Youth will restore homes of the elderly, with reimbursement for services out of the 502 and 503 grants and loans. The YCCIP funds will offset some but not all of the wage costs, so that the elderly will benefit from below cost services while the cost of job creation under YCCIP will also be reduced. Youth will rehabilitate 113 homes in def,,ult and these will be sold at market value; the CAA or DCS's would return the difference be- tween the selling price and initial appraisal price and this would be applied to additional projects.

ne Finally, construction might be attempted with a guarantee of 113 loans upon completion. The homes will be sold at market value with any returns offsetting costs. In this project FmHA would provide the housing stock and the set asides of loan funds; CSA will adrOonister the project and would provide funds for administration and materials for the local groups. The Department of Labor will provide for employment and materials cousistent with YCCIP regulations. The knowledge development objective will be to assess how much wage costs can be offset and the viability of these operations as well as the impacts on participants.

c. Public Housing Community Improvement Project

In fiscal 1979, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is undertaking a comprehensive public housing revitalization p:7ogram including a commitment of approximately $180 mi:Aion. Under YCCIP discretionary authority, $10 million will be added for the employment of 16- to 19-year-old residents in community

on the public housing. improvements
- 75 -

One of the fundamental questions in youth policy

is whether youth do better when integrated with adults

or when they are assigned their own projects. Because

so much rehabilitation work will be going on as part of

the revitalization initiatives it will be possible to

provide employment which is integrated with these other

activities as well aL providing other projects which are

handled primarily by youth under the supervision of a

few adults. Another question is whether youth have a

different attitude when working on their own homes or

those of their_families as opposed to generalized

projects. One approach would be for repair and restore

units in or near the homes of the youth employed. Another

would be to undertake grounds improvements or other

visible projects to determine whether there are different

impacts. An issue which could be addressed is the one

of scale. If a few youth in a housing project are

employed, is this different than when there is a

concentrated mobilization. The "entitlement" or "job

guarantee" concept is being tested on a large scale

but it might also be tried in an isolated public housing

project of several hundred units to compare the impacts

on the environment to projects with lesser saturation.

Finally, it would be important to determine whether

projects operated by tenant management groups differ

from those operated by the public housing authority

directly, i.e., whether control generates a greater

community involvement impact as measured by participants'

behavior and perceptions as well as those of other

residents. One of the variables to be tested under all

of these efforts is whether employment reduces crime

and vandalism in the projects.

d. Low-Head Hydroelectric Dam Project

About 50,000 low-headdams exist in the United

States, many of which are used to produce or have potential

for producing electricity. During an era of cheap energy

and rising labor cost. much of the electrical production

of such dams was abandoned. Rising energy costs may now

make improvement of such dr.ls in preparation for energy

production economically feasible. Small dams offer other

advantages as community improvement projects and as sources

of youth employment.

(1) They are often located in the heart of older

cities, and their rehabilitation can help to conserve

older neighborhoods.

(2) They can often be the key component of historic

preser,:ation efforts. Over six percent of all such

dams were built prior to 1930 and have historical significance.
76 -

(3) Deterioration of dams has frequently created hazardous conditions, with danger of collapse of the dams in some cases.

(4) Their redevelopment lends itself to community waterfront park development.

(5) Much of the labor involved in their rehabilitation can be carried out:by low skill youth.

(6) Substantial potential exists for training youth in technical areas while on the job.

(7) Because of the growing interest in such projects, skills learned in such work may be highly valuable to individuals for many years.

One dam has been identified which provides substantial potential for many of the above advantages. It is the French Landing Dam in Van Buren Township, MI. This pilot project would use community improvement funds to improve the dam and the surrounding areas in fiscal 1979.while

feasibility studies are completed by the Department of Energy concerning the hydroelectric potential. If it proves feasible, YEDPA funds would be used to train youth for the hydroelectric and related work, with Department of Energy and the cc..tmunity providing resources for the equipment.

e. Weatherization Improvement Project

Many Community Improvement projects deal with weatherization using Department of Energy funds. The criticism of most weatherization efforts is that there is inadequate training and sometimes shoddy work. This demonstration, to be carried out by DOE jointly with DOL and CSA, would test the efficiencies of mechanization, training and mobility. Mobile vans would be provided for work in rural areas and youth would be carefully trained. Efficiency would be compared with other less mechanized projects doing similar work in rural areas.

3. Youth Employment and Training Programs Discretionary Activities

a. The first priority for YETP discretionary pro- jects in fiscal 1979 is to follow-through on activities begun in the previous year. Even temporary projects must be phased out in an orderly fashion. For some projects, the developmental work was to be completed in fiscal 1978 with full funding in fiscal 1979. The major continuing commitments are for the: Private Sector Initiatives

9
77 -

Demonstration Project (PSI), Work-Education Councils,

and the large scale Education Entitlement Voucher

Demonstration: Project. All of which will undergo

substantial-implementation and designwork, as well as

the Corporation for Youth Enterprises, the National

Longitudinal Survey, the Continuous Longitudinal

Manpower Survey (CIASI of YCCIP and YETP participants

Department of Labor support for work - education councils

was intended to be temporary, to determine whether viable

institutions could be created which could become selfsupporting. In fiscal 1978, emphasis shifted to using

the work-education network to promote the concept among

interested prime sponsors. During fiscal 1979, phaseout of support for the present work-education councils

will occur, with continuation in only a few isolated

cases where the needs and benefits are clearcut.

There will be an effort to establish five work-education

councils in rural areas where early evaluations suggest

they will have the greatest impact.

The Private Sector Initiatives Demonstration Project

will continue according to the work plan and schedule

developed in fiscal 1978. The key activity will be the

test of alternative wage subsidy and on-the-job training

approaches. A special demonstration will be launched,

as one variant of the Private Sector Initiatives, which

will test the "social bonus" concept of direct and

simple payments to employers of economically disadvantaged

youth. This will be assessed according to the same

methodology as for"other wage subsidy and on-the-job

training approaches.

The Education Entitlement Voucher Demonstration will have

to be implemented during fiscal 1979. This will be a

major activity testing two or three variations in delivery approaches acid there will have to be a structured,

comprehensive assessment of the results.

b. Exemplary- In-School Incentive Grant Demonstration

One Of the principal accomplishments of YETP

in its first year was to improve coordination at all

levels between the education and employment and training

systems.

The in- school incentive grants were an important

factor. Areas with effective LEA-CETA agreements and

good working relationships, as well as quality program

ideas, were rewarded. Proposals from LEA's were directed

through the CETA system encouraging cooperation and

understanding. The nonprofit corporation, Youthwork,
- 78 -

which helped to implement this project, provided a balance of education and manpower interests and served as an effective intermediary.

To continue this process, and to learn more about in-school activities, a new round of grants will be provided in two subject areas. The Office of Education in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare may participate jointly in this effort.

(l) Re-Entry for the Long-Term Dropout or Pushaut

The chance of successful completion of high school is greater for dropouts who re-enter 6-months or less after leaving school. Re-enrollment retention and achievement rates drop severely as students remain out of school for more than 6-months. The problems are particularly severe for young mothers -- yet it is precisely these "hard-core," long-term dropouts who are least likely, by age 25, to have made the transition into full-time work. Special consideration will be given in the competition to applicants who will serve young women with family responsibilities.

The exemplary grafts would explore approaches for encouraging re-entry and assuring greater success upon retention by providing supportive services, transpor- tation, motivational support, counseling, tutoring and the like, and for developing short-term dropouts. There could be a particular focus on young mothers.

(2) Assistance in Integrating Physically and Mentally Handicapped Youth

A recent concern of Congress has been to reduce the segregation of the handicapped from their peers. This incentive grant component would select ex- amples where in-school programs for youth have achieved

outstanding success in serving handicapped youth in a fully integrated setting. The knowledge development

effort would focus on the identification of the ingredients and a thorough examination of the potential for widespread adoption of these factors. Approaches might be tested suchas the use of handicapped adults as counselors and for on-the-job followup, the development of supplements to occupational information system, or locating employers specially interested in handicapped employees.
- 79 -

c. Vocational Education-CETA Linkage Incentive Grants

Under an agreement with the Office of Education,

YETP funds will match vocational education discretionary

funds in order to have a competition under the vocational

education competitive grant program. This competition will

focus on projects which link CETA and vocational education

efforts at the local level, particularly those serving the

hardest to employ such as handicapped youth, offenders and

young mothers. The grants will be operated through the

vocational education system.

d. Mixed Income Experiments

YETP services are targeted to youth in familie,;

with an income below 85 percent of the lower living standard.

However, up to 10 percent of funds are available to test the

benefits to disadvantaged youth of participating in projects

with youth from more affluent families. The regulations for

YETP require there be fairly rigorous experimental designs

for any local efforts which provide opportunities for youth

above the income cutoff. Roughly 40 prime sponsors implemented mixed income experiments in fiscal 1978, but in most

cases, the sample sizes in these efforts will be too small

to reach any conclusions about the impact on the disadvantaged.

Structured experiments are, therefore, envisioned

using YETP discretionary authority. In 4 prime sponsor areas,

with preference for those which have initiated their own 10

percent tests, extra funds will be provided fcr structured

experiments employing disadvantaged youth alongside the nondisadvantaged, and similar youth in a like component which

serves only income eligibles. Two of the projects will be

for in-school youth and two for out-of-school youth. The

projects will be rigorously designed and operated on a scale

where impacts can be assessed. Motivation, job awareness and

other tests will seek to determine the differences at entry

related to family income.

e. Jy-Jenile Delinquency Treatment and Prevention

Demonstration

There is copious literature indicating a statistical

relationship between joblessness and juvenile delinquency.

Likewise, employment is accepted as a matter of faith as an

important component of any treatment strategy. There has,

however, been no large-scale, systematic experiment to determine the effectiveness of the employment approach in reducing crime and recidivism. LEAA supports a broad range of

projects focusing on diversion, restitution and re-entry

.treatment for offenders. This demonstration would create a

structured set of employment and training programs for

youthful offenders.
- 80 -

The demonstration variables would include the service mix, with four options including projects emphasizing counseling and pre-employment assistance, others emphasizing work, a third set with a training and education focus and a fourth with a mix of services. The delivery agents, target groups and age of participants world be varied in the research design zo that the relative effectiveness

of different delivery approaches could be assessed as well as the special problems of certr.i. subcroups among the offender population and the best age level for employment interventions.

f. Runaway Youth Project

Runaways are a major, if largely unheralded, problem in our society. The Runaway Youth Centers operated under the Youth Development Bureau in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare provide comprehensive assistance to large numbers of troubled youth. Due to the lack of resources, however, employment has not been a major emphasis. Runaways would be, under the demonstration project, employed in centers to provide services to others; they would be placed in other jobs and worked into the local employment and training system. Arrangements would be made through.an interagency agree- ment with the Youth Development Bureau.. The knowledge development objective would be to test whether concentrated employment services could aid at this crisis point in many youths' lives.

g. Career Ladder Demonstration

Most youth programs, with the exception of Job Corps, provide a limited dose of useful work

and services and assistance into a job, but few focus on continuing treatments which might lead to a "quantum leap" in employability. Annual funding, frequent changes in policy and the volatility of youth have been obstacles to the development of longer interventions. The short- term focus may be self-fulfilling to the extent that youth do not see a future in employment and training programs and choose alternative courses once they are ready to move ahead. Likewise, private employers might shun participants because they do not feel tie programs have done much to prepare participants for work.

New mechanisms must be found to better link public programs to employment in the private sector as well as providing the continuing education and employ- ability development assistance which is necessary to
- al -

significantly improve the employment prospects of youth.

Under the Career Ladder demonstration, young CETA

participants will be carefully screened and tested to

identify those who are motivated and potentially capable.

These youth will be provided structured, multi-year

internships in private businesses, with rotating periods

of work and education. The aim will be to develop the

youth through increasingly responsible job assignments

and pay, resulting after a maximum of two years in a

high level job within the business (for instance, jobs

at the $10,000 or above annual earnings level would be

a target). The YETP funds would support the administrative

arrangements, education and wages for the two year period;

the employer would have to guarantee good jobs at the

end of this period.

h. Private vs. Public Employment Demonstrations

It is a widespread assumption that youtl. will

gain more from private sector than public sector

employment. This notion will be tested to some degree

under the Entitlement program, where the success of youth

placed in private jobs can be contrasted with those

placed in public work experience. However, there are

usually a variety of nonrandom factors involved in the

assignment of youth to worksites. Frequentl the most

able and attractive candidates are given the w private

sector opportunities.

Using YETP discretionary authority to support

full employment costs, it should be possible to secure

private sector jobs for a large number of youth as

demonstrated by the Entitlement experiment. In three

sites, it is proposed that this authority be used to fund

both private and public sector jobs, to assign like groups

to each of the components; and to trace .the differential

outcomes. The impact measures would be standardized

although the exact design and administrative arrangements

of the expi:ximent might vary from area to area. A

longer-term followup would be implemented to determine

effectiveness. These projects would be developed by

selected prime sponsors with assessment coordinated under

a single contract.

i. Supported Work

The Supported Work experiment has teC-ed the

concept of providing structured job settings and

positive reinforcement for the hardest to employ, including youth with drug problems and offenders.
- 82 -

Experience has suggested that youth can benefit from this approach relative to others who are not enrolled in pro- grams or receive less structured assistance. However, the youth participants in supported work have been mixed in projects with adults. It would be important to test whether projects solely with young participants can be as effective as those with mixed enrollment. The demonstration would also provide a laboratory for testing the impact of different types of work. The significant segments which would be served by those projects would be young mothers, handicapped youth and offenders. Their special problems would be carefully assessed.

j. Public Information Demonstration--Evidence suggests that private sector employers operate under a number of mistaken notions about youth and about hiring impediments. They may not actively participate in public programs because of the lack of information. Analyses of the impacts of the job creation tax credit have indicated that few corporate decisionmakers knew about the tax credit, and hence it had little impact on hiring decisions. An aggressive effort to "market" youth, to break down misconceptions, to provide information about mechanisms for participation, and, in particular, to sell employers on the new tax credit for youth employment might have a significant impact. This demonstration would concentrate efforts in five sites and would include a research component to determine whether behavior was affected. In particular, OYP would work with the Department of Treasury to determine whether the usage of tax credits was greater in these areas than in control sites. Materials developed under these programs could be used more broadly if they proved effective.

k. Citizen Involvement in Job Placement -- Efforts to secure jobs for disadvantaged youth have focused on business and labor, seeking to convince, coerce or sub- sidize them to provide employment to those who would otherwise not be hired. Government programs and inter- mediary institutions have sought to improve the employ- ability of youth and to direct them to existing better jobs. Such approaches are the cornerstone of all proposed private sector approaches. There is, however, an additional approach which has not been tried on any large scale -- the use of individuals rather than institutions to help those in need. Simply and straightforwardly, it may be possible to mobilize volunteers to provide one-on-one employment oriented assistance disadvantaged you+h during the transition from school to work and adole .ence to adulthood. This approach makes sense in light o- all we know about youth employment problems. It can be implemented relatively easily, calling on resources which
- 83 -

are not being used fully. The potential benefits,

while subject to recognized constraints, can be

significant, while the costs are minimal.

The approach would be tested through the existing

volunteer network. ACTION would take the lead in

implementing programs in a number of States and urban

areas, perhaps with a subcontract to a community based

organization to mobilize efforts within selected urban

areas. The entire demonstration would be subjected to

a comprehensive test of its effectiveness.

1. Post-Secondary Institution Involvement- -

Community and junior colleges are playing an increasing

role in CETA programs. They have substantial capacity

for remedial education and vocational training. The Fund

for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Ecucation in the

Office of Education is one way to mobilize these institutions to promote their further involvement. One of the

goals during the second year of YETP is to promote longerterm interventions and career ladders. Junior and

community copeges could work well with many of the

participants in YETP and YCCIP programs, providing remedial

education and then integrating this with a continuing

program in the college. Incentive funds would provide the

initial linkage and could demonstrate Whether a continuation

of services is feasible.

M. Limited Scale Demonstration

Experience in fiscal 1978 has suggested the

possibilities for a range of small-scale demonstration

projects to examine alternate approaches and to test

their results. The following list is inclusive. Implementation will depend on the availability of staff resources to handle project design and development.

Insofar as possible, those projects will be developed

by the Office of Manpower Research and Demonstration in

ETA's Office of Policy, Evaluation and Research.

(1) A work experience demonstration would test

the concept of the "integrated learning experience"

where youth would be taught to maximize whay they

learn from job experiences. This is a model career

education program which has been developed for junior

college and high school youth. It would be tested with

out-of-school youth.
- 84 -

(2) A structured demonstration might explore job availability by sending out c_onomically disadvantaged youth for job interviews drawn from want ads or ES files. It is a popular nation that there are many jobs available but youth would not want them. This research-oriented demonstration would provide a systematic exploration. Youth would be paid some stipend though only for a limited period and less than enough to discourage active job search. In the process they would learn much about the labor market. Where jobs were offered but the youth did not want them, the reasons would be systematically explored. Where jobs were not offered, the

employers would be interviewed to find out why.

(3) A demonstration project might be undertaken to test the feasibility of providing

information focused on youth who have already entered the full-time labor market and have a good possibility of being stranded in secondary jobs. The target groups will be economically disadvantaged 19- to 21-year-olds, with the information individualized to consider previous job experience and attained skills. Hopefully, this will make job change in the early years a more rational and equitable process and will also provide information about why certain youth are stranded in certain occupational areas.

(4) A "Second Chance" demonstration project would seek to work with dropouts from employment and training programs to determine whether nonpositive terminees can be helped by individualized treatment and future problems be avoided. This project would involve close linkages with the local CETA system to identify "failures" as rapidly as possible, perhaps with a crisis center established for immediate treatment. The project would not only suggest whether "failures"

could be turned into "successes", but also would help determine the real reasons for nonpositive terminations and the ways employment and traininc, programs could be improved to solve this problem.

(5) A job restructuring demonstration might test in a single location what proportion of jobs could be redesigned to employ youth, what employers could be coaxed into participating, how long these new jobs would continue in the demand mix, and how well youth would do who participated.
- 85 -

(6) A job search methods demonstration

might test the relative effectiveness of methods

which help youth find jobs vs. those which help

youth help themselves in the labor market, such

as the Job Factory approach. Relative costs and

benefits will be determined.

1. Research and Evaluation

A range of basic research activities

necessary to better understand youth employment

problems was initiated in fiscal 1978. However,

some further research is necessary on selected

topics:

(1) The perceptions of employers relative

to the firing of economically disadvantaged

youth need to be explored in a systematic way.

A survey similar to that done in BLS Bulletin

1657 in 1970 should be carried out and the

findings compared to earlier work.

(2) Through a series of research papers

and a conference, the special needs of rural

youth (including farmworkers and Indians) would

be explored. This would be part of the knowledge development effort under migrant and

Indian youth grants. It would be coordinated

through the DOL rural task force.

(3) A structured set of research studies

would focus on the relatively unutilized

longitudinal study of 1972 high school graduates

to determine why some "make it" and others do

not. The data base has already been gathered

and it is largely a question of synthesis and

analysis which will be relatively inexpensive.

(4) A series of analytic papers would be

commissioned to explore the knowledge development

potential and realization under the Youth Employment

and Demonstration Projects Act. These papers

would be presented in a national conference in

the Spring of 1979.

(5) Longitudinal studies tend to interview

annually or biennially. What is uncertain is

how disadvantaged youth spend their time day-today, where their income comes from and what it

is spent for, to what extent they are involved

in work activities as a percentage of time, how

much they look for work and the like. An

important study would be a daily or weekly
- 86 -

tracking of a large sample of disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged youth over a period of time. This might be done in several different ways. Foundations have expressed an interest in helping to fund and implement this project, and the different approaches might be accomplished using a variety of funding sources with the Office of Youth Programs providing the overall structure.

(6) A job search effort would use the youth to gather information about the labor market. After careZul review of job possibilities, youth would be directed to speciac interviews. They would report back on their perceptions and why they did or did not take the jobs. Interviews would follow up with employers to determine their perceptions. The aim would be to determine the barriers to employment as perceived within a realistic and ordered job search process.

(7) A knowledge development plan focusing on theoretical and basic research will be pre- pared by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Evaluation and Research for a range of efforts. This will provide information on youth labor markets, developmental processes, the impacts of government programs and other important subjects.

(8) A process and impact evaluation of YACC would be undertaken in fiscal 1979 based on a design developed in fiscal 1978.

(9) Local knowledge development activities have been stressed. Based upon reviews of plans, end-of-year reports, regional advice and study reports, the prime sponsors with serious knowledge

development efforts will be identified and through site visits and surveys, the results of their efforts will be assessed as well as the whole notion of locally initiated research, demonstration and evaluation activity.

(10) A comprehensive review of the literature and of program statistics will seek to determine

the evidence of learning curve effects under new programs and demonstration projects. In the

extensions of any fiscal 1978 projects, one of the research questions to be added will be the

learning curve effects.
- 87 -

(11) A research project will carefully study

the types of jobs youth fill in the private

sector including the skill requirements, the

potentials for advancement, the motivating

possibilities and the like in order to learn

more about the demand side of the equation.

4. YACC Demonstrations

a. YACC Enriched Demonstration

YACC emphasizes employment and provides

little in the way of employability development services.

It is important to test in the conservation setting

whether enrichment through education, counseling and

other services results in more positive outcomes.

Enriched components would be added in a sample of

residential camps and non-residential sites. The

experience of participants in these sites would be

compared to the experience of other enrollees. Regular

YACC funds would be used for this purpose with YETP

covering the evaluation.

b. YACC Transition Services Demonstration

A second demonstration woulkl focus on transition

services, i.e., the outstationing of ES personnel in

YACC camps and sites, to provide career counseling

and placement assista:.ce to participants before they

leave YACC. A followup study would be implemented to

determine whether this makes a difference in the subsequent employment experience of corpsmembers. Again,

YACC funds would cover the costs of the evaluation. It

may be possible to link both these evaluations with

the YACC overall impact study which is to be done in

fiscal 1979.

1;1,2
- 88 -

Summer Program Demonstrations

Research evaluation and demonstration efforts under the 1978 SPEDY program should yield a much better understanding of the linkages with nonsummer youth programs, work characteristics, the impact of summer employment on the attitudes and awareness of partici- pants, and the special problems of providing jobs in nontraditional employment and of dealing with handi- capped youth and offenders. Building on this base, knowledge development efforts in fiscal 1979 must address the fundamental policy issues:

o What mix of education, services and work has the greatest impact on participants?

o Can procedures be developed to better identify and work with youth of high

dropout potential?

o What administrative and organizational

procedures can best achieve the aim of the program?

o What is the impact of SPEDY on the

future employment prospects of

economically disadvantaged youth?

1. The SPEDY regulations permit and encourage education, training, vocational exploration and work, but there is no guidance about the most appropriate mix. Under a demonstration program, SPEDY funds would be used to expand resources in areas participating a study which in compares work-oriented projects to those emphasizing work plus a heavy dose of services and education.

2. One of the fundamental

duce a return to aims of SPEDY is to in- school. There is now no accurate record of school return after the summer or of subsequent retention.

have focused Likewise a few local programs on the dropout prone as opposed to simply serving income eligibles.

a. A joint project Eduction in the between the Office of Department of Heedth, Education and Welfare and Office of Youth Programs in the Department of Labor would seek to determine the best methods of identifying the dropout prone and would test methods of serving them to determine whether rates of school return could be increased.
- 89 -

b. A demonstration will link SPEDY funds to

Upward Bound programs in order to determine whether

career focused and work supplemented Upward Bound

programs can be more effective in motivating young

persons.

3. There are certain administrative and

organizational issues which need to be resolved

through some structured demonstrations.

a. The first is whether job rrtation is more

beneficial to participants than work on a single site.

b. A second is whether project work has different

impacts than dispersed worksites.

On these issues, a few demonstration projects are

needed which randomly assign youth to the differently

structured components and measure the relative outcomes.

The projects could be locally designed with evaluation

and monitoring built in.

4. As a motivational device and to promote

vocational exploration, summer camps will be established

by a consortium of labor urions with the lead work done

by the NFL Players Association. Youth will be drawn

from SPEDY to attend the camp for a week or two. They

will be given a concentrated format of recreation,

motivation training and vocational exploration. Sports

figures will play a key role in the recreation. CSA

recreation ftlids and union contributions w...11 support

the recreation components while SPEDY funds will

support the vocational exploration and motivation

components. The entire effort will be tested to determine its impacts on participants.

5. Impact Assessment of Summer Program

Finally, an economic impact evaluation of the summer

program has not been carried out since the 1960's. It

is important to reassess any program periodically.

While the 1978 evaluation will suggest immediate impacts

on aspirations, youth will .dot be followed up after they

leave SPEDY. Hence, a careful, structured evaluation is

needed in fiscal 1979.

1J4
- 90 -

Expanded Job Corps Efforts

There is a substantial Job Corps agenda of research, evaluation and demonstration activities for fiscal 1979 to assess and further develop the new approaches imple- mented as part of the expansion and to utilize the potential of Job Corps as a laboratory

best ways for for studying the serving economically disadvantaged youth.

1. Evaluation of New Components

a. The advanced ,lareer training program for military careers will be started on a pilot basis in In order to fine fiscal 1979. tune this approach, needed from the a process study is outset which will assess participant perspectives, the quality of training relative to Armed Forces needs, administrative problems and the like.

The long-range impact of the program on participants will be judged by long-range followup designed by the Department of Lefense using their enlistee

system. tracking The impact study will be designed in fiscal 1979. and developed

the Job Corps,

The immediate impact on recruiting for performance in centers, and subsequent Armed Forces entry rates will be

Corps. assessed by the Job

b. The advanced career training program in junior and community colleges must be

In fiscal 1979, comprehensively evaluated. a pilot study will be completed

would have benefited

assessing costs, the likelihood that enrolled youth on their own, the effect on Job Corps recruitment,

the effectiveness the reactions of enrollees in centers, of the counseling

within Job Corps, and selection system

component and the

the success of youth in the advanced degree of vocational

the end of fiscal preparation. By 1979, a sophisticated

will be developed research design to assess training-related rates, the long-term placement impacts on enrollees and the

will be implemented

success probabilities of various groups. This evaluation in fiscal 1980.

c. The industry work

studied by following experience program will be up a matched sample do and do not of youth who move on to an industry work experience component. There will be an independent study of the industry training center concept, but this will not be implemented until fiscal 1980 since this is a long-term

an early date.

treatment and it will be impossible to judge impacts at
91 -

d. The experiments with speciality centers and

those run by community based organizations and prime

sponsors will be assessed from regular performance data

on a continuing basis. Periodic reports will be

prepared by Job Corps national office.

2. Educational Improvement Effort--The Job Corps

is one of the largest alternative education systems in

our country. However, with emphasis on placement and

vocational training, and with budget stringencies,

educational offerings have been somewhat neglected in

recent years. In 19'4, a new maLhematics instruction

system was implemented. Some centers have introduced

new programs. But there has been no comprehensive

effort to assess or upgrade educational offerings. The

potential of the Job Corps as a laboratory for testing

alternative education approaches has not been realized.

The EIE would consist of the following steps:

a. The reading program in the Job Corps gill be

revamped based upon assessments of available educational

materials and approaches.

b. The characteristics of the educational program

including teacher training, student/pupil ratios,

materials developed at different centers, pay levels,

gain rates, and enrollee perceptions will be determined

in a comprehensive survey of education in Job Corps.

c. A study of computer-assisted learning and its

potential for Job Corps will be completed.

d. Alternative educational enrichment approaches

including those emphasing (1) new materials, (2) computer

assisted education, (3) teacher moti.vation and training

and (4) pupil motivation, will be implemented in

alternative centers under a carefully designed experimental program to determine which is most costeffective in improving Job Corps learning rates.

3. Vocational Improvement Effort

a. A pilot study of placement experience by

occupation of training will be completed to determine

the most successful training approaches and the relative

success of centers. The least effective courses will be

identified and either new materials and approaches

developed or the courses dropped.

1t1
- 92 -

b. The content of

Job Corps will vocational offerings in the be assessed to

being taught and determine what is really learned.

c. Union sponsored training high placement programs, which have rates and placement wages as well as high costs, will be examined from a benefit-cost perspective.

d. New training

advanced automative components will be introduced in training, heavy equipment operation, maritime skills, computer operations and customer relations, solar energy, petroleum industry skills, and paraprofessional skills for employment and training programs. The effectiveness of these components will be monitored and assessed.

e. The impact and effectiveness of various vocational exploration

be explored. systems in use in Job Corps will

4. Performance Issues Assessments

Job Corps has one of the most sophisticated reporting systems of any employment

This can he utilized and training program. to a much greater extent to assess various issues affecting Job Corps performance. could be commissioned Studies by experts or by doctoral students based on available

corpsmembers and

data supplemented by interviews with staff. The following be studied: subjects would

a. Characteristics of early dropouts and the reasons for early terminations.

b. Coeducational mixes and their effect cn termination rates and subsequent labor market sw-cles.

c. centers.

Relative cost-effectiveness of large vs. small

d. Effect of distance

Job Corps. from home on success in the

e. Analysis of the placement system and its problems.
- 93 -

5. Economic Impact

The major evaluation of Job Corps' impact was

completed in fiscal 1978 and was based on a followup

youth 6-9 months after they terminated. The control

(.-Youp may have been in the labor market over the period

corpsmember enrollment, giving them a head start, so

that the relative status of corpsmembers might improve

after the followup survey as they apply their skills

and learning. On the other hand, evidence from 1960's

studies suggested that the benefits of Job Corps

deteriorated rather than increased. The duration of

benefits is critically important in estimating cost

effectiveness. If feasible, a 12-month and perhaps an

18-month followup will be added to the current assessment to determine economic impacts over time.

6. Corpsmember Surveys

Finally, CETA mandates that "the Secretary arrange

for obtaining the opinions of participants about the

strengths and weaknesses of the program...." In order

to do so, research will be conducted to develop an

attitudinal questionnaire to be administered to randomly

selected corpsmembers periodically and/or included as an

integral part of the regional and rational office review

function.

The instrument would be designed to establish

corpsmember perceptions of the program, including

academic curriculum, the adequacy of vocational skills

training, the center's physical environment, staff

attitudes, center rules and regulations, corpsmembers

behavior, and their likes and dislikes of food served

at the center. The survey should reveal needed

programmatic changes as well as offering a basis for

improving staff-corpsmember relationships.

Crosscutting Demonstration Activities

The YCCIP, YETP, Summer and Job Corps discretionary

activities are designed to address similar issues from a

variety of perspectives so that the results can be

synthesized. The existence of an Office of Youth Programs
- 94 -

with direction over all these efforts permits even greater coordination in order to address the question "How can youth programs be better integrated to improve administration and to provide more comprehen- sive services to youth?"

1. Integration of Youth Grants--Prime ::1,onsors are now faced with a difficult operational " llenge in preparing separate plans and keeping separate records for YETP, YCCIP, summer and CETA Title II youth activities. Consolidation makes sense on a demonstra- tion basis. Demonstration projects will, therefore, be initiated in ten prime sponsor areas permitting coordination of all youth efforts Incally under a single grant. Prime sponsors who have formed separate youth divisions with responsibility for all the components will be given priority. Planning for fiscal 1980 year-round programs will take place in the spring and summer of 1979 and will operate through fiscal 1980. In demonstration sites, waivers of regulations will be sought and additional planning monies will be provided. Likewise, allocations above current levels will be guaranteed with discretionary funds in order to permit careful advanced planning. Summer, YETP and YCCIP discretionary funds will all be set aside for this purpose and should amount to about 10 percent above the usual grants to the participating prime sponsors.

2.

NAB have operated

Year-round VEPS- -For several years, HRDI and a successful vocational exploration program as a nationally funded component of SPEDY. In order to achieve greater continuity between this effort and in-school caruor employment experience, as well as to improve an,. maintain organizational arrange- ments, it has been proposed that a year-round VEPS be launched in several cities. Perhaps five prime sponsors would be selected for participation on a year-round basis, with

such a coordinated careful tests of the impact of

approach.
- 95 -

3. Job Corps Career Ladder Program -- Job Corps

has an excellent record of placing its graduates in

jobs. The earning gains are significant. However,

only a minority move onto career tracks which will

result in large-scale, long-term benefits. For this

reason, an attempt has been made to introduce a

number of advanced career training options. One

approach is the "industry training center" notion,

where corpsmembers would be recruited into training

programs designed for specific jobs and developed

with heavy participation by industry. The youth

would remain Job Corps enrollees until entering an

internship period after which permanent employment

would follow. The internship would be financed by

YETP discretionary funds while the Job Ccrps enrollment period would be covered by Job Corps funds.

Initial arrangements have been made to train youth

as computer customer engineers with the request that

the private sector firm guarantee jobs which pay at

least $10,000 annually for all completers. The aim is

to test whether a continuum of training for more

advanced jobs can be achieved. At the same time, an

attempt will be made to use these arrangements to

organize a consortium of computer companies to

participate and to work with Private Industry Councils.
- 96 -

BALANCE AND FEASIBILITY

This knowledge development plan for fiscal 1979 must be judged not only in terms of its information yield, but also its administrative feasibility and the extent that it meets goals such as involvement of and coordination with other youth-serving agencies, and the utilization of community based groups of demonstrated effectiveness.

There is no question that this is an ambitic,Is agenda of research, evaluation and demonstration activities. It makes full use of YEDPA, Job Corps and SPEDY discretionary authority. While almost all projects have an immediate payoff in terms of the employment and training of youth, they must be that they can carefully structured so

only possible

meet learning objectives as well. This is as a result of building on the base established in fiscal 1978 and using all available agencies as well as the full capacities of the CETA system and community based groups.

The array of projects enumerated is formidable. The

putting serious

efforts of fiscal 1978 will carry over into fiscal 1979, strain on delivery and assessment capacities since ongoing projects must be developed and monitored while new projects are being put into place. There will be pressures from groups which cannot be funded from other discretionary resources which are likely to be declining. Greater awareness of youth resources has led to increasing requests. It is important to maintain interagency linkages insofar as possible since this helps leverage resources, and achieves a more balanced perspective. Finally, it is important to get most of the projects

the fiscal underway early in year if any useful results are to be pro- vided for the formulation of policy in 1980 or soon thereafter.

The implementation strategy in the following table is outlined in terms of start-up dates, implementation mechanisms and funding

and there is

levels. It is a tentative plan no firm commitment to any specific project, approach, target date, or most critically, funding level. However, the record in fiscal 1978 suggests a fairly close adherence to the broad parameters of the knowledge development plan.
- 97 -

The most critical issue is whether this ambitious agenda

is manageable. A review of the implementation strategy

suggests that the use of the existing delivery base,

reliance on interagency linkages, heavy use of prime

sponsors' capacities and a head start during fiscal

1978 should allow for the achievement of most of this

agenda. What cannot be prudently accomplished in

fiscal 1979 will be postponed into fiscal 1980.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY SUMMARY

s plan is tentative and does not represent a comsment of

funding levels or specific delivery approaches. Other projects may be added and

tracted. In Several cases, continuing

costs may be deferred to fiscal

1980 'object to funding availability. The outlined projects total to Its projected in the President's

1979 budget request, If more resources are made available, obligations

that would otherwise have been

will be funded in fiscal 1979 and the subsequent phase-down of demonstration projects will be or A slower schedule, increasing the development payoff.

,ROJECT IMPLEMENTATION TIMET ,LE

DELIVERY MECHANISM BUDGET It Projects, The extension of all sites through the 1979-1980 school

year would occur during

fiscal 1979 The model education projects

will be selected and designed in the first half of the 1978- 79 school year for implementation in the second half.

Improvement Housing vent An interagency agreement, work plan and research design were

developed in fiscal 1978. The resources will be trans- ferred early in fiscal 1979 to

CSA. Projects will be implemented beginning January 1979,

The project! will be in the already

selected sites with research and demonstration assistance from the Manpower Demonstration Research

Corporation.

The Community Services Administration will be transferred

funds to subcontract with rural

CAA's and CDC's; PmHA will make

loan and housing stock commitments.

Continue all projects $93.SM through 1979-1980

school year. High Intensity Education 7.0M Demonstration

Contingency and Research 4.5M

"These are estimates based

on very early experience.

The exact Totals are uncertaih.

$4.01

'.0 co
An interagency agreement, work

plan and research design will be

developed early in fiscal 1979.

The resources will be transferred

to HUD. Projects will be

implemented before the second

half of fiscal 1979. Successful CDC demonstrations

will be continued for a phase-out

period during fiscal 1979 with an

emphasis on placement of

participants

A planning grant was provided to the Wayne County

prime sponsor in fiscal

1978. Dam improvement

will begin in fiscal 1979.

Hydroelectric work would

be implemented in

fiscal 1980 if feasible. An interagency agreement will be

developed early in fiscal 1979. The

grantee will be selected and

work will start by late 1979.

The Department of Housing and Urban

Development will administer the project under the auspices of an intraagency task force established to.

handle the public housing upgrading

strategy. Contracts will be signed

with public housing authorities and

tenant organizations in sample areas.

The Department of Housing and Urban

Development will continue to administer

this project with an amendment to the

current interagency agreement.

The Department of Energy would work

with OYP in assessing hydroelectric

potential and in arranging financing

for equipment if the hydroelectric

generating potential exists. The

Wayne County and Detroit prime sponsors

will jointly operate the project

The Department of Energy would take the

lead through an interagency agreement

with Department of Labor and the Community

Services Administration. A single grantee

would be selected. Department of Energy

would contribute all weatheriza.tion funds needed. Community Services Administration

would contribute capital. Office of Youth

Programa would pay for wages and supervision.

$10.0M

5.811

1.1W

1.0M
retionary Activities

station of projects

sped in fiscal 1978.

rivets Sector datives Demon-

:ration

rporation for

uth Enterprises

tional Logitudinal

rvey

ainuous

gitudinal

'power Survey

Research projects in each of the

identified subject areas in the

1978 work plan will be funded when arrangements are approved by

OYP and when a research plan has

also been approved. The major

initiative in fisni 1979 will be

the wage subsidy experiments.

There will be a special demon- stration of the "Social Bonus" concept. The Corporation will be fully

funded subject to review of performance relative to its

implementation plan. Enter- prises will begin early in fiscal 1979. The first questionnaire

developed in fiscal 1978 will be applied in January and

February 1979. Results will

be processed quickly. There

will be a sizeable pretest

available early in fiscal

1979 which may yield some generalizeable information.

A small sample will be imple- mented for fiscal 1978

enrollees. A more fully

developed questionnaire will

be applied in fiscal 1979.

The Corporation for Public/Private

Ventures will develop these projects

and the research designs. It will also study many of the other private

sector initiatives. This is simple a

continuation of already agreed-upon

arrangements.

The Corporation for Youth Enterprises is

jointly funded by CSA, Labor and OMBE. An interagency agreement outlines the

separate responsibilities, with CSA

taking the lead.

The Ohio State University Research Foundation

will continue the contracting for this project

through its life.

This will be added to the ongoing survey by

Nestat and U.S. Bureau of Census.

$6.94

1.5M

2.0M

1.514 100
Planning would occur in the

first half of fiscal 1979 for

implementation of the National

Youth Service approach in a

rural area. Implementation

would begin in the spring of

1979. Selected work education councils

will continue to receive support.

There will be a startup of a few

row projects in rural areas.

Extensive conceptual design

efforts were required in

fiscal 1978. The implementation

will presumably begin in midfiscal 1979. Another grantee will be

snle'ted to operate a Career

'item Pr( an following the

0:C model. There will be a necial emphasis on Spanishspeeling youth. The

PLiladelpl.ia prototype will also be refunded. The projects in this category

include Project Hope--an

allied health training

program--PUSH for Employment- -

a motivational and career

education program for disadvantaged youth--and the

Texas Association of

Developing Colleges outreach

effort.

Administrative arrangements for this MOM

project have not yet been decided.

The National Manpower Institute will

provide national technical assistance

Delivery agents and approaches have

not yet been determined

These projects are delivered by ctesmunity

based and minority organizations

Diverse arrangements were made in

fiscal 1978 for the operation of

these projects

.7M

5.0M

2.OM

1.0M

1O

O
xemplary In-School

nceetive Grant

national Education!

TA Linkage Incentive

lints

xed Income

periments

venile Deanquency

!talent and

eventi.1 monerr,tion

'away Youth

toniacation

ear Ladder Proz,r1.0

If possible, a competition will

be undertaken in the first half

of fiscal 1979 for projects that will be developed over the re- mainder of the school year and summer for implementation in the 1979-1980 school year. An interagency agreement will be

developed and funds transferred to OE early in fiscal 1979. The grant competition will be in

the Spring of 1979.

The broad design parameters have

already been established. Prime

sponsors will be selected to develop programs for funding in fiscal 1979 subject to approval of their research designs. There will be two in-school and two out-of-school experiments

The design will be worked out

by November 1979 and funding

will becin shortly.

1,.teragency agreement, work

Isiah and ressarj, Atrategy will

by developed in early fiscal

1979, Pundt Je transieried

A planning grant was provided

in fiscal 1978. A funding

decision will be made in November 1979.

As in the 1978 effort, grantees will

be selected through a competition, with

research and demonstration assistance provided by Youthwork, Inc. The OYP share will be matched by $2.0 M from OE.

The Office of Education will administer

these grants as part of the vocational

education program. The OYP contribution

will be matched by $4.0M from OE.

Selected prime sponsors will develop

proposals within broad parameters

established by the Office of Youth

Programs. Regular formula funds will

be used to support disadvantaged

participants.

The projects will be administered

tj a variety of offender treatment

egeeties including State agencies

en, t;ommunity based organizations.

The program would be administered by

HEW's Division of Rumen Services under

the terms of an interagency agreement

with the Department of Labor. A consortium will be developed with

administration of the grant through

an Institution of higher education.

2.0$

4.0M

5.0M

2.5M

2.0M

1

O
Prime sponsors and delivery

agents will be selected in

early fiscal 1979 to develop

programs for funding in

fiscal 1979 subject to

approval of their research

designs. There will be three

projects. Three sites will be selected.

Planning funds will be provided

for the design of projects

with implementation early in

1979. Each of these projects will

be developed in fiscal 1979

as resources become available.

This will be designed early

in fiscal 1979 with implementa- tion in the second half of the

year. An interagency agreement

and work plan will be developed

early in fiscal 1979. The

project will begin immediately.

An interagency agreement and

work plan will be developed

with HEM early in fiscal 1979

with grants carried out in early

calendar year 1979.

Selected prime sponsors or community

based groups will develop proposals within

broad parameters established by the Office

of Youth Programs. An attempt will be made

to draw from PSIP target sites.

The Manpower Demonstration and Research

Corporation will aid in the research

aspects of this project through a modification of its existing contract with the

Office of Policy, Evaluation and Research.

Insofar as possible, these demonstrations

would be designed and implemented by the

Office of Policy, Evaluation and Research

in the Employment and Training

Administration. Administrative arrangements have not yet

been determined.

ACTION will administer the overall project

with a subgrant to a CBO.

FIPSE will administer this grant

effort through its regular channels.

$6. OM

3.0M

3.0M

.5M

2.0R

1.0M

O

1.4
esearch and Evaluation

chnical Assistance

aonstrations

'rogram Demonstrations d Services

nstration

The projects would be implemented

as feasible in fiscal 1979. The Conferences will be planned early in fiscal 1979 so that they can

have a timely impact.

A detailed technical assistance

plan will be developed for

fiscal 1979.

The projects would be designed

and sites selected in early

fiscal 1979. The interagency

research committee would handle

the design phase.

Selected prime sponsors would be

given planning monies early in

fiscal 1979, and broad paramenters would be established by the Office

of Youth Programs in conjunction, in the case of the dropout

reduction demonstration, with the

Office of Education. The project

would be implemented in the

summer of 1979. There would be 4

sites for the demonstrations. SPEDY discretionary resources will

be used.

Insofar as possible, the research

activities would be handled through

ASPER and VIER. The $.SH transferred

to ASPER will be subject to the

approval by OTP of a knowledge development plan by ASPER. These activities will be developed by

OYP.

The evaluation funded with YETP resources

would be handled by OPER. The operational

aspects would be handled by Agriculture and

Interior in the enrichment

demonstration, and the ES in the transition services

demonstration. YACC funds would be used

for this purpose.

Selected prime sponsors would operate the

project within agreed upon parameters.

$2.011

1.011

2.011

2.511 O
Dropout Prevention Model Selected prime sponsors would be

given planning monies early in

fiscal 1979. OYP would work

closely with OE in HEW.

Upward Bound

Design Alternatives

Demonstrations

Motivation and

Enrichment Component

Evaluation of SPEDY

Corps

OYP will develop an interagency

agreement with OE. The program

would be implemented in the

Summer of 1979.

Four sites would be selected.

SPEDY discretionary resources

will be used. Selected prime . sponsors would be given planning

monies early in fiscal 1979.

Design work would be completed in

early fiscal 1979 for completion

in the summer of 1979. An interagency agreement would be

developed with CSA SPEDY and CSA

recreation money would be used.

RFP's would be let in fiscal 1979

to have the evaluation in place

for the summer program. SPEDY discretionary funds would be used.

Job Corps Evaluations An ongoing evaluation of the

of New Components Advanced Career Training Program

In Junior Colleges will be

initiated in-house during

fiscal 1978 and continued in

fiscal 1979. The other evaluations will be designed in

fiscal 1979.

1 '

Selected prime sponsors would

operate the project within agreed

upon parameters.

The Office of Education would

administer the program.

Selected prime sponsors would

operate the projects.

A consortium of unions headed by

the NFL Players Association would

operate the camps. The vocational

exploration components would be

handled under subcontracts.

OPER would handle this evaluation.

Insofar as possible, these evaluations

will be completed in-house to save money.

$2.5M

2.0M

3.0M

1.5M O

.5m I
This will be designed and implement'd in fiscal 1979. This will be undertaken late in fiscal 1979. An attempt will be made to initiate all these assessment

projects in fiscal 1979.

A decision will be made on another followup based on

assessment of preliminary

results. A survey instrument will be

developed and tested in the

first half of fiscal 1979.

It will be implemented

quarterly if it proves

worthwhile.

Job Corps will be responsible

for this effort. Job Corps will be responsible

for this effort. These studies will be carried out through regional contracts, inhouse analysis and the use of

dissertation candidates. It say be necessary to commission an

outside group--such as one of

the manpower institutional

grantees--to coordinate and

structure these studies. If commissioned, this could be

operated by OPER through a modification of its existing contractor.

($1M to be funded by OPER)

Mork will be carried out by Job

Corps staff.

O

0

1: ;0
tting Demonstrations

gration of Youth

is

-round VEP's

er Ladder Program

Plans will be developed jointly

with a group of prime sponsors

and public interest group

representatives early in fiscal

1979 to be implemented in the

fiscal 1980 planning cycle.

Funds from YCCIP, YETP and

summer discretionary funds

will be used to cover the

demonstrations.

The demonstration would take

place in five locations.

This was designed in fiscal

1978 and will be implemented,

if approved, in fiscal 1979.

The prime sponsors will operate

this plan. There will be an

evaluation design across all

plans.

HRDI & NAB would direct this program

under a national contract.

Private industry would operate this

program under contract with Job Corps.

($2.0M fiscal 1978 and $2.0M fiscal

1979).

SPEDY

YETP YCCIP

$1.0M

1.0M

.5M

YETP 1.5M

SPEDY 4.5M

YETP 1.0M Job Corps 1.0M

1'z
108 -

The Community Improvement demonstrations will be adminis- tered through interagency agreements. contracts have been The agreements and developed and negotiated in fiscal 1978 for signing early in fiscal 1979. There will be no new competition for Entitlement projects and the existing research and demonstration agent will be utilized, minimizing the demands of the

in fiscal 1978. program, which were extensive The enriched

established as feasible education components will be in fiscal 1979, with impact analysis beginning in fiscal 1980.

The YACC enrichment component will be developed through an amendment to the existing DOL-Agriculture-Interior interagency agreement. Likewise, the YACC transition service demonstration would be largely worked out between the Employment

Agriculture and

Service, the Office of Youth Programs and Interior.

Under YETP, the

1978 plan will projects already contained in the fiscal

trative burdens will

require little new development. Adminis- be greatest for the educational voucher experiment but this demonstration is not scheduled to begin until the second half of fiscal 1979. For the new 1979 projects, existing

possible. agents will be used so far as Private sector initiatives such as the career' ladder demonstration will be developed in fiscal 1978 and studied under the overall private

umbrella. sector initiative The exemplary

in the same in-school grants will be operated way as the 1978

time for the program, but with even more competition and selection. The procedures which have been established should make this a much less difficult process. CETA prime sponsors will play an important role in the mixed income and private vs. public sector employment demonstrations as they did in the mixed services approaches in fiscal 1978, designing discretionary projects under certain

and post-secondary broad parameters. The runaway youth institution involvement will be run by demonstrations HEW. Research and demonstration will be handled projects insofar as possible by OPER and ASPER within the Department of Labor. The Job Corps agenda involves mostly in-house studies, or amendments to existing contracts. An attempt will be made to find an "umbrella agent" for the more specific research projects. The SPEDY demonstrations will, again, be developed by prime sponsors under general parameters established by the Office of Youth Programs.
- 109 -

In many of these programs, substantial developmental

work has been completed in fiscal 1978 so that

contracting and interagency transfers will occur early

in fiscal 1979 and the projects can operate through a

substantial portion of the year. The outlays/obligation

ratio for fiscal 1979 discretionary projects will

assuredly improve over the fiscal 1978 rate.

Another critical issue is the balance of this knowledge

development agenda in terms of the likely delivery agents.

If lessons are to be integrated into ongoing CETA programs,

prime sponsors must have a major role. Interagency

approaches are most important where agencies other than

the Department of Labor have major authority. YEDPA

specifically mandates special consideration for

community based groups. Finally, complicated research

and demonstration approaches require rigorous analysis,

a high level of technical expertise and neutrality about

the outcome, suggesting the need for monitoring by

analytical offices or intermediary groups.

CETA prime sponsors will have an important design role

in the mixed income experiments, supported work, the

private vs. public employment demonstrations, and the

summer program demonstrations, particularly the yearround approach. Procedures were developed in fiscal

1978 so that all discretionary activities in prime

sponsor areas would be integrated into local planning;

where possible, projects would actively be administered

through the sponsor even if the delivery agent were a

community based group. For instance, under the

exemplary in-school grants program, proposals may be

initiated by any local education agency but they must

be assessed and screened by the prime sponsor, and the

contracting is done with the prime sponsor.

Interagency linkages are particularly important in the

public and rural housing community improvement demonstrations as well as the juvenile justice and runaway

youth models. The post secondary institution in which

demonstrations will be operated by FIPSE in HEW. The

YACC interagency approach is required by law. HEW/DOL

linkages are important where educational enrichment is

being undertaken.
- 110 -

There is a reduced emphasis on intermediary

other than following organizations through on projects fiscal 1978. initiated in The private

stration agenda sector research and demon- will be carried

There will be through in fiscal 1979. another smaller round of exemplary in- school incentive grants, again with the assistance of the norprofit intermediary. The youth group will begin operations entrepreneurship

and the Manpower Demon- stration Research Corporation will continue its role in Entitlement. The share of discretionary activity operated through these groups will, however, decline compared to fiscal 1978 as emphasis is shifted from pure research and demonstration to more operationally- oriented issues.

There will be an extensive role for in these community based groups discretionary activities. The ultimate delivery

CAA's and CDC's

agents in many of the projects are community based groups. are the deliverers under and HUD-CDC the rural housing

be involved

demonstrations. Tenant organizations will under the public of the in-school housing demonstrations. Many grant deliverers will be, as in

in the Juvenile

fiscal 1978, community based groups. Half of the projects

Delinquency Treatment and Preventi.,n Demonstration will be developed by CBO's, while mo-.. of the grantees under the remaining youth projects will be locally based. Every effort will be made to utilize CBO's wherever possible in the limited

well as in research scale demonstrations as

activities.

Undertaking and realizing this challenging multi-r.a,;eted agenda will require a continuing commitment to knowledge development objectives. This must include provision for timely contracting, and for careful monitoring. There is no doubt that the effort

of the Employment will strain the delivery capacity and Training

system. Administration and the CETA However, with decreasing priority on the public service employment expansion and with an overall commitment

can be made available.

to addressing the youth employment problem, needed resources It is important this will be to recognize that a commitment for fiscal 1979, with the antici- pation that in fiscal 1980,

and the focus would phaseout operations will begin shift to synthesizing, replicating and applying what has been learned rather than initiating additional projects other than those mentioned in this plan which cannot be feasibly monitored in fiscal 1979.
THE KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT

PAYOFF

While the demonstration activities should justify themselves in terms ofthe employment and training services

they provide to youth most in need, the institutional

changes and the targetting they achieve, the purpose of

structuring these activities so carefully and implementing

them so deliberately has been to learn as much as possible

about the youth employment problem and how it can most

effectively be alleviated. The most crucial issues for

this knowledge development plan are therefore, what will

be learned and when. Three of the four major YEDPA

programs---YETP, YCCIP and YIEPP--are authorized only

through fiscal 1980. It is anticipated that by that time,

many of the critical issues underlying youth policy will

be resolved to a greater degree so that major decisions

can be made. For recommendations to be formulated and

legislation passed by the end of fiscal 1980, these must

be based on results which will be available at the latest

by the fall of 1979.

The preceding schedule for the implementation of 1979

discretionary activities makes it quite apparent that

there will only be limited information from these

projects by this time. Even on a rapid implementation

schedule, most will not complete a design and contracting

until the end of the first quarter of fiscal 1979. The

results of the first half year's operations can hardly

be tabulated and analyzed by the end of 1979 and only

interim process findings will be available reflecting

mainly the start-up difficulties. Most of the information yield for the end-of-1979 decisions will have to

come from projects implemented in fiscal 1978. Here,

too, the findings are limited to early results and

developments rather than long-term impacts.

Obviously, "knowledge development" and resulting policy

formulation must be a continuing process. The knowledge

development payoff of research, evaluation and demonstration activities launched in fiscal 1978 and 1979 will

continue for years into the future. Decisions cannot

always wait, however, and it is critical to determine

what will be available within different time horizons.

The following analysis seeks to determine for each
dT

could justify themtraining services

the institutional

we, the purpose of

Fully and implementing

rn as much as possible

id how it can most

crucial issues for

therefore, what will

our major YEDPA

authorized only

tad that by that time,

ly youth policy will

'tat major decisions

be formulated and

oal 1980, these must

ailable at the latest

nentation of 1979

ite apparent that

on from these

pid implementation

esign and contracting

f fiscal 1979. The

rations can hardly

of 1979 and only

ilable reflecting

ost of the informaions will have to

scal 1978. Here,

ly results and

mpacts.

nd resulting policy

cess. The knowledge

uation and demonstra978 and 1979 will

Decisions cannot

ical to determine

ent time horizons.

rmine for each
- 112 -

key issue the information which will be available from the range of fiscal 1978 and 1979 knowledge development activities at each of three dates:

(1) Available by December 1978 for submission

in a March 1979 report to Congress.

(2) , ,ilable by December 1979 for submission

in March 1980 report to Congress and for use in policy deliberations concerning legislation past fiscal 1980.

(3) Available sometime after December 1979.

A Matrix of Issues, Information Sources

Issue 1. The impacts of employment and training services on school retention and completion- -

Time Period 1.

a. The Entitlement program data will yield some indication of the return-to-school rate and the immediate dropout reduction impact of the

program. This, however, will reflect the impacts of operations after one semester and

one summer. It will be based on school data

rather than survey data which will yield more accurate net impact measures. It will not

reflect planned 19/9 imprints in alternative, education programs.

b. The funded reviews of previous studies will indicate the impacts of past programs on

school retention and completion.

c. The preliminary evaluation of the Job Corps ACT program in junior and community colleges should indicate whether the economically and

educationally disadvantaged youths who enter Job Corps can effectively participate in

post-secondary education. This will, however, reflect only 9 months of experience in the

program.
- 113 -

d. The quality of academic credit for work

experience has a direct impact on school

completion to the extent it fulfills

graduation requirements. The process

evaluations of YETP and YCCIP will yield

some early indications of the prevalence

of academic credit arrangements. Review

of plans for fiscal 1979, will indicate

the number of youth for whom arrangements

are anticipated. The background papers

from the Exemplary In-School grants in

this academic credit subject area will

indicate different approaches and the

applications will suggest the state of

the art,

Time Period 2.

a. A full 18 months of operations of the

Entitlement sites can be assessed. There

should be a much better fix on how many

youth return to school or stay in school

as a result of job guarantees. However,

the follow-up survey of Entitlement areas

cannot be completed in time to get

precise estimates of net impact. The

same rough and ready techniques will be

used as in the previous year, but the

impact of the programs should be more

noticeable.

b. The CLMS follow-up will yield data on the

numbers and characteristics of studentparticipants who complete or drop out.

Analysis of this data may provide some insight into the interaction between programs

and outcomes.

c. The Exemplary In-School Grant competition

in the subject area "Retention of the

long-term dropout" will yield indications

of the state of the art and the research

papers related to the effort should give

an indication of the dimensions of dropout

problems and what we know about solving

them.
- 114 -

d. The Job Corps Education Improvement

Effort background study should provide data on the reasons for dropping out of

regular schools and the factors behind

GED completion in Job Corps.

e. Preliminary Career Intern Program

results should indicate whether the

replicated projects are having the same

completion rates as the original CIP

model in Philadelphia. Since this was

so carefully studied, simulations should

be possible.

f. The process study of the In-School

Apprenticeship Initiatives should indicate the completion and return to

school-rate of youths who participate

in this program, again by rough and ready

measures.

g. Many prime sponsor knowledge development

agendas called for tests of this question.

Surveys of the results should give some

indication of their experience.

h. The results of the exemplary-in-school grant in the academic credit subject area will suggest whether credit for work

experience can make a meaningful contribution

to school completion. The process

evaluations of YETP & YCCIP should indicate

how many youths have received academic

credit.

Time Period 3.

a. Research for the Entitlement program is designed to determine the impacts on

school retention and completion, as well

as the long-term impacts of retention and

completion on future employability. The

impacts on dropout return after one and

one-half years of operation, should be

available early in 1980. It will take

several years to determine the effects

of multi-year entitlements. However,
- 115 -

as far as is possible through a large

scale structured demonstration, the

question should be answered. Moreover,

the results of the educationally

enriched entitlement experiment should

indicate whether extra investments in

education in addition to the job

guarantee pay off in terms of increased

school return by dropouts as well as

retention and completions.

b. The SPEDY demonstrations with work vs.

services emphases and with special

efforts for the dropout prone, as well

as the rigorous impact assessment Of

SPEDY, should indicate whether summer

employment does have or can have a

significant impact on return to school

rates.

c. The Career Intern Program assessment

should provide indications whether this

alternate education approach emphasizing

employability development increases

retention and completion to the same

extent as the CIP prototype.

d. A comprehensive evaluation of the Job

Corps junior college program will indicate the ability of Job Corps to

participate in advanced education. The

Educational Improvement Effort will

determine the best alternate means to

promote educational gains and hence GED

completion among less advanced corpsmembers.

e. The CLMS follow-ups will provide a wealth

of information about the effects of

different types of interventions on the

school completion rates of different types

of youths.

f. Over the long-run, the National

Longitudinal survey, with a format developed specifically to address the

problems of economically disadvantaged

1. ;
- 116 -

youth and to determine the impacts of

program interventions, will be able to

yield a good picture of all the factors

related to school completion, particularly

the effect of employment and training

services.

g. The results of the exemplary in-school grants for dropouts should indicate

whether completion rates can be improved

and whether more youth can be attracted

back into schools.

h. The incentive grants for post-secondary

institutions have the aim of providing

economically disadvantaged participants

in youth programs the opportunity to

complete remedial education and to go on to junior and community college. The

results which will be largely demonstrations of the feasibility vs. alternatives, will be available by 1980.

i. The education Entitlement voucher experi- ment will over several years indicate

whether tl.e GI bill entitlement will

encourage increased participation by

economically disadvantaged youth in postsecondary education.

Issue 2. The School-to-work transition process and ways it can be improved--

Time Period 1.

a. A preliminary evaluation of work-education

councils will shed some light on the

effectiveness of these institutions.

D. The background papers for the exemplary-inschool grant focusing on occupational

information and counselling will suggest

what we know about this subject and the

state of the arts. The competition will help

identify model programs which may be

effective in achieving school to work

transition.
- 117 -

c. All other information available at this

time will deal with progress in

implementing demonstration programs such

as the school-to-work transition

demonstration.

Time Period 2.

a. The initial CLMS follow-up will provide

information on the programmatic and

personal factors associated with successful transition from school into the labor

market, although most of the early results

will be heavily weighted by start-up

phases of the programs as well as by the

results for early terminees.

b. The results of the 6-month follow-up of

participants in the school-to-work

transition demonstration should yield a

reasonable picture of the effectiveness

of alternative approaches, although the

results may not be fully available until

March 1980.

The entry/exit measures will certainly

be available and should indicate the

effectiveness of different approaches

and delivery agents for in-school

transition services.

c. The knowledge development activities

associated with the exemplary in-school

grants for occupational information and

private sector involvement should yield

assessments concerning in-program benefits

as well as limited follow-up. The

results will suggest what approaches

leave youth better prepared for and with

better entree into the world of work. This

will be a demonstration of the feasibility

of alternatives more than a rigorous

empirical test.

1
-118 -

d. The preliminary findings of the survey of occupational information presentation

at the secondary level funded through NOICC should be available by this time

to indicate what is provided to secondary

students.

e. The early results of the citizen involvement demonstration should suggest whether volunteers can aid youth in the transition

process.

f. The viability of work education councils

without national office support will be determined in the short-run, as well as the number of such institutions developed by CETA prime sponsors.

g. A process evaluation of the in-school

apprenticeship initiatives will indicate

by this time the major efforts of the

first round of projects in moving youths into apprenticeship positions from school.

Time Period 3.

a. The Entitlement program will yield a great

deal of evidence about the school-to-work

transition process of participants. This will suggest whether guaranteed employment

during the school years anu greater

education ease the transition, and the

types of youth for which the impacts are

greatest.

b. The National Longitudinal Survey will yield

voluminous information about the transition

process. Preliminary conclusions can be drawn once the first tvo years of interviews

are completed so that trans:I* ,on problems can be assessed. Particnla-.y important will be an improved pictur. of how program

participation occurs fc. .h,ividuals over

this transition period, since little is known about multiple interventions.
-119 -

c. The CLMS will provide a good deal of

information about the characteristics of

participants and programs which lead to

future success. It will help determine

whether the Career Employment Experiences

offered under YETP have any different impact

than traditional in-school programs.

d. Evaluations of the in-school apprenticeship

initiative will indicate the viability of

this approach in easing the school to work

transition.

e. The exemplary in-school grants program,

particularly its focus areas related to

occupational information, private sector

involvement, and new forms of career

induction, will yield impact information

as well as research on the state-of-the

art, model programs and how-to-do-it

guides.

f. The experiments with saturation occupational

information and with alternative forms

of occupational information will indicate the

actual and potential impacts of better information on easing the transition process.

g. The Vocational Education/CETA Linkage grants,

the SPEDY-Upward Bound Demonstration, and the

Incentive grants for the Involvement of Post

Secondary Institution will demonstrate ways

in which the barriers between the education and

employment and training systems can be bridged.

Issue 3. The productivity and meaningfulness of work

experience and how they can E improved

Time Period 1.

a. On-site assessments will consider supervision,

worksite discipline, hours and characteristics

of work. The purpose is to provide more

information about what actually is going on,

particulary the incidence of unsupervised or

unstructured work environments. Assessment

will be included in the YETP and YCCIP process

ctudies, in-house site evaluations of year round

and summer programs, as well as the special

analyses of worksites for year-round and summer

programs.
120 -

b. Work evaluation methodologies will be

developed and applied in a sample of YETP, YCCIP and YACC sites. Preliminary

results will be available for estimating

supply price values. Additionally, Agriculture and Interior will report

their estimates of the value of work output under YACC.

c. Model work programs and components will be

identified, including an assessment of

union sponsored programs. An extensive

catalogue of alternative work settings for

youth will be developed.

Time Period 2.

a. Evaluations of the Ventures in Community

Improvement and the HUD-CDC demonstration

projects will permit comparisons between these

and regular community improvement project

worksites. An attempt will be made in all

these cases to assess the value of output.

b. The Entitlement research includes estimates

of the value of output from the in-school

and summer jobs. The process evaluation will

indicate the types of work being done and will

permit comparisons between private sector and

public sector jobs in terms of skill levels,

occupational areas and the like.

c. The work valuation of YETP, YCCIP and YACC

should be completed and a methodology developed for prime sponsor usage in making

rough and ready assessments of productivity,

d. Assessment of the outcomes for severely disadvantaged youthful participants in existing

supported work projects will Yield some

indication whether the special arrangements

produced noticeable benefits relative to other

work experience approaches.
- 121 -

Time Period 3.

a. The National Longitudinal Survey will clarify

the relationship between employment in the

transition period and future employability;

specifically, with its focus on economically

disadvantaged youth and program participation,

it should be possible to tell whether work

experience slots are as useful as other forms

of employment.

b. The entry/exit and follow-up results of the

private sector/public sector demonstration

should indicate whether or in what ways randomly

assigned youth benefit more from private then

public sector jobs.

c. The summer evaluation and demonstrations will

indicate the type of jobs which have the greatest

impact on youth, as well as testing job rotation

and dispersed vs. project assignments.

d. The follow-up impacts of the Ventures in Community

Improvement Project compared with traditional

community improvement approaches will indicate

whether it is worth the investment and extra

costs to seek to establish all the linkages

and extra supervision in the model.

e. The supported work experiment will be assessed

relative to a sample of conventional work

experience projects. This will provide

another indication whether specially structured

jobs with supportive arrangements will have a

commensurate impact on future employability.

f. The long-term comparative effects of private vs.

public sector employment under Entitlement can

be determined from the data which will be

collected. Earlier, there will be evidence

of the impacts on completion rates, job retention

and the like.

g. The job restructuring experiment and the private

sector initiatives will suggest the viability of

new jobs which can be created, developed or

restructured.
- 122 -

h. The Public Housing Demonstration will suggest whether youth are better assigned in teams or integrated with adult work crews, as well as the types of work they can most effectively perform in the public housing setting.

Issue 4. The relative benefits of "sweat" vs "service" approaches -- the first emphasizing work experience and the latter human resource development -- Time Period 1.

a. The process evaluations of YETP, Entitlement, YCCIP, YACC will suggest the degree that the programs represent, on the average, different

approaches. In general legislative direction, YETP and Entitlement encourage job enrichment and in school treatments while YCCIP and YACC emphasize hard work and treatment mostly out- side the school setting. If judgments are to later be made by comparing the results of these programs, the degree of difference in practice must be determined.

b. The impacts of national VEPs, local VEPs and traditional SPEDY can be compared based upon entry and exit tests for participants. This will indicate whether "enriched" work experience has a more positive impact than "regular" work experience during the summer.

Time Period 2.

a. The early entry/exit impacts of the Service Mix Alternatives Demonstration will be available

suggesting the differential effects of work vs. work plus services vs. service programs for

randomly assigned economically disadvantaged youth. The follow-ups will not, however be ready, to assess effects on future employability.

b. The entry-exit results of the SPEDY enriched demonstration should be available suggesting whether youth who participate in a significant service component along with work have different changes than those concentrating on work alone.
123 -

c. CLMS data for the first wave follow-up of

YCCIP and YETP participants may permit comparisons

of the two approaches for similar types of youth.

The differences are significant to the extent

that more services are emphasized for these

youth under YETP than YCCIP.

Time Period 3.

a. The follow-up results of the Service Mix

Alternatives Demonstration should yield a

good picture of the comparative benefits

and costs of alternative approaches for

serving economically disadvantaged out-ofschool youth, i.e. whether enrichment pays off.

b. The Juvenile Delinquency Demonstration results

will suggest whether work, service, or a

combination of work and service approaches

will have a greater impact on trouble-prone

youth, both in terms of increasing employability

and reducing criminal involvement.

c. The Public Housing Demonstration will be part

of a broader anti-crime program in public

housing. LEAA money will be used for service

opportunities which employ youth as well as

for hardware investments in projects. The

result should be some general indications

about the best ways to reduce crime.

d. The enriched YACC program results can be

compared to the regular program through the

impact evaluation to determine whether there

is a differential impact to justify the added

costs.

e. The results from educationally enriched

Entitlement sites can be compared with

regular sites to determine whether like youth

benefit in the long term from the extra

education and supportive services.

Issue 5. Testing Alternative delivery mechanisms and

approaches -- (The private sector initiatives

and the program integration efforts discussed

subsequently are also tests of alternative

approaches).
- 124 -

Time Period 1.

a. Process evaluations of the alternative

Community Improvement discretionary approaches -- the HUD-CDC Demonstration,

VICI and the Railroad Project -- will suggest the success of different agents and approaches in the start-up phases. The results will be more descriptive and

classificatory then analytical because the experience will still be limited.

b. The school-to-work transition process evaluations will yield evidence of success. of the different deliverers in instituting their programs.

c. The process evaluation of YETP and YCCIP will seek to determine whether there are differences in the types of youth served and the characteristics between projects

operated by CBO's and those operated by public agencies.

d. The effectiveness of nonprofit intermediaries in aiding demonstration activity will be constantly monitored. By December 1978, it should be possible to report on the success of this approach as contrasted to conventional

governmental procedures in mounting demonstration activities.

e. The process evaluations and end-of-year reports will indicate the types of knowledge develop- ment activities being carried out at the local level under prime sponsors' authority. Thic will help in assessing the effectiveness of this approach to nationally designed and

implemented demonstrations.

f. The Entitlement program with its job

guarantee and year-round treatment approach is, itself, a test of an alternative approach. The feasibility of creating enough meaningful jobs to employ large number of youths in entitlement areas, and to handle the massive start-up problems, will be determined by the end of 1978.
- 125 -

Time Period 2.

a. The school-to-work transition services

demonstration should yield a good picture

of the comparative effectiveness of

different deliverers and approaches, at

least as measured by costs, service mixes

and entry/exit impacts.

b. Job Corps tracking of participants in the

ACT junior college program will indicate

whether this is an effective supplement

to existing operations. Likewise,

assessment of the performances of centers

operated by CBO's, Indian groups, prime

sponsors and minority firms will indicate

their comparative performance in the

start-up phase of center operations. The

cost effectiveness of union operated training

programs within Job Corps will also be assessed.

c. The short-term impacts of the alternative

community improvement approaches should be

determinable, particularly costs, productivity,

dropout rates and in-program changes. The

follow-up results will be available in only

a limited number of cases.

d. The impacts of Entitlement on local economies,

the feasibility of the idea, the costs and

innovative approaches will be demonstrated by

December 1979.

e. The effectiveness of nonprofit intermediaries

will be better understood, particularly their

ability to serve the umbrella function of

integrating disparate activities within broad

subject areas.

f. By the end of the period, it should be possible

to determine the output of prime sponsors'

knowledge development efforts as well as their

effectiveness in developing nationally designed

projects in which prime sponsors were given a

lead role. It should be possible to determine

the types of research, evaluation and demonstration

activities prime sponsors are able to deliver.
- 126 -

g. The CIP experience will suggest the effectiveness of the alternative education approach and whether it can be replicated. The results will be mainly focused on operational effectiveness.

h. The Job Corps Educational Improvement Effort will yield some early evidence about the impacts of different approaches on educational gain rates, dropout rates, and attitudes toward an education.

Time Period 3.

a. The malts )f the Educational Voucher experiment will -;t1:: slt whether this is an effective way to enric follow through on work experience

progralh_

b. Over the long-run, the effectiveness of

alternative schools will be tested. The inclusion of deliverers other than OIC in CIP will indicate whether deliverers can also be varied. There will be an attempt to compare these nationally supported efforts with those developed locally under YETP.

c. The Citizen Participation demonstration will be compared with regular placement services and with the job search skills approach in order to determine the best way to secure jobs for

youths.

d. There can be comprehensive evaluations of the

relative effectiveness of prime sponsors in knowledge development activities, of nonprofit intermediaries in research and of prime sponsor, CBOs and Indian groupsin managing Job Corps

centers.

e. The effectiveness of the military, junior college, industry work experience and other new program options in the Job Corps can be

assessed relative to the cost-effectiveness of regular operations.

f. The various community improvement approaches and delivery agents used under the railraod projects, public housing based effects, direct federal - CDC neighborhood improvements, the rural aged/ youth project and the low-head dam effort will be compared in terms of costs, feasibility and impacts on enrollees and the communities.
- 127 -

g. The Job Corps Educational Improvement Effort

will determine the longer-term impacts of

different education approaches on education

gains and future employability.

h. Comparisons between urban and rural community

youth service experiments will aid in

determining whether different approaches are

necessitated by differing conditions in rural

areas.

i. A variety of entrepreneurship approaches will

be tes':ed ranairg from the large scale

Corporation for Youth Enterprises to smaller

Projects under the Private Sector Initiatives

as well as otner school-based projects under

the Exemplary In-School Grant program. The

effectiveness of the overall concept, as well

as the alternative approaches and the feasibility

of different business ventures will be tested.

Issue 6. Longer term benefits to employment and training

programs for youth -

Time Period 1.

a. A comprehensive evaluation of Job Corps based

upon a 6-month follow-up of participants will

yield a good picture of the success of

participants and the important factors.

b. The theoretical studies concerning long-term

follow-up and choice of control groups will be

assessed in the papers presented in the

Conference on Employment Statistics and Youth.

Time Period 2.

The impact measures for in-program benefits

in the different demonstrations will be compared

to the follow-up results to determine whether

there is a correlat.on and to make a validity

check on the projection of long-term effects by

short-term impacts.

Time Period 3.

a. The NLS will have a variety of questions about

program participation -- much more detailed

than the previous National Longitudinal survey.

It will also be focused on economically disadvantaged youth so that a large population
- 128 -

will be participants. This should yield as good information as is possible about the

impact of government interventions.

b. The relatively untapped data from the survey of the class of 1972 will be examined to determine whether in-school activities, includ- ing participation in employment and training

programs, have made a difference over the longer

run. This will yield a four-year follow-up.

c. The CLMS will have a 12-month follow-up of youth who participate in YETP and YCCIP. The questionnaire is being expanded to yield more

information about participants and their attitudes. It should be possible from this data to time

the motivation prcess and the correlation

between changes in attitudes and behavior and the outcomes.

d. The Entitlement cohort will be followed for

an extended period if feasinle to determine

the long-range impacts of job guarantees and

increased school completion.

Issue 7. Performance measures and participant characteristics i.e. how to measure impacts and how to identify

different subgroups -- Time Period 1.

a. Attempts will be made to standardize some

questions on the CLMS and the NLS, as well as in the survey instruments used in other demonstrations, so that in the future the findings can be integrated.

b. A survey of noneconomics impact measures has been completed and applied to Job Corps.

c. The CLMS has been supplemented to provide

increased characteristic information as well

as more refined impact information.

d. The pre-test of the NLS questionnaire will be examined to d_termine significant differences

between subgroups which need to be further

explored.
- 129 -

Time Period 2.

a. Simple measures of dropout likelihood will

be developed for the SPEDY dropout prevention

demonstration. They will be applied to assess

results.

b. The Job Corps EIE will seek to identify

potential early terminees in order to give

them extra assistance. A matrix will be

developed for predicting success in Job Corps.

c. A range of alternate measures will be developed

and tested which can be used by prime sponsors

in assessing local youth program performance.

The purpose will be to simplify the tests which

already exist.

d. The CLMS will yield evidence about the

characteristics of youth who succeed and who

do not. Most of the information in this

period will be early termination finding*.

e. A simplified tool for valuing the supply price

of work output will be developed for prime sponsor

use.

Time Period 3.

a. A set of simple potential impact measurement

tools will be recommended for prime sponsors

for the regular programs. Technical assistance

materials will be developed for more sophisticated

local knowledge development efforts.

b. The NLS will help isolate the factors contributing

to successful employability development.

c. It will be determined in the case of Job Corps

and SPEDY whether special preventative efforts

pay off for eligible youth spotted as having

particular problems.

Issue 8. Costs and potentials of fully employing youth --

Time Period 1.

a. The early Entitlement progress can be compared

with universe of need levels estimated in the

Entitlement applications, as well as with previous

program funding levels in the designated areas,

to get a preliminary indication of the expansion

which is possible for in-school programs. This

total must be considered a minimum because it
- 130 -

is likely that the utilization rate of the grantee will increase with time.

b. The results of the Conference on Employment Statistics and Youth assess from a theoretical perspective the issues raised in measuring unemployment and estimating the universe of need for programs.

c. A theoretical analysis based on gross-flow data will estimate employment impacts. The parameters in the simulation model will be more exactly specified as program experience increases.

Time Period 2.

a. The data system for all ETA programs will be carefully examined to determine double-counting interprogram transfers, and actual expenditures and service years for youth. This information is essential in estimating well as likely present impacts as

future impacts. Evidence indicates that estimates based on participants comments grossly overstate the level of services for youth.

b. Available data for fiscal 1977 and 1978 will be used to examine the substitution issue to determine whether youth are continuing to be served under other segments of CETA.

c. The Entitlement program experience will be assessed to suggest the number of jobs needed to guarantee employment and the estimated costs. The data by the end of the

to make fairly

period should be accurate enough detailed estimates.

d. The combination of Entitlement and Youth Community Service in Syracuse, N.Y., should indicate the effects of guaranteeing jobs for both in-school and out-of-school youth.

Time Period 3.

a. Once the Entitlement experiment has run its course, there should be a very accurate estimate of the uptake rate over time and the impacts on local labor markets, i.e., whether the job guarantee approach a feasible policy option.
- 131 -

b. The Youth Community Service in rural areas

will suggest the feasibility of the same concept

in an area where there is not a developed social

infrastructure.

c. The public housing demonstration will test the

job guarantee concept within specific housing

projects in order to determine how much youth

really want to work.

d. The job search demonstration should help to

determine the reasons youth accept or do not

accept jobs, and will help distinguish between

frictional and structural unemployment.

Issue 9. Private sector involvement and impacts --

Time Period 1.

a. Concept papers, research designs and initial

contracting will be developed for a coordinated

set of tests of various private sector initiatives.

There will be no results in this period although

the background papers will be available.

b. The participation levels of private sector

employers in the Entitlement program where full

wage reimbursement is allowable will be assessed

including characteristics of jobs.

c. The summer VEP's program--both national and

locally directed components --will be tested

relative to SPEDY in order to determine whether

there are significant impacts justifying the

costs of working with the private sector.

d. Labor union operated programs, particularly

those under YCCIP, will be evaluated to determine

the impacts on youth and to develop program

models.

Time Period 2.

a. The survey of employer attitudes towards youth

should be completed to determine impediments to

employment in the private sector and how they

have changed.
- 132 -

b. There will be more experience with Entitlement participants who are in both private sector and public sector jobs. Dropout rates, job changing and other impacts can be examined.

c. The effectiveness of Private Industry Councils in serving youth will be monitored.

d. The process evaluation of the first-round in- school apprenticeship program should be completed.

e. Under the exemplary in-school grant program, there will be a developed concept paper on private sector involvement with schools and education. The preliminary results of the incentive grants can be assessed, particularly the in-program benefits.

Time Period 3.

a. There will be structured assessments of (1) alternative types of pre-employment services leading to private sector employment, (2) entrepreneurship approaches, (3) job restructur- ing, (4) the reduction of transactional cost and risks, and (5) wage subsidy alternatives, under the private sector initiatives The social bonus demonstration. concept is among the wage subsidy notions to be tested.

b. Under the exemplary in-school grant program, both youth entrepreneurship and private sector involvement will be tested. For each there will be a set of demonstration projects with shared evaluation designs.

c. The Entitlement program results will yield evidence on what happened over the long-run to youth employed in the public and private sectors.

d. The public sector/private sector demonstration will indicate whether randomly assigned youth do much better in the private sector according to entry/exit tests and short duration followups.

e. The Corporation for Youth Enterprise will test the concept of entrepreneurship where there is substantial funding and technical assistance for large scale enterprises. The results of the in-school youth involvement demonstration will be fully

of this approachassessed to determine the validity on a smaller scale.
- 133 -

f. The Public Information Demonstration will test

whether youth employment can be stimulated by

providing better information and seeking to

market youth and youth programs. In particular,

the usage of tax credits in demonstration sites

can be explored.

g. The job restructuring demonstration will provide

another perspective on the question of the

potential impact of job redesign on the total

number of jobs for youth in any given labor

market.

Issue 10. Enrollment mix in employment and training programs --

Time Period 1.

a. Targeting under the four YEDPA programs will

be carefully assessed in the process evaluations

of these programs.

b. End-of-year reports on mixed income experiments

developed by prime sponsors will yield some

early indications whether disadvantaged youth

benefit from participation alongside the nondisadvantaged.

Time Period 2.

a. A comprehensive evaluation of local mixed income

experiments will yield a more accurate fix on

those which are actually of a scale to provide

dependable policy conclusions.

b. The impact of the ACT junior and community

college program on center operations in terms

of its draw on the leadership cohort will be

assessed. It will also as7ess whether economically

disadvantaged Job Corps participants can "make

it" in the college setting.

c. Job Corps evaluations of outcome based on racial,

demographic and other factors in Centers will

yield some indications of the effects of mixing.

The results of the enrollee survey may also be

used in this regard.

153
- 134 -

d. The dispersed site vs project demcnstration or SPEDY will determine whether youth wc-.:K in groups than in one-to-one assignmcnt.4 in which they usually interact more with

e. The assessment of characteristics of youth from different income cohorts will suggest in theory whether there are any likely

ing from less differences result- restrictive eligibility requirements other than expansion in the defined of need. universe

Time Period 3. a. The large-scale, nationally-directed mixed income experiments will indicate whether there are any substantial benefits to disdavantaged youth from integration with the nondisadvantaged. of the experimental The size

and control groups, as well as the rigor of the evaluation, should yield quite dependable results.

b. The supported work demonstration will carefully test whether youth with special needs benefit more from assignments under adults, from participation in supported work crews with adults and youth,

alone. or from work on youth crews

c. whether youth

The aged/youth joint service project will indicate benefit from a close interaction with older workers.

d. The Public Housing Demonstration will also test whether youth benefit more from working with adults or in youth crews.

Issue 11. Increasing the duration of employment and Training interventions and testing their benefits and costs --

Time Period 1.

a. Most of the demonstration projects related to this issue required extensive design. Only this developmental work could be completed in fiscal 1978.

b. A preliminary evaluation of the Job Corps Advanced Career Training Program in Junior and Community Colleges will be completed indicating whether corpsmembers will be able to continue on to get a diploma. The results will include only the first half year in the
- 135 -

program, but this suggest the practicality of

the idea.

Time Period 2.

The demonstration projects with a long-term

focus will be implemented. Startup experience

ana e,rly participant experience may suggest

wheLLer the approaches make sense. Detailed

program descriptions can be provided but little

more.

Time Period 3.

a. The Job Corps advanced programs can all be

assessed in terms of whether the extra investment

and longer treatment is warranted by the increased

employment and earnings over the long-run. The

advanced programs include the ACT junior and

community college effort, an advanced automotive

training program organized by UAW, the petroleum

industry advanced training program, another in

maritime skills, and finally, the military program

which seeks to help youth who would otherwise be

rejected from the military and to also direct

them toward better career tracks within the

military.

b. The Career Ladder program will test whether Job

Corps participants can complete a 2-year cycle

of training and employment with guaranteed jobs

as computer customer engineers at thp end of the road.

It will also follow up to determine long-run

impact on employment and earnings.

c. The incentive grant program for post-secondary

institutions will suggest whether they can

encourage economically disadvantaged youth to

participate in remedial efforts and then to

continue on to jet an Associate Arts or even

more advanced degree.

d. Upward Bound in Business will test whether

economically disadvantaged youth can be "adopted"

by businesses and given a structured progression

of education and work assignments which will

lead over time to guaranteed, high-paying jobs

with career potential. It will be 1981 before

the first round of participants complete the 2-

year program and several years after that before

it can be determined whether they have advanced

on a new career track.
- 136 -

e. The Educational Entitlement Voucher demonstration results will determine whether short-term

interventions in work experience programs can serve as a basis for increased education and subsequently increase employment and earnings.

f. The extension of the Entitlement program in existing sites should allow certain youth to be entitled from age 16 through age 19. In doing so, it will be important to try to build in some in-program progressions. It can then be determined whether it is beneficial to have this continuity of treatment.

g. The National Longitudinal Survey with its more detailed questions on program participation should provide a better tracking on the inter- action of programs over time since many economically disadvantaged youth experience multiple participation.

h. The Second Chance Demonstration will work with youth who would otherwise have dropped out of employment and training.programs, again trying to increase the duration of treatment.

Issue 12. Age and appropriate intervention stratgies

Time Period 1.

a. The surveys of past research, evaluation and demonstration findings will suggest the types of intervention needed for youths of different ages.

b. The economic and noneconomic impact studies of Job Corps will provide some indicatic. of comparative performance of young persons.

c. The entry/exit measures applied to summer participants will be used to assess the impacts of serving 14- and 15-year-olds.

Time Period 2.

a. Performance in Job Corps will be assessed for youths of different ages in order to determine

whether 16 and 17 year olds can be served in a cost effective fashion.
- 137 -

Time Period 3.

a. The comprehensive evaluation of the summer program

will examine the comparative impacts on youths

of different ages.

b. The comprehensive evaluation of YACC will look

at the comparative impacts on youths of different

ages.

c. In each of the demonstration programs, an

attempt will be made to distinguish between

the impacts on 16 and 17 year olds vs 18 and

19 year olds.

d. In the runaway youth and juvenile delinquency

demonstrations there will be specially structured

tests of the impacts of different interventions

for youths of different ages.

e. The Entitlement program will yield information

about the dropout rates and inprogram benefits

for youths of different ages.

f. The CLMS will permit calculations about the

comparative impacts of interventions for youth

who are age 16 and 17 vs those who are age 18

and 19 or 20 and 21.

3sue 13. Integration of youth programs --

Time Period 1.

a. The process evaluations and reviews of plans for

YETP and YCCIP will indicate how well these

new programs are coordinated with existing

CETA programs for youth including the summer

component.

b. The overlap of SPEDY and the other year-round

programs will be determined for the first time

from data added to the MIS.

Time Period 2.

a. The evaluation of local data systems will seek

to determine the extent to which youth are

moved from one program to another and the ways

in which they are counted.

b. The implementation of the year-round youth

grants will occur. The process evaluation of

the planning cycle w' 1 indicate the changes

that result in the design of the programs.
- 138 -

c. The year-round VEPs will be implemented. The process evaluation will suggest what can be achieved for youth and for program operations.

d. The extent of referrals into Job Corps from CETA prime sponsors can be monitored from YETP plans and performance relative to those plans.

Time Period 3.

a. It will take a full year's operation under a consolidated youth grant to determine the impacts. The results will not fully be known until legislative decisions are made in late 1979 or early 1980.

b. The results of the enriched YACC program, particularly the transition services linkages with ES and CETA, will indicate whether this aspect of the program can be improved.

c. The results of the year-round VEPs will be documented.

d. The Job Corps youth service center concept will be assessed on a demonstration basis.

Issue 14. Problems and approaches for serving significant segments of the youth population -- Time Period 1.

a. A conference on "Young Women and Employment: What We Know and Need to Know About the School- to-Work Transition" was sponsored in July 1978 providing background information on this significant segment.

b. The results of the summer demonstration VEPs effort focused on offenders, females and handi- capped youth will be assessed in Thy National Longitudinal Survey pretest in comparison with regular SPEDY and VEPs activities. A process evaluation by HRDI and NAB will note the special problems and potentials in dealing with these significant segments.
- 139 -

d. A study of women in Job Corps has been completed.

e. The National Longitudinal Survey pretest

will yield evidence about the comparative

problems of the different subsets of the

youth population.

Time Period 2.

a. A set of studies on the special needs of

Hispanic youth will be completed by La Raza

and a conference will be held on the subject.

b. A comprehensive reach agenda on the problems

of black youth and the effectiveness of

alternative approaches will be completed by

the National Bureau of Economic Research.

c. A research study on employment of handicapped

youth will be completed.

d. The problems of drop-outs will receive special

attention. The short-term outcomes of the

demonstration effort for dropout prevention

in SPEDY 1979 will be available. The background

papers on services to longterm dropouts for

the Exemplary In-School Grants focused on this

subject should be available.

e. A conference will be held on the special needs

of rural youth.

f. The CLMS results should indicate the

importance of programs on the various

significant segments. The first round of

follow-up data will be available.

g. The School-to-Work transition projects will

yield information about various approaches

for serving Hispanics, women and nonwhite

youth. The entry/exit tests will be the

primary source of information.

Time Period 3.

a. The exemplary in-school grant projects for

handicapped youth and long-term dropouts

will yield evidence concerning how they

can best be served in traditional school

settings.
- 140 -

b. The Job Corps Educational Impact Effort focused on the high risk youth will help to determine whether education can be improved within Job Corps for the less gifted youth.

c. The supported work experiment will yield

evidence about the needs of subgroups, particularly offenders and young mothers.

d. The juvenile delinquency, runaway youth, and

"second chance" projects will provide infor- mation about ways to deal with these troubleprone groups.

e. The central city surveys will seek to massively expand information about the activities of youth who are out-of-school and tut-of-work.

f. The National Longitudinal Survey should provide copious information about subsets of the

universe of need, particularly economically

disadvantaged and minority youth.

g. The rural youth service experiment, the aged/ youth project, and the FmHA/CSA/DOL rural

housing project will all be designed to provide information about the special needs of these

groups.

h. Knowledge development activities connected with the Indian and migrant youth programs should

provide information about how to best deal with these groups.

Issue 15. Translating findings into policy and practice -- Time Period 1.

a. The lessons of past programs will be crucial

to determine what is known about what works

best for whom. These will be assessed in a

monograph.

b. The impacts of new legislative directions

under YCCIP and YETP such as the education

linkages will be assessed by process

evaluations to demonstrate where changes are occurring and the factors in this process.

c. The ongoing studies of the work-education

councils indicate ways in which linkages

are established and the viability of the

new approaches.

1,;5
141 -

d. The replication process for a "model"

community improvement project followed

under the VICI demonstration will be

assessed to determine the feasibility of

replicating model programs.

e. The impact of competitions as an incentive

device for generating and recognizing new

ideas will be assessed under the process

evaluation.

f. There will be a knowledge development

conference to assess and further refine this

format and to set the stage for more

sophisticated analysis.

g. There will be a conference on SPEDY to

disseminate infcrmation about model programs

approaches as well as the findings of research

studies.

Time Period 2.

a. Under the Exemplary in-school grant program,

there will be ethnographic evaluations of the

innovation process to determine how and whether

new ide 3 catch hold.

b. When funding for some work-education councils

ceases, it can be determined whether the idea

of federal germination actually works in terms

of creating viable institutions which will be

supported by local resources. Likewise, the

effort to replicate this notion through shared

experiences will be assessed.

c. The VICI replication process will be monitored

on a continuing basis to determine how many of

the funded projects really end up to be models.

d. The knowledge development activities will be

described in a more comprehensive fashion and

the potential lessons spelled out in more

detail for use by interested outsiders.

e. There will be an assessment of the effectiveness

of nonprofit intermediaries in gathering and disseminating information.
- 142 -

f. Conferences will be held for prime sponsors dealing with private sector involvement, knowledge development and other subjects to spread information about what is learned.

g. The process evaluations of YETP and YCCIP will examine the institutional change effects of

local knowledge development efforts as well as nationally distributed materials.

h. The change process in the linkages between the education and employment and training

system will be assessed under contracts

developed jointly with HEW and under the

exemplary in-school grant program.

i. Based upon the findings, a set of policy

recommendations will be developed for legislation. These will be prepared early in calendar year 1980.

Time Period 3.

a. The CIP replication process will be assessed

to determine whether the initial model program can be replicated outside Philadephia by groups other than Olr.C.

b. Because of the unavoidable timing problems, the bulk of the information will come available

beyond 1979. In fiscal 1980, funds will be provided to groups such as the National Commission for Employment and Training Policy and other relatively independent agencies to continue

the assessment of findings whatever decisions

are made concerning the future of the Office of Youth Programs and the demonstration programs.

;sue 16. Learning curves for programs and the use of early

results used to assess effectiveness --

Time Period 1.

a. The process evaluations of YCCIP and YETP will

indicate whether there has been an improvement

in planning processes and program operations

over time. Comparisons of a sample of second year plans may be completed.

b. The YACC program will be assessed to separate

startup costs and experiences from those which reflect expected performance over the lr'ng run.
143 -

une Period 2.

a. The changes in the Entitlement project sites

in the second school year will be monitored and

the progress specified. Likewise, the utilization

rate of the entitlement will be assessed. The

process evaluation will document learning curve

effects.

b. The continuing evaluation of YETP and YCCIP

will add another year's perspective on the

evaluation of these programs. LEA/CETA

agreements in the second year will be assessed

relative to those in the first year.

c. The progress of work-education councils both

with and without government support will be

determined to isolate the long-term viability

of the concept.

d. Ethnographic research on the exemplary in-school

program will trace the learning curve effects in

individual projects.

e. A YACC process evaluation will track the progress

since the initial evaluation.

f. In all fiscal 1978 demonstration grants that are

extended, requirements will be build in for

comparison of subsequent rounds of entrants to

determine how performance improves over time.

rime Period 3.

a. Comparisons of the outcomes for successive

waves of participants in YETP and YCCIP

programs are possible from the CLMS. This

should yield direct evidence of the learning

curve effects.

b. Entitlement results over the long-run will

yield a good fix on the outcomes for successive

waves of participants. Likewise, the process

studies will document the efficiencies which

occur over time as well as the problems which

are encountered.

c. Comparisons of new vs old projects of the same

type will also suggest the learning curve effects.

Under the in-school apprenticeship approach, for

instance, the first wave of projects ha.: one more

year of operations than the second. Unger
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private sector initiatives, established agencies offering pre-employment assistance and transition into the private sector will be expanded and the new sites compared with existing ones . The Career Intern prototype will be compared with the replicated projects.

d. Continuing process evaluations of YETP, YCCIP and YACC will yield indications about how they are changing over time and what can be expected under steady state operations.

e. The learning-curve elements built into the

research of all projects which are extended will yield some evidence about positive and negative trends which occur over time.

f. The performance of new Job Corps centers will be compared with that of existing centers to determine how soon they will achieve comparable operating levels.

The Challenges and Potentials

This matrix of issues, information sources and timeframes is only a preliminary framework for the collection, organization, synthesis and application of the knowledge developed under the youth initiatives. Muny other broad issues may be considered of importance, and each of those specified subsumes numerous others. Careful review of each evaluation, research and demonstration design -- many of which have yet to be formulated -- is necessary before filling out the matrix in greater detail. The timeframes are best guesses based on assumptions about the pace of implementation and the timeliness of reviews and assessments. Knowledge development will and probably should be a continuing and adaptive process, and the framework must be equally flexible.

Even this broad outline,

of the challenge. however, suggest the massiveness There are so many activities with such a broad scope that it is difficult to catalogue and describe the efforts much less to fully exploit and integrate the results. The Department of Labor and particularly the Office of Youth Programs, does not have the capacity to fulfill this agenda of analysis and synthesis. The scale of research, evaluation and demonstration activity initiated under the youth initiatives is greater scveralfold than ongoing efforts in the Department of Labor, and there has been no commensurate expansien in analytic capacity or diminuation in other responsibilities. Moreover, the

1 :5
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Office of Youth Programs is an operating division with

program responsibilities for Job Corps, SPEDY, YETP, YCCIP,

and YACC, YIEPP, as well as the demonstration efforts; it

is not a research or evaluation unit.

Quite clearly, if the potential for knowledge development

is to be realized, there must be an extensive commitment

by congressional agencies such as Congressional Research

Service, GAO and the appropriate committees. Each involved

Federal agency will have to contribute its commitment and

capacity. Interagency coordinating committees must examine

a number of crosscutting issues, while a formal policy review process will be needed to integrate all the results.

Private foundations, research institutions, and groups

such as the National Commission for Employment and Training

Policy also have a major role.

The Office of Youth Programs will aim to provide the building blocks for this integrative analysis by other agents,

assuring that the knowledge development plans are followed,

that each research, evaluation and demonstration activity

is as well designed as possible, that reports are of a

high quality and widely distributed, and that the interrelationships between the elements are well documented.

The Office of Youth Programs will also seek to commission

some elements of integrative analysis, as well as to provide

forums in which national and local knowledge can be

assessed. Finally, OYP will provide major input to the

Vice President's Task Force on Youth Employment as well

as to any policy review memoranda.

A continuing series of reports will be published and

distributed by the Office of Youth Programs as they become

available. In December of 1978 and 1979, there will be

reports to Congress summarizing the process of Job Corps,

SPEDY, and the four YEDPA programs. These reports will

focus on process and impact evaluation findings as well,

providing participant, cost and service data, indicating

model programs as well as programmatic problems.

In March 1979 and 1980, OYP will prepare comprehensive

knowledge development reports including the myriad results from demonstration, research and evaluation

activities while seeking in a preliminary way to inc.r-grate

the findings. As the previous exposition suggests, the

March 1979 report will be limited in content and focus

chiefly on research findings as well as description of

implementation '-sues, since limited impact data wIll be

available by tLis time. The March 1980 report will hopefully be more comprehensive and will marshall as much

information as is available at- that time for administrative

and legislatil 3 consider c
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In the broadest sense, the impact of all this activity on policy at the local and Federal levels will be a test of the potentials of research, evaluation and demonstration

efforts, illustrating what can be learned and what can be applied. It is uncertain and doubtful whether panaceas will be discovered to significantly improve the effectiveness of youth programs. Undoubtedly, startup problems and learning curve effects will obscure many of the findings, as will comparison group and impact measurement shortcomings. Policy will sometimes ignore but will usually have to move ahead of the results. The basic complexity of the iss--s is so great that advancement in knowledge and practice will be incremental and difficulty to identify.

However, given the scale and structuring of this knowledge

development effort, there are also many potentials:

o Unlike the 1960's, the demonstrations will

usually be broad enough to cover a range of

circumstances and provide a sample adequate for

reasonable impact assessment. This will yield better evidence about the potential for and

wisdom of replication.

o Much more will be learned about the potential

scale of youth activities -- how many jobs can be created and how many youth want to work.

o Tne data and informational net will be tightened

in a number of key areas, particularly on issues

concerning motivation, occupational awareness. maturation processes and income alternatives to work. Likewise, program descriptions will be much more specific so as to yield some evidence about different approaches and not

just whole programs. This will improve

future research and assessment.

o Much more will be learned about the state cdf

the art and what is taking place in exii,ting

programs. This will include identificati:J.

of innovative ideas, determination of the

frequency of such approaches, and better

assessment of the no/TA of program performanc,:.

o It should be possible to dismiss certain

approaches as not yielding substantially better

results than alternat;ves, or else beim.),
- 147 -

totally ineffective. It is the announced

intent to Congress and the Administration

to learn what does not work as well as what

does, and failure must be expected, accepted

and identified in the demonstration efforts

so that it will not be necessary to repeat

mistakes in the future.

o The overall benefits of the investm..;:i'7 in

youth should be better understood cvon if the

future impact on employment and ea-..1!ng7 can

be known cnly within a significant margin of

uncertainty. Particularly, the value of the

social product from work experience will be

identified more accurately.

o There should emerge a set of commonsense

rules about dealing with different subgroups

and subproblems so that judgements can be

better made concerning the proper mix and

targeting of youth employment and training

efforts.

o The institutions involved with youth and their

capacity to adjust and change will be better

understood.

o Some attractive new approaches or delivery

packages should emerge which can be further

tested and replicated.

o There should be further guidance 7'ossible

about a broad range of pedestrian issues such

as whether youth should rotated among job

sites, whether they can be taught to utilize

labor market information more effectively,

or tiow supervisors can best be selected and

assigned. The findings, if applied, can

yield some unglamorous but important improvements

in performance.

It is to be hoped that even more will be learned. There

will be a cornucopia of research, evaluation, and demonstration

findings to nurture analysts and policymakers for years

to come. The key is to resolve the most important issues

first as best aS possible, while continuing the search for

greater refinements. Without question, there is a massive

opportunity to improve our understanding of youth employment problems while improving the employment and training

and career development efforts which address them.
COMPLETING THE YOUTH AGENDA:

A PLAN FOR KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT

DISSEMINATION AND APPLICATION FOR

FISCAL 1980

17.3
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OVERVIEW

The Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act (YEDPA) of 1977 provided extensive discretionary au- thority to the Secretary of Labor to develop and improve employment and training approaches for economically dis- advantaged youth. In fiscal 1978 and 1979, the major emphasis was placed on "knowledge development" through a structured array of multisite demonstration projects, large-scale evaluations and coordinated research efforts. The first year's goal was to assess alternative inter- ventions and delivery approaches, focusing on the broad issues needed to legislate more effective youth programs. In the second year, emphasis shifted to more specific issues which needed to be addressed in the administra- tion and improvement of youth programs, exploring the problems of significant segments of the youth population, assessing service components to determine how each could be improved, testing longer-duration interventions, and promoting the integration of youth programs.

The ambitious agenda detailed in the two "Knowledge

Development Plans" for 1978 and 1979 included structured sets of policy questions towards which all research,

demonstration and evaluation activities were directed. An immediate aim was to provide input for the formula- tion of a youth policy for the 1980's. At the end of fiscal 1980, the current authorization for YEDPA programs expires and the Administration is considering major legislative changes. The knowledge developed from the 1978 and 1979 activities is being utilized in this process. But there are longer term aims as well. The les- sons for local programming will be needed no matter what legislation is implemented. Every deliverer needs to know more about how to organize and administer employ- ment and training services for youth. Any comprehensive youth strategy for the 1980's will require a broadened base of involvement among all institutions. A good deal of work is needed to assure that decisionmakers incorporate the lessons learned into their programs at the

Federal, State, and local levels.

Where implementation of the knowledge development

activities was the major goal in the first 2 years of

YEDPA, follow-through, synthesis, dissemination and ap- plication must be the major thrusts in fiscal 1980 and

beyond. First, there are many projects which require continued funding and refinement to realize their
- 149 -

objectives. It is important that judgements be based on

steady-State operations rather than just reflecting learning curve problems; this will require several years of

operations of demonstration programs. Follow-through

and refinements of past projects must be a first priority.

Second, there are still some incomplete agenda

items in the first two knowledge development plans. Some

projects were developed to be implemented and funded in

fiscal 1980. In other cases, parts of projects were

completed but other dimensions remained to be put in place.

Finally, there were some projects initiated in a single

site with the intent of replication, which was targeted

to occur in 1980. These commitments are not as absolute

as those for existing activities, but they should certainly

be given priority before considering any additional efforts.

Third, there are some new initiatives which make

sense in order to improve existing programs, to target

them on significant segments of the youth population, and

to test other delivery approaches.

Fourth, mechanisms must be established to insure the

knowledge developed from these activities is objectively

assessed and factored into policy; there will be a continuing need for analysis and application.

Fifth, if the lessons are to be applied in actual

programs, there will have to be a significant effort to

improve the understanding and competencies of the employment and training system.

Finally, given the scale and complications of the

activities put into place, there must be a built-in

cushion for unforeseen contingencies as well as needs

which arise during 1980 and beyond.
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Commitments for Existing Projects

The first priority must be the support of existing projects of demonstrated

bute to knowledge effectiveness which can contridevelopment and institutional change by their continuation. The following projects initiated in 1978 and 1979 are more fully described in the knowledge development plans for each year as well as in project descriptions available from the Office of Youth Programs. Only those projects with 1980 requirements are listed.

1. Ventures in Community Improvement - These nine projects testing a community-improvement model which emphasizes extensive linkages and superviiion ate in the summer will termin- of 1980.

be needed to Approximately $500,000 will complete the research to determine the impact relative to more conventional YCCIP projects as well as other demonstration efforts.

2. Low-Head Dam Project - This prototype in a single site provides a model of how a low-head dam can be restored for recreation use and converted for electrical production through a comprehensive work and training project. Approximately $500,000 will be required for completion of the prototype project, which is also recommended for replication in fiscal 1980.

3. Watts Youth Employment and Community Improvement Demonstration - This large-scale, multi-year demonstratfon tests the notion of an integrated, multi-dimensioned set of improvement efforts which will affect a range of career ladder opportunities. It also seeks to demonstrate that year-round projects can effectively provide a base for surged summer employment. The project carried a commit- ment to continue funding in 1980 assuming availability. The additional cost will be $1.75 million.

4. Exemplary In-School Youth Program Demonstration - Selected projects funded in fiscal 1978 and 1979 will be continued through the 1980 school year. Operating support for Youthwork will also be continued through the period of the new round of grants. The cost of these two combined is an estimated $5.0 million.

5. Rural Youth Occupational Information and Prepara- tion Demonstration Project - This project tests the feasi- bility of 'basic life skills training developed for rural disadvantaged youth and delivered by mobile vans. It will be extended through fiscal 1980 at a cost of $300,000.
- 151 -

6. Private Sector Initiatives Demonstration - The

various projects which ave a rea y been started will be

continued through fiscal 1980. Administrative and research efforts will continue through 1981. The cost is

estimated to be $2.3 million. In addition, a set of

mandated wage subsidy experiments will be launched early

in 1980.

7. Youth Career Development for School to Work

Transition - This coordinated set of school to work transition projects will be continued through the 1979-80

school year and summer, although the less effective local

projects will be eliminated. The estimated cost is

$1.8 million in fiscal 1980.

8. Researching Alternative Program Approaches -

This contract with the Educational Testing Service is

for collection and analysis of standardized pre- and posttests and administrative data for most of the demonstration projects. It will be continued through fiscal 1981

with 1980 resources, since this is the linchpin for

knowledge development work. The cost will be $900,000.

9. Youth Community Service Demonstration Project

(ACTION) - This experiment with the national youth service

concept has been extended to include a rural as well as

an urban site. The present schedule calls for operating

through fiscal 1980. The added costs in 1980 are

estimated to be $450,000.

10. Career Intern Program Demonstration - This

alternative education experimental project is operating

in four sites under OIC and has been extended to another

site by SER. The entire project will be continued through

the 1980-81 school year. The fiscal 1980 costs for the

five sites will be $4.2 million.

11. National Occupational Informa:_ion Coordinating

Committee Demonstration Project - Youth resources were

EiRiafor $3 million in 1978 and $5 million in 1979 to

support Federal and State activities to impro'e occupational information. There is a continuing commitment

for the latter level of funding in order to support

replication of computerized occupational information

systems. In addition, an experiment was initiated in
- 152 -

fiscal 1978 to saturate disadvantaged youth with labor market information

make in future to determine the difference this would

needs and the

employability. These are extra research experiment will be extended to a Hispanic site. The cost is estimated to be $600,000.

12. Youth Enterprises

project to create Demonstration Project - This

large-scale youth owned and operated enterprises in four areas has a phased expansion If the projects schedule. operate effectively and are implemented on schedule, there will need to be $1.5 million in fund- ing for fiscal 1980.

13. Youth Initiatives in Apprenticeship Demonstration Project - This

youth in demonstration seeks to register high school

by the Bureau of

pre-apprenticeship arrangements. Projects funded

1979, as well Apprenticeship and Training in 1978 and as thoTe added with OYP funding, will be continued through the 1979-80 school year and summer if they are performing

$1.7 million.

effectively. The estimated cost is

year

14. National Lon ve(NLS) - This multirich information longilortayouth will yield about the problems of economically dis- advantaged young persons and the impact of various interests. This is a multi-year commitment with a cost in fiscal 1980 of $3.2 million.

15. irwvonentProect - Voluntary youth ser.zaimialudhsBoysT Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the like serve 30 million youth annually. Based on a technical assistance grant with the National Collaboration for Youth, strategy was developed for the involvement of these agencies on a large scale. In fiscal 1979, a planning grant was riven to refine the procedures and approaches for one of the agencies. The cost for completion of the project will be $400,000 in fisc,." 1979.

16.

and YETP mLon'pithdinalManmr This survey of YCCIP an ETP participants is the major instrument for assessing ser- vices and components

will be continued under formula-funded programs. It in fiscal 1980. The cost is $1.2 million.
- 153 -

17. Youth Supported Work Demonstration Project - In

fiscal 1979, the Office of Youth Programs shared in the

costs of continuing the supported work experiment in order

to learn more about the effect of this approach. In

fiscal 1980, the share will again be $3.5 million.

18. Jobs for Delaware Graduates - This project

provides career information, counseling and placement on

a statewide basis through a nonprofit corporation. It

will operate through the 1979-90 school year with followup services. If it is successful, operations for another

school year will be supported. The projected cost is

$2.0 million.

19. Youth Discretionary Project Feedback Demonstration Project - This is a mechanism for securing expert

assistance in reviewing progress of existing projects.

It will be continued through fiscal 1981. The cost is

estimated to be $400,000.

20. Knowledge Development Retrieval Project - This

project helps review, synthesize and crossfertilize

knowledge development reports and results. This is a

crucial mechanism for integration and dissemination of

information to concerned parties. It will be c ntinued

through fiscal 1981 at a cost of $500,000.

21. Vocational Exploration Demonstration Project -

Phis 16-site demonstration project tests alternate

approaches of varying duration for vocational exploration

in the private sector. The research for the summer component of 1979 could not be fully implemented. The

summer component will, therefore, be repeated in fiscal

1980. The cost is estimated to be $2.3 million.

22. Advanced Training Employment Demonstration

Project - This private sector project provides advanced

training g to Job Corpsmembers in computer customer engineering and guarantees placement in career jobs. The cost

for completion of the project is $1.36 million in

discretionary resources plus the Job Corps support for

enrollees.
- 154 -

23. Job Corps Education Improvement Effort - This large-scale random assignment experiment with alternate ir,structional methodologies includes pre/post and follow-up testing. A continuation of the experiment will permit assessment of the "learning curve" and "Hawthorne" effects under the different education systems. The cost in fiscal 1980 is $250,000.
- 155 -

Extension, Replication, and Follow-Through

The previous list of commitments involves those

projects where contracts and operations are already underway in fiscal 1978 and 1979. The following list includes

initiatives which will commence in 1980 based on development in the two previous years. The projects are described

in some detail, since there is a degree of flexibility in

the implementation decision as well as the design and

scale of the projects.

1. Low-Head Dam Pro'ect - About 50,000 low-head

dams exist in t the Unite States, many of which are used to

produce or have potential for producing electricity. During an era of chetp energy and rising labor costs, much

of the electrical production of such dams was abandoned.

Rising energy costs may now make improvement of such dams

in preparation for energy production economically feasible. Small dams offer other advantages as communityimprovement projects and as sources of youth employment.

They are often located in the heaztof older cities, and

their rehabilitation can help to conserve older neighborhoods. Deterioration has frequently created hazardous

conditions. Redevelopment can create recreational

opportunities.

The projects also provide exciting employment and

training opportunities. Much of the labor involved in

site rehabilitation can be carried out by low skill

youth. Substantial potential exists for training youth

in technical areas related to hydroelectric installment

while on the job. Because of the growing interest in

such projects, skills learned in such work may be highly

valuable to individuals for many years.

A model program was developed in Wayne County to

convert a dam to produce electricity, while providing

substantial employment and training opportunities for

youth. This could be replicated in four sites with discretionary contributions, and perhaps more if local matching could be secured. The estimated cost is $7 million

for projects and $.8 million for administration, evaluation and technical assistance. .Funds for equipment would

be provided through interagency agreement with the

1o,
- 156 -

Department of Energy. A replication package has been prepared, and several hundred potential sites have been

early in fiscal

identified and pre-screened. These would be notified 1980 to determine interest in a cost- sharing approach.

2. Cooperative Youth

Energy cor.iervation Weatherization Demonstration - zation of low-incomeprograms, particularly for the weatherihousing, have not achieved their full potential due to the lack of

tion and administration. coordination, organizaThe labor to install tion must be funded weatheriza- from CETA. The Department of Energy

must be administered

controls the materials money. The projects, by law, by community action agencies.

The Coeperative Youth Weatherization Demonstration (CYWD) wc-ld crelte and support State level intermediary corporations to link youth employment and energy con- serva,..ion efforts. This concept was approved in the 1979 Knowledge Development Plan and the conceptual work was completed in fiscal 1979.

The intent and purpose of CYWD is to fully implement, at the State and local levels, comprehensive weatheriza- tion services to low-income households by insuring a com- prehensive and coordinated implementation linking DOE's weatherization program with the youth employment and train- ing activities sponsored by DOL as well as the delivery dfforts of CSA.

The objective of the demonstration would be to provide skill training and work experience to youth in a range of manufacturing, assessment (energy audits), installation, consumer education and related services. These efforts would focus on reducing the energy costs for low-income homeowners and renters while providing career ladder job/skill progression and eventual place- ment for youth enrollees. The aim would be to organize work ona larger scale, with more careful planning, and a greater emphasis on mechanization and training than in existing weatherization efforts.
- 157 -

The CYWD would support two large-scale, long-term

statewide projects which would employ significant numbers

of young adults in activities offering a progression of

career learning experiences. Fully funded, the demonstration would provide career-oriented employment opportunities

for several hundred loung adults annually in each State.

This demonstration would be organized and administered

through newly created State intermediate o:ganizations.

In each State the demonstration would establish a nonpro.it

organization governed by a board of directors consisting of

representatives from the State's local community action

agencies and other approved deliverers of weatherization

resources. In addition, an advisory board would be

established including representatives of the State Energy

Offices, prime sponsors and the Private Industry Council (PIC).

These intermediaries would be recognized as LimiteJ

pose Agencies by CSA and would be eligible to condw.

weatherization work.

The State intermediary would subcontract with com4 ity

action agencies and local LPA's, as well as with training

agencies. The corporation might also recieve CETA loca)

training funds.

The intermediate would be a mechanism for better

organization, training and mechanization. Not only would

insulation techniques be upgraded, but heating plants

made more efficient. The corporation would also warehouse

materials, do large-scale purchasing, utilize factory

construction techniques, conduct energy audits, provide

consumer education and coordinate emergency energy

assistance. In addition to weatherizing the homes of lowincome families, public properties would also he upgraded

such as public housing, institutional facilities and

schools. Thus, public funds could be saved kror reduced

energy bills and statewide planning and coordinatt:in would

lead to efficient large-scale efforts

The CYWD would be developed un.-',c.r an interagency

agreement between the Departments of Labor ax,d Energy as

well as the CSA, with parallel agre.y.lents at ale State

levels. The projects would be provided implementation

grants and then Department of Labor funds for workers. The

2-year costs of each of the projects would be $3 million
in Labor funds and $1 millior in matching where CSA funds, with State possible and weatherization materials money as needed.

3. Exemplary High-Risk Youth In7fA1102121291212Lf2111Ang12AaRgARcl - Tkw.E)1M-=SahocDercernparyIrnonStrati.oii Projects seek to overcome the barriers

work through the between school and funding of projects tions of schooling that involve combina- and employment

promote cooperation and training, and that

training systems

between education and employment and at the local level.

There are currently

four focus 58 projects across the Nation in areas: Guidance, counseling, and job-seeking skills; academic credit for work experiences; expanded private sector

operated projects. involvement, and job creation through youthNew grants will be awarded through a nationwide competition which seeks to identify local projects that represent exemplary approaches in two key focus aioas: Education and training of handicapped young people; and education and training of high-risk youth -- i.e., young people with especially poor long-term employment prospects.

The competition will seek to select projects that are exemplary or distinctive, reflect collaboration between local education and employment and training instL- tutions, are well planned and organized, and provide for careful assessment of results.

The grants in each of the focus areas will be integrated into a national knowledge development plan. Young people will benefit immediately through the work and services that are generated and, over the long run, from the lessons learned on how to improve in-school and school-related programs for handicapped and high-risk young people.

A total of $8.0 million has been committed for this purpose in fiscal 1980.
- 159 -

4. Private Sector Initiatives - Both the 1978 and 1979

Knowledge Develcpment Plans included authorization for

structured experiments with alternate reimbursement mechanisms

for private sector employers of economically disadvantaged

youth. YEDPA calls for tests of voucher approaches, the

social bonus and the 100 percent wage subsidy under Entitlement.

The questions are basic, what subsidy level is required to

induce private sector firms to hire economically disadvantaged

youth? Which reimbursement mechanism would be most effective,

considering variations in duration of subsidy, the degree of

red tape, the timing of the payment and the performance

requirement? What firms are likely to respond to such

mechanisms and how can they best be involved and alerted?

What will be the impacts on net hiring, displacement, wage levels

and the like? Will youth benefit and will they secure

permanent jobs in the private sector? Can these mechanisms

work in slack as well as tight labor markets?

The simplicity of these questions is only matched by

the difficulty of answering them. In fiscal 1979, there

were three parallel efforts to design a wage subsidy

alternative experiment, These opened as many issues

as they resolved. The difficulties of experimentation

on this issue include the problem of gaining cooperation

from private sector firms and the selection bias that

results, the lack of control over their participation,

the problem of distinguishing between Hawt ,,rne or

implementation effects and lasting ones, the inherent

complexity of measuring displacement and substitution

issues, and the availability of the Targeted Jobs Tax

Credit and other options which cloud the impact of any

experimental intervention. It is clear from the preliminary work that "scientifically pure," random assignment

experiments will not be possible and that it will be

necessary to piece together a range of information to

address the key questions.

The demonstrations and research developed in 1979

will be of some help, particularly the private/public

sector demonstration, the nationwide employer survey, the

demand side ethnographic analysis of central city problems and most critically, the study of the Entitlement

experience with 100 percent wage subsidies. However, a

further set of detailed projects will be required along

the following lines:
- 160 -

a. Two industries with relative functions and standard production high-youth

sites for alternative employment would be used as test

subsidy approaches. would include fast The industries food and retail.

the franchiser Under agreement with or the firm, different

subsidies would levels and types 0' be applied in

effects Compared. certain outlets and the

b. A simulated

stratified sample study would be conducted with a of businesses

siveness to different to determine the responThis survey hiring subsidies and approaches. would be the basis for selecting firms to participate in the third portion of the effort.

c. There would be four "simulated" would be offered economies which

and the effects alternate subsidy levels and formulations tracked on employment.

d. Ten prime sponsors would be allowed social bonus to offer the or voucher as one option for private participation under sector PSIP. Funds would be provided to cover any of these which

10 matched sites were utilized. There would be

private sector

where this tool was not provided. The

would meet the

involvement would, then, be compared. This

not test displacement requirements of the legislation. It would

attraction and effects and the like but rather the application of the The simulated subsidy mechanisms. economy and industry

the more detailed approaches would cover questions.

e. The Entitlement projects in several be modified sites would to focus job

samples of prime development efforts on stratified

sponsors utilizing different approaches. subsidy The take-up with the rate would, then, be compared along employment experience of Entitlement youth.

A best estimate is that the 1980 cost would be $6.0 million for research and

There would be for subsidies to firms. continuing costs in 1981.

Additionally, a subject area which has not been adequately explored is job retention As an additional i::, the private sector. subject area, there would be an experiment with ways to improve job retention. These would include
- 161 -

bonuses for length of stay upon placement as well as

follow-up counseling with employers and youth. The

experiment in several sites with different mixes of service would cost appioximately $500,000.

5. Volunteer Youth Agency Involvement Project -

Voluntary youth serving agencies--Boys' Clubs, Boy Scouts,

Camp Fire Girls, 4-H, Future Homemakers, Girls' Clubs,

Girl Scouts, Settlement and Neighborhood Centers, Red

Cross, the YMCA and YWCA and Runaway Houses--can and

should play a much more significant role in employment and

training efforts for youth.

Under this demonstration, $9 million would be provided in fiscal 1980. The funds would be distributed

through a competitive process within each agency to select

the best projects. The competition would be a means in

itself to promote interest and to better assess the ideas

and'alternative approaches within the system. A core

administrative structure would be supported by national

organizations of the member agencies to promote and broker

involvement with CETA as well as to select and oversee

these projects and to provide cross-cutting technical

assistance. The Department of Labor would set the broad

parameters for the grants and the competitive process,

and would require the involvement of prime sponsors in

any funded projects.

The grants would focus primarily on service approaches

where allowances or wages would not usually be paid. The

activity areas would include the following:

Placement assistance including job search

assistance, odd-job brokering, job fairs and job

development.

Career education and vocational explm.ation

programs of varying degrees of intensity.

Peer and adult one-on-one support, particularly

with an employment orientation.

Pre-employment assistance and motivational

efforts to teach youth labor market demands and more.
- 162 -

Basic life skills classes.

Limited-scale entrepreneurship projects

Supportive services

CETA programs. for participants in regular

Follow-up assistance for youth placed in jobs.

offenders.

Counseling and support programs for juvenile

Efforts to overcome sex-stereotyping.

Language skills and

youth with limited acculturation training for English speaking ability.

Employment assistance, services for counseling and supportive young mothers.

This demonstration

selection would run for 2 years. The process would occur

The grants would over the first 5 months.

for operation. run for 15 months, 3 for startup and 12 The models would then be disseminated use in competing for for local funds on a continuing basis.

6. Consolidated Youth

The Youth Employment Employment Program MTEP) - and Demonstration two new youth Projects Act created

programs operated by prime sponsors in addition to the Summer Youth Employment Program and youth effort under Title II (where youth

Title II participants). account for half of

It was recognized that these from the outset new categorical age and eligibility programs, with their differing requirements, would planning and delivery. complicate local The new programs were intended as temporary measures to promote change and to provide a basis for the subsequent development of a comprehen- sive and coordinated youth policy.

YEDPA was initially

In the reauthorization authorized for 1 year only. of CETA in 1978, the new programs were extended for 2 more years, but with the clear intent that they would ultimately be consolidated. The administrative provisions of CETA require a plan for
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integration no later than March 1, 1980. To fulfill

this mandate for integration and consolidation, the Office

of Youth Programs has mounted a Consolidated Youth

Employment Program demonstration in nine prime sponsor

areas which will provide a single youth grant which

includes the funds otherwise availabl': under SYEP, YETP,

and YCCIP and this will be coordinated in planning and

delivery with Title II youth expenditures which will be

maintained. The planning for this effort was completed

at the national and prime sponsor level in fiscal 1979.

The design seeks to streamline administrative

requirements, to increase flexibility in planning, to

individualize service delivery, to better track youth

over time, to develop new performance measures for programs and participants, and to better coordinate CETA

youth programs with other youth service efforts.

Under this demonstration, discretionary YETP resources will be substituted for YETP, YCCIP and SYEP

formula grants. Extra costs of modification to meet new

requirements will be covered. The cost in the nine sites

is estimated to be $12 million.

7. Delinquency Prevention Project - The Delinquency

Prevention Project seeks to measure in a rigorous fashion

the impact of three program models on the job placement,

employment retention, earnings, and criminal justice

involvement of "high-risk" youth.

The demonstration will focus on 16-21 year olds,

unemployed, YETP-eligible youth, who are out of school,

and who evidence.prior involvement with the juvenile or

criminal justice systems, or a substantial likelihood for

such involvement in the.future. In each of three sites,

three service models will be made available to eligible

youth: Pull-time work and placement; educational,

training, prevocational, social and placement services;

and a "mixed" model which offers part-time work, a full

range of services, and job placement. During the first

program cycle (1st 6 months), eligible youth will be

assigned to a specific program on the basis of vocational

counselor assessments of the youth's skills, aptitudes

and interests. During the second program cycle, the
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youths will be afforded the opportunity

among the three to choose from

will be implemented program models. All three program models in each of the

dance with a single three sites in accor- set of guidelines, so as to make possible multi-site comparisons.

In order to isolate the effects of the different program strategies, experimental and be randomly control groups will established for each of the sites. program model in each Using standardized

component will instruments, the research measure the placement rate achieved by participants in each

rates for each irogram option, the job retention group, vocational-related skills and attitudes manifested in eat.h program model, the earnings of participants during program

period thereafter, participation and for a and the rates of criminal justice involvement during program participation and for an 8- month followup period after program exit. By comparing the results achieved in Cycle 1 (the first 6-month period) with those

made to isolate the

achieved in Cycle 2, an effort will be effect of providing a choice to the program participants.

The estimated 1980-81 cost of the project, which was developed under a 1979 planning grant

the approved 1979 consistent with Knowledge Development Plan, is $4.3 million.

8. Mixed Income Experiments - YETP services are targeted to youth in families with an income below 85 percent of the lower living standard. However, up to 10 percent of furds are available to test the benefits to disadvantaged youth of participating in projects with youth from more affluent families. The regulations for YETP require there be rigorous experimental designs for any local efforts which provide opportunities for youth about the income cutoff. Roughly 40 prime sponsors implemented mixed income but in most experiments in fiscal 1978,

too small to reach

cases, the sample sizes in these ...fforts were

any dependable conclusions impact on the about the disadvantaged.

using YETP

Structured experiments have., therefore, been planned discretionary authority, In five prima sponsor areas, with preference for those which have initiated their own 10-percent tests, extra funds will be

Lit)
- 165 -

provided for structured experiments employing disadvantaged

youth alongside the nondisadvantaged, and similar youth

in a like component which se,es only income eligibles.

Two of the projects will be for in-school youth and two

for out-of-school youth. The projects will be rigorously

designed and cperated on a scale where impacts can be

assessed. Motivation, job awareness and other tests will

seek to determine the differences at entry related to

family income.

Full developmental work was completed in fiscal 1979

and the projects are ready for implementation in 1980.

The cost is estimated to be $6.0 million.

9. Career Advancement Voucher Demonstration - The

literature on youth unemployment clearly shows that lack

of educational credentials--especially a high school

diploma, but increasingly some post-secondary education- -

limits the entry of youth into primary labor market jobs.

This demonstration project will test whether post-secondary education can be usefully and effectively provided

for CETA participants. The demonstration will focus on

16-21 year old YETP eligible youth who are out-of-school

and those youth currently enrolled in CETA programs who

will not have exceeded 8 months of CETA participation by

September 1, 1979. It will involve random assignment of

youth to college and standard CETA youth programs in a

manner which assures comparability of youth in both

types of experiences. Other research controls will be

utilized to test the relative benefits of alternative

screening procedures for selecting a pool of potential

project participants, use of a voucher for providing

youth with free choice of post-secondary education, and

varying levels of support ser-Lces for project participants. In addition, the six separate demonstration

project sites around the country are to have procedures

similar enough to facilitate multi-site research comparisons.

The cost in 1980 and 1981 for the voucher projects

is estimated to be $3.2 million depending on the utilization rate of the educational vouchers and the success

of participants in college.

10. Job restructuring Demonstration - The potential

of altering demand for young workers was to be tested in

the 1979 Knowledge Development Plan. Arrangements could

not be developed. It is anticipated a project could be
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developed by a community-based organization in fiscal 1980 along the following lines: First, a medium-sized city would be picked with a diversified economy but manageable in dimensions. The private youth (particularly sector demand for

would be assessed economically disadvantaged youth)

identify three

by general sectors of the economy to or four sectors (say

ing) where real estate or bank- young people are rarely

tions. Once these hired in entry posi- target sectors would be meetings were identified, there and interviews with the major in the labor employers market in these

experience with sectors to determine their hiring youth as well as the willingness try out job to restructuring activities. be addressed The issues might through trade and

the like. From this would industry associations ad

come a more detailed of youth hiring assessment patterns in these sectors, the experience with youth previously, the

them, as well reservations about hiring as the identification of a few employers who would participate.

For cooperative employers in each of these sectors, several different types of entry jobs would be developed. These would be filled by youth referred from CETA and either paid by the employer or subsidized credit or with with the tax OJT. The positions would be fine-tuned and the youth tracked to determine whether they stayed in the job and advanced.

Models would be written up of the types of positions Lind how they fit into the employer's production function, including testimonies from employers and an analysis of the costs and

These would be

benefits for the firms hiring the youth. prepared in the form of packages which could be distributed to all employers in these sectors.

There would be a promotiona: ,:ampaign in each of the sectors in the single labor market to determine how many of the restructured jobscould be created. The number could be determined by a head count of employer pledges and follow-throughs.

The final products would be a research report indicating the number of new jobs created over the period and estimates of the potential of job restructuring, at
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least in sectors where youth are underrepresented, and a

manual for prime sponsors suggesting how they could do

the same exercise themselves, from the assessment of the

labor market to a selling of the job restructuring models.

The estimated cost in fiscal 1980 would be $.5 million.

11. Agriculture Entrepreneurship Project - The basic

goals of the project are to demonstrate that agricultural

entrepreneurship is a viable career objective for unemployed rural youth and that idle farm resources can become a

source of income and jobs in depressed rural areas.

The demonstration would explore the feasibility and value

of, as well as test the effectiveness of, interagency

cooperation among the participating agencies; provide job

training and career counseling for rural youth that are

appropriate to rural milieu and not presently available

to the community; provide new job opportunities for rural

youth in the agricultural sector of the economy; demonstrate that small farms can form a solid base for the

economic and community development of depressed rural areas;

provide interested rural youth with the opportunity,

resources and assistance to acquire and operate small

farms and/or farm cooperatives; generate revenue that will

offset subsidies and allow for the continuous operations

of the agricultural training institutions; and produce

crops needed for local consumption. The feasibility

issues would be carefully assessed as well as the value

of the approach to the problem of unemployed or underemployed rural youth and how it affects their employability

and income potential.

Five demonstration sites have been selected on the

basis of geographical diversity, availability of appropriate farm training resources, and their capacity to

provide unique delivery mechanisms for the provision of

the intended services. These include El Rito, New Mexico;

Molokai, Hawaii; Toa Baja, Puerto Rico; Eureka, California; and a site in rural Georgia. Preliminary proposals from each proposed site have been developed; and

implementation planning will be complete early in fiscal

1980. At that time it is expected that all five of

the sites will be funded. The Department of Agriculture

will administer the project; CSA will contribute $200,000

per site; and the Department of Labor $800,000 per site.
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12. Summer Demonstrations - In the summer of 1979, all available discretionary SYEP resources were used for evaluations of the program and for structured

tion projects. demonstra- The demonstrations tested alternative approaches for solving specific problems or bolstering specific aspects of SYEP. Wale these provided information, they important should be continued

full knowledge another year with

mine the learningdevelopment activities in order to deter- curve effects once the programs have settled down. The followng demonstrations would be considered for refunding:

a. Recruitment and Training Programs, Inc. (RTP), provided needs assessment, career exploration, motivational training, consumer education, counseling, placement and follow-up services for 480 youth who SYEP-eligible were high school

to test the graduates or dropouts in order

Using a randomly

transition potential of the summer program. selected control group, changes in attitudes, career awareness, and job knowledge and other variables were assessed

There was a comparison over the course of the summer. of termination status and a 2- month followup to determine

progress. placement rates and education There were 4 project sites.

b. The Human Resources Development Institute CERDII,building on its experience under the summer Voca- tional Exploration

tive services, Program, provided counseling, suppor- union orientation and job placement assistance to 245 high school

in 1979. graduates enrolled in SYEP The prime sponsors in seven selected sites enrolled youth, paid their allowances or wages and handled other administrative functions. HRDI, through its field network, developed worksites which would expose youth to a variety of skills, and provided services and assis- tance to enhance future employability, particularly helping them to access opportunities in the unionized sector. A control group of high school graduates SYEP participants who did not receive these special services was selected in each site and followed up both 3 and 6 months after the termination of the program.

c. The National Urban League (NUL), in three sites, identified youth in transition who were performing well in their summer jobs. They were given
169 -

an array of pre-employment services to supplement the

work experience and they were placed in private sector

jobs as well as given worksite followup for 3 months into

the fall. There was a control group of youth who did

not receive these extra services in order to determine

impacts.

d. SER/Jobs for Progress conducted a project

in six separate sites to assess ways to use SYEP to

encourage return to school. A fourth of the 1,000 participants were dropouts, one-half high school students and a

fourth high school graduates. These youth received

services focused on returning them to school or continuing their education including career counseling and

assistance in securing in-school work experience. There

was a sample of youth wh did not receive the educationaloriented services.

e. Under the Vocational/Educational CETA Summer

Youth Program, the Office of Youth Programs transferred

funds to the Bureau of Occupational and Adult Education

in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

which, in turn, provided grants to four selected institutions of post-secondary vocational education with an

emphasis on minority institutions. They offer a combination of classroom training and work experience to high

school seniors, dropcuts and first year post-secondary

vocational students to motivate them to pursue further

vocational education. The project served 300 youth. A

control group was selected at each site of youth who

did not receive services.

f. Under agreement with the Office of Education, the Department of Labor transferred funds to the

Bureau of Higher and Continuing Education for six projects which served 500 Upward Bound participants-- disadvantaged youth in their junior and senior years of

high school who were exposed to a college setting over

the summer in order to encourage their continued education. These youth were provided part-time work and a

career-related curriculum. The aim was to determine

whether the earnings could improve the attractiveness

of the program and the propensity of participants to

continue on to college.
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g. Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America conducted summer career exploration projects in seven different sites serving 1,800 youth of whom 450 were referred from the criminal justice system. Modeled after the Cadet Intern Concept of Reverend Leon Sullivan, the program heavily emphasized motivational training, career exploration, consumer education, needs assessment, supportive services and work where appropriate in order to determine whether the summer experience could reduce juvenile delinquency and crime and could alter the attitudes,

of youth with serious aspirations and awareness

problems. There was a randomly i.ssigned control group, pre- and post-tests and a 3- followup to determine outcomes.

h. To test the impact of a motivational experi- ence for SYEP participants, the NFL Players Association toc:ether with a consortium of unions

in five cities operated summer camps which provided SYEP participants from surrounding areas 1-to 2-week programs of motivational

figures played training, career exploration and sports training. Sports a key role in the recreation which was supported with Community Services Administration re- creation money under an interagency agreement. A sample of regular summer participants and camp participants followed up to determine whether this short-term inter- vention improved their summer experience and its impacts.

In the summer of 1980, these disparate demonstrations would be fine-tuned based on the 1979 summer experience. The cost would be an estimated $11.0 million. All research activities could be con- tinued so that the 1979 experience could be compared with that in 1980.
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New Initiatives

This agenda of existing and developed projects is

quite extensive; however, there are several focus areas

where new initiatives are required. First, evaluations

and demonstrations have suggested several program dimensions which need improvement. second, alternative design

and delivery approaches have emerged which need to be

tested. Third, continued attention is required for the

problems of special needs groups in order to develop

models which can be applied throughout CETA to increase

youth service levels.

1. Program Improvement Efforts - There is room for

improvement in current programs, particularly in the areas

of vocational training, use of allowances for incentives,

better use of technology including computers, enrichment

of work experience, and follow-up on nonpositive

terminations.

a. Vocational Improvement Effort - The Job

Corps initiated a major experiment in fiscal 1979 to

test alternative basic education approaches. It also

evaluated the effectiveness and impact of all vocational

offerings in Job Corps centers. Alternative vocational

curricula were reviewed. For fiscal 1980, it would then

make sense to initiate controlled tests of vocational

approaches to determine which would most effectively serve

Job Corps youth. This would include tests of computerized

learning procedures as well as different sequencing of

experience based learning, work and classroom training.

The experiment would be piggybacked on top of the

Educational Improvement Effort and could be accomplished

for approximately $200,000 in discretionary resources

for evaluation and experimentation, with Job Corps program funds utilized for course materials and equipment.

b, Wage and Allowance Experiments - The major

portion of expenditures for employment and training

programs for youth go directly for wages, salaries and

allowances for youth, For the most part, programs simply

pay, the minimum wage for both wages and allowances.

There are, however, possibilities of trainee exemptions

under CETA, and there are allowance waiver procedures.

Incentive allowances are also possible. It is important

to experiment with alternate payment methods. The use

1)7
- 172 -

of bonuses and educational stipends might improve reten- tion, completion and performance in programs. Likewise, the elimination of arbitrary payments might make it easier for CETA to link with the education system, There are structures in the law which need to be scrupulously maintained, but there is room for experimentation, The cost is essentially that of evaluation presuming several prime sponsors can be encouraged to participate within their current flexibilities. The 1980 estimated cost would be $300,000.

c. Computerized Assessment - There is a battery of standardized tests which have been developed to assess motivation, occupational awareness, aptitudes scholastic achievement and the like. It should be possible to standardize these tools into a simple assessment package which could be developed for a programmable mini- computer which could be made available to all prime sponsors at an extremely inexpensive rate. The develop- mental work would require validation relative to personal assessments of counseling experts. This would be a supplement rather than a substitute for other counseling

tools. The cost would be an estimated $300,00.0,

d. YACC Enrichment Demonstration - YACC emphasized employment and provides little in the way of employability development services. It is important to test in the conservation setting whether enrichment through education, counseling and other services results in more positive outcomes. Enriched components would be added-in a sample of residential camps and nonresidential sites. The experience of participants in these sites would be compared to the experience of other enrollees. Regular YACC funds would be used for this purpose with YETP covering the evaluation.

There would be two focus areas: Linkages to higher education and transition services. These efforts were approved in the 1979 Knowledge Development Plan but.no agreements could be developed with the Departments of Agriculture and Interior. The assessment of these projects would be combined with an overall evaluation of the program. The evaluation cost would be approxi- mately $400,000 in fiscal 1980.

'()
- 173-

e. Job Corps Follow - Through - The placement

system in Job Corps has been criticized by GAO. Many

participants apparently receive no help in readjustment or

job search after leaving the program. On a demonstration

basis, in a single State, arrangements might be made for

individualized followup of each trainee reentering the

State. Nonpositive trainees might be offered another

chance in Job Corps in a training program or center more

compatible with their needs. The delivery Agent would

handle placement and would have a set-aside of IWEP slots

to get youth into jobs. The aim would be to test whether

these approaches could shorten the readjustment period

and could lend to an improved rate of return to Job

Corps for those who could benefit from its services. The

operational cost would be from Job Corps funds with

discretionary youth resources covering the evaluation

costs which would be approximately $250,000.

f. Second Chance Program - The average youth

participant in CETA remains less than 6 months. Many of

the "nonpositive terminations" could benefit from followup and continuing assistance. In fact, they are the ones

who need help the most. While they might wander back

into CETA programs in the future, the services they receive

are rarely adjusted in light of the problems previously

encountered. There are few mechanisms to insure continuity of service.

One approach is to utilize a community-based

organization which can develop special expertise in the

methodologies. It might be usef%1 in this case to concentrate on youth with special problems such as those

with illness, behavioral disorders, substance abuse

problems or criminal involvement. The aim would be to

insure careful one-on-one followup to provide the

sp9esalized assistance they might need and to package

a 'model which could be sold to prime sponsors by

community-based organizations. The cost in fiscal 1980

would be an estimated $1.0 million.

g. Parental Involvement Demonstration - The

education system makes an active effort to involve

parents in school-related activities, and parental involvement is considered a key to successful education.
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There are ways

and employability

parents could be more involved in employment development efforts. The mechanisms include parental contact and cooperation in evaluation of employability development

for young teenagers, plans, worksite "report cards" training of parents to teach their sons and daughters more about the labor market, clubs and activities to involve parents and participants in career development and job search, and employment of parents in programs to serve in varying capacities on a part-time basis. There are few

any test of whether models for such activity, much less they are worthwhile. Under this demonstration, several efforts would be initiated by prime sponsors

funds would be utilized

or community-based groups. Discretionary

to augment regular programs and to provide for the evaluation. The cost would be an estimated $1.0 million.

h. Private Sector Career Development Awards Programs - There are too few incentives for participants in CETA youth programs and too little

ment. recognition of achieve- Under the 1979 SYEP, the Xerox Corporation donated one-half million dollars for recognition and support of exemplary summer

sites. programs and participants in selected Conversations with business executives have in- dicated a willingness to augment government efforts which will recognize and reward exemplary economically dis- advantaged participants. be to administer The aim of this project would

Corporate Career Development Awards expected to total in excess of $2 million annually given to selected to be CUTA youth participants. The Business Rountable would administer this effort. Once adequate pledges were secured, discretionary funds would support the administration of the project until it would hopefully become self-sustaining. The estimated cost is $100,000.

2. Design and Organizational Alternatives - The CETA planning, funding and delivery system involves a set or implicit approaches for the design and organization of activities. Localized programs are rarely multi-year in nature because of 1-year funding. Projects tend to be small in scale, stressing entry level work, because concentration is not politically tenable. There are alternatives which need to be tested.
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a. Comprehensive Opportunity Project - This

demonstration would seek to develop a prototype of multiyear, comprehensive services, individualized entitlement

program and to test its impacts on youth. The project

would be designed as follows:

A geographical area would be selected in a central city. The area would be defined so that it had some

definable boundaries and so that it contained approximately 500 youth ages 14-17. An attempt would be made

to register all .14- to 17-year olds in this area, to

assess their needs and potential, and to develop an

employability plan and record. They would be tracked

and assisted through age 21.

A Human Research Development Account would be

established for each individual. This would provide

funding for work experience, transition services, remedial education and other requirements for employability.

The funding would be based on unit costs of different

types of services, assumptions about what youth need, and

estimates of what can be provided from available resources.

The "guarantee" might be defined as 6 months of remedial

education; 2 years of transition services in school and/

or 6 months outside; two summers of subsidized work

experience and two of in-school work for students or 1

year of "aging vat" work experience for out-of-schoolers; or

1 year in a transition job either in the public or private

sector. The total cost of this package might be, say,

$20,000 for each youth. Existing programs might, on the

average, provide $10,000 worth of such "entitled" services.

The project would provide the remainder. Total cost

would depend on take-up rates by youth, but the

entitlement would be real.

The project would be operated by OIC/A,

probably in Philadelphia, where it has already established

many of the service components. OIC would create a comprehensive service unit in the area to arrange for all

prescribed services. It would arrange transition services and summer employment as well as remedial education.

Entry employment experiences, as well as more advanced

ones in the private sector, would be created for outof-schoolers. In addition to employment services,

there would be a set of activities for all participants

stressing broad development and self-help approaches

2,)]
- 176 -

including motivation training and job search assistance. The levels of such programs would be adjusted over time based on the individual employability plans. In the first several years, because of the ages of participants, transition services and aging vat programs would receive priority. As youth aged, private sector oriented activities would become more important in the mix.

The program would serve the 14- to 17-year -olds as they aged and would extend services to new residents as well as those reaching the entry age level. Youth in school or out of shool but not yet having attained any skill or demonstrated

cadets. work maturity would be considered The youth would become interns when they attained basic awareness of the world of work, demonstrated maturity on a job, and had ;:ompleted high school, a GED or could clearly not be convinced to return to school. They would then become interns eligible for transition jobs in the public or private sector. Once completing these jobs and securing employment, they would become "mentors" and would be solicited to work on a continuing basis with the project as role models. Likewise, the interns would work with the cadets on a continuing basis. Parents and community members would also be involved on a volunteer basis to serve as "mentors" using a Big Brother-Big Sister approach with a focus on employability.

There would be a set of simple standards of performance for youth in the demonstration. The "entitle- ments" would be conditional upon effort and accomplishment. If participants would not perform adequately in train- ing or work, they would be moved to remedial components in order to further prepare themselves. There would be second and third chances, but at each step there would have to be acceptable performance to stay in the service unit or to move forward. Wage and allowance pay- ments would be designed to provide incentives for moving forward and for personal accomplishment. The cadets age 14-15 with no previous work experience might be paid the learner's wage. Interns, on the other hand, would be placed in jobs above the minimum wage insofar as possible. Allowances for nonwork activities would be designed for their incentive effect.
- 177 -

The project would be run as a multi, -year

demonstration. A sampling of youth outside the entitlement area would be tracked periodically to determine all

aspects of change to be compared with youth who receive

more intensive assistance in the COP.

The estimated cost for the first 2 years would

be $4,5 million with $2,5 financed under the Entitlement

program. The evaluation would be undertaken as an

extension of the Entitlement research,

Labor Union Youth Employment Intermediary , The

Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act CMPAI

encouraged tilu participation of organized labor in youth

programs, authorized expanded apprenticeship activities,

and introduced new procedures for notification and consultation with organized labor in order to avoid displacement and to assure competitive wage levels. Under the

youth programs, there has been a positive record of

interaction between CETA prime sponsors and local organized labor. A range of demonstration projects have

been initiated at the national level which involve the

labor community. However, these efforts have been limited

by the lack of scale, continuity and comprehensiveness

and union "ownership" of the delivery mechanism.

This demonstration would establish a nonprofit

intermediary corporation by a consortium of construction

unions with a board of directors representative of these

unions. The intermediary would have a staff responsible

for mounting and administering several action projects as

well as serving as an information conduit to local

organized labor on youth employment issues. Specifically,

the intermediary would perform the following functions;

First, it would directly receive vouth program

funds which would be used to payroll yortth :forking on

public Davis-Bacon projects in five seie.-ted geographical

areas. Special components would be developed which would

integrate these young employees with other workers,.

They would serve in a learning capacity. The intermediary

would, subsequently, seek to place them in regular apprenticeship or entry jobs when they attained an adequate

level of competence.
- 178 -

Second, a large-scale public housing project would be selected where extensive modernization would be required, A 3-year plan would be developed for renovation, weather- rization, and crime control. The intermediary would plan and administer the project with joint funding by the Departments of Labor and Housing and Urban Development The project would be comprehensive, involving all major skill levels and crafts with work

level to journeyman ranging from the entry employment within the project. Insofar as possible, young persons from the public hous- ing project would be employed.

Third, the intermediary

based organizations would contract with community- involved in HUD's urban homesteading program where multi-family

this initiative, unit renovation occurred, Under CBO's are being titled to urban proper- ties and are then responsible for renovation. If these projects have more than eight units, they are subject to Davis-Bacon coverage. By contracting with the intermediary, the CBO could accomplish the work more cheaply than other- wise because the youth worker wages would be paid by CETA funds through the intermediary. There would be skilled work consistent with Davis-Bacon. The highest quality training would also occur. This would also involve labor unions in a potential growth area.

Fourth, the intermediary would provide technical assistance to prime sponsors and local organized labor around the country who would be interested in mounting similar projects. it would be funded with a set-aside of youth program resources.

Fifth, the intermediary might develop other projects in growth industry areas such as solar energy, conserva- tion, weatherization or handicapped access, These would be multi-year projects with multiple skill levels. It is understood that such projects would only be considered after the other activities were well underway.

The cost of this effort would be approximately

$3 million for 18 months with funds from HUD for the public housing and urban homesteading projects. This project would be operating beyond 1980 and would involve a continued commitment.
- 178 -

Second, a large-scale public housing project would be selected where extensive modernization would be required, A 3-year plan would be developed for renovation, weather- rization, and crime control. The intermediary would plan and administer the project with joint funding by the Departments of Labor and Housing and Urban Development The project would be comprehensive, involving all major skill levels and

level to journeyman

crafts with work ranging from the entry employment within the project. Insofar as possible, young persons from the public hous- ing project would be employed.

Third, the intermediary

based organizations would contract with community- involved in HUD's urban homesteading program where multi-family

this initiative, unit renovation occurred. Under CBO's are being titled to urban proper- ties and are then responsible for renovation. If these projects have more than eight units, they are subject to Davis-Bacon coverage. By contracting with the intermediary, the CB0 could accomplish the work more cheaply than other- wise because the youth worker wages would be paid by CETA funds through the intermediary. There would be skilled work consistent with Davis-Bacon. The highest quality training would also occur. This would also involve labor unions in a potential growth area.

Fourth, the intermediary would provide technical assistance to prime sponsors and local organized labor around the country who would be interested in mounting similar projects. it would be funded with a set-aside of youth program resources.

Fifth, the intermediary might develop other projects in growth industry areas such as solar energy, conserva- tion, weatherization or handicapped access, These would be multi-year projects with multiple skill levels. It is understood that such projects would only be considered after the other activities were well underway.

The cost of this effort would be approximately

$3 million for 18 months with funds from HUD for the public housing and urban homesteading projects. This project would be operating beyond 1980 and would involve a continued commitment.
- 179 -

3. Projects for Special Needs Groups - The youth

initiatives do a good fob of targeting on economically

disadvantaged young persons. However, there are significant

segments of the youth population which need more attention. These would include handicapped youth, solo parents,

offenders and other troubled youth, as well as youth

isolated in rural areas.

a. Handicapped Youth Projecrq - The limited CETA

efforts for handicapped youth have &cused on mainstreaming, enrichment and basic life skills acquisition more

than employment in regular work settings. It is the fate

of many handicapped youth to continue in sheltered workshops and never get the opportunity for meaningful selfsupport. At the same time, many firms are under pressure

to meet affirmative action requirements for the handicapped.

Sheltered workshops rarely serve to provide trained

employees; in fact, they tend to hold onto those who

become productive. Vocational rehabilitation agencies sometimes ignore youth while schools have few linkages to

employers. There is a need for modeling and demonstration activity.

(1) Handicapped Youth Transition Project -

This concept was developed by Control Data Corpora ion

which would be administered jointly with a community-based

organization. The project would operate in three sites

for 2 years.

First, a team would be established in each

site to recruit employable handicapped youth from vocational rehabilitation agencies, sheltered workshops,

schools and other agencies. The team would develop a

detailed individualized profile on each recruit, specifying strengths and weaknesses.

Second, another team in each site would work

with the private industry council and would undertake

intensive job development in the private sector. Detailed

job descriptions and requirements could be prepared for

each job offered by participating companies.
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Third, individuals and jobs would be rotated, hopefully giving each handicapped youth a choice of three or more settings. The individual would then be given some hands on occupational

one of the offerings. exploration and would select

Fourth, the youth would be placed in a

would work

"sheltered" setting within the firm or plant. He or she one-on-one with a trainer

of the job. learning all the steps Here, the aim would

required on the job be to learn all the tasks without regard to the speed of performance.

Fifth, advanced but still sheltered place the youth in work would an actual production

guidance of setting under the a "mentor." The mentors would be regular company employees who would serve as "job role models." Once the youth

she would becomedemonstrated proficiency and speed, he or a regular employee.

Sixth, at each step the individual and the family would receive counseling and other support services.

The demonstration

in three sites. project would be operated It would seek 100 placements in each site. The aim would be to develop a model which could be replicated by Private

groups to better Industry Councils and community-based serve this important target group. The cost would be approximately $1 million.

(2) Support Services Demonstration for Handicapped Youth - There are limited linkages between vocational rehabilitation agencies at the local level, special education personnel who deal with and CETA prime handicapped youth,

sponsors. One way to explore and promote such linkages would be to establish a Support Service Coordination Team in four selected localities in the Nation. These positions would be funded only where local agreements have been negotiated between VR treatment agencies, CETA and the schools.

The missions of these coordinating teams would be as follows:

First, they would survey all formal and in- formal linkages between CETA, VR agencies and special education components in the localities. Participants
- 181 -

and unsuccessful applicants in CETA youth programs as well

as supervisors would be interviewed by a common instrument in order to determine the possible need for supportive services. Youth participants in special education

components in the VR caseload would be interviewed by a

common instrument in order to determine their work experience and qualifications for employment and the potential

benefits they could achieve from participation in employment and training programs.

Second, the coordinators would seek to arrange

linkages between the three systems. CETA handicapped

youth would be given special supportive services as needed

through arrangements by VR. Handicapped youth in VR

and special education would be slotted into CETA programs. Handicapped programs might be provided funds for

hiring limited numbers of youth, for instance, in the

summer, as a complement to education efforts.

Third, the coordination teams would include

at least one analyst or researcher. Each activity would

be documented and assessed, i.e., there would be reports

on interrelationships between CETA, rehabilitation and

education agencies, the needs of CETA youth, the employment requirements for youth in these VR and education

caseloads, the possible linkages which would be established

and the success of these models.

The project would be jointly monitored by

the Departments of Labor and Health, Education and

Welfare under the terms of an interagency agreement.

The estimated 18-month cost of the program

in three sites would be $600,000.

(3) Under the State YACC program, funds

would be provided for hiring handicapped young persons.

Several models would be tested in each of these selected

States. The models would include residential and nonresidential approaches, those emphasizing work and

others with a greater service orientation including an

"outward bound" experience, and those operated as

separate components vs. individual assignment. The

projects would be studied under a single evaluation framework. The cost, assuming sharing from State YACC funds,

would be $1 million.

2 ;
- 182 -

b. Special Efforts for Solo Parents - The incidence of birth out of wedlock continues to rise among young teenagers, particularly minorities. A recently completed survey of poverty areas revealed that over half of all 19-year-old females who were poor and who had not completed high school had a least one child; only a small minority were married.

Young women

and training are underserved in youth employment programs, but young women with children receive even less attention. Under the Work Incentive

Program, emphasis is given to serving AFDC recipients with older children, hence, few young teenagers are assisted. The reasons are clear: The employment problems of young women are complex enough, and the problems related to motherhood compound the difficulties. Treatments for this group are not likely to be as successful as those for other groups. The services will generally be more expensive while the linkages and packaging necessary to have any success are difficult to achieve. Finally, there is limited information in the CETA community about how best to reach and assist young teenage mothers.

A coordinated research, demonstration and replication effort is, therefore, needed to increase services to young mothers under CETA. The approach would be as follows:

(1) Existing youth programs at the local level would be assessed to determine the extent that young mothers are being served in both special and regular components, the service strategies and the linkages to provide these services. Alternative and innovative

approaches would be identified and the common elements would be assessed. A technical assistance guide and perhaps a film would be prepared to aid prime sponsors in implementing programs. The survey results would provide needed information concerning the impact of youth programs.

(2) A small working conference of experts has been convened to develop 10-15 models of possible interventions. Some of the ideas that have been dis- cussed include self-help clubs, pairing of young mothers who have "made it" with young women having their first child, working with multi-generation welfare families to see if their problems can be addressed as a unit and projects focusing on upward mobility, i.e., getting
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better jobs rather than just entry jobs. The conceptual

models will be fleshed out and 5 to 10 will be implemented

on a demonstration basis by selected grantees. The

funding will come from OYP through the Women's Bureau

which would administer the projects. In each case, there

would be an effort to refine the model so that it could

be replicated by prime sponsors.

(3) In order to solicit and identify the

creative ideas which exist in the CETA system, OYP would

initiate a competitive grant program through prime

sponsors. In the competitive selection, consideration

would be given for innovative ideas, linking with other

sources of funding and use of community- and neighborhoodbased groups as wall as the administrative feasibility and

demonstrated effectivenes. cdf the proposed deliverer.

The competition would help to focus interest on young

mothers and would serve as a source of information about

the types of activities and the innovative ideas in the

system. Approximately 10 grants would be funded through

the ETA regions, with the Women's Bureau responsible

for selection, for approval of demonstration elements,

and for assessment and modeling. Again, there would be

an effort to refine the models so that they could be

replicated by prive sponsors. The funding would consist

of resources reallocated to the regions under the CYEP

approach.

In cooperation with OWIN and OPER, OYP

would contribute to a set of demonstration projects

young mothers to be operated by MDRC. These would serve

to refine service model options.

All these projects would be assessed by a

single design that would focus on process as well

as impact. The aim would be to develop a set of replicable models as well as to find out what works best

for young parents. The net cost from discretionary funds

would be $2.65 million in fiscal 1980.

c. Interventions for Troubled Youth - There

are many youth who cannot participate successfully in

employment and training because of behavioral problems,

substance abuse or other difficulties. Two major

initiatives are planned in fiscal 1980 for such youth.

2jj
- 184 _

(1) Troubled Youth Intermediary Traditional educational Demonstration - unresponsive to the employment programs are often

compound needs of To deal effectively troubled youth. with this target group prehensive lequires comchances; this in

support, continuity of assistance and multiple turn, demands a delivery mechanism can provide a full which

basis. range of services on an individualized

Local youth services

very difficult to providers have found it package programs that offer and training employment complemented by the

services because necessary supportive of the multiplicity

from the Federal of funding sources level. There are high with packaging costs associated as well as conflicting

serve as barriers regulations which to the development of effective programs.

One approach to achieve coordination use of a public/private is the

provide technical intermediary corporation to

assistance, information, support to public evaluation and and private youth The national serving agencies.

active brokering

public/private corporation would serve an function between Federal agencies,

shalling local

foundations, and local service delivery programs, mar- resources and targeting

to promote Federal dollars program designs directed at troubled youth. By combining public and private in a single resources and approaches

concerns, by combining

organization, by bridging local and Federal an action orientation with technical expertise, evaluative capacity and adequate resources to overcome the short-term by the funding orientation demanded availability of most programs, the intermediary will serve as a catalyst to cement relations between disparate

ing more institutions and programs while promot- comprehensive and efficient packaging.

The primary responsibilities of the new intermediary would be as follows:

- to provide detailed

packaging support technical assistance and to local agencies during the design stage of multi-service projects to be funded by exist- ing Federal and local programs;

- to design "model" projects for troubled youth and to support and implement these locally through other agencies;
_ 185 -

- to assemble and disseminate information

about programs and policies relating to troubled youth.

Federal resources for these youth; exemplary multiservice projects; and pertinent research efforts;

- to conduct evaluation efforts carefully

measure what types of multi-service youth program models

work best for whom;

- to provide a continuing independent assessment of youth policies and programs to identify possibilities for changes at the Federal and local level

which would eliminate barriers to multi-service approaches,

and recommend improvements, and

- to stimulate and support locally initiated

multi-service programs which show significant potential

for replication as a program model.

The intermediary concept has been fully developed

as a partnership which would be carried out under interagency agreement with three other agencies, the Departments of Justice, Agriculture and HEW, under the auspices

of the President's Interagency Coordinating Committee

on Youth. The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration

would play the lead role in this effect. All administrative arrangements have been made and the project is

ready for implementation at the beginning of 1980.

The Department of Labor would contribute $2 million and

the other agencies would contribute $4 million.

(2) Support Services Demonstration for

fbstance Abusers -acoholismand drug abuse are major

oblemo among youth and certainly among those who

pArticipate in youth programs. While supportive service

arrangements are made for some youth under CETA local

programs, and while there are isolated durg treatment

and alcoholism prevention projects funded at the local level,

the substance abuse issue has not been given wide attention

in CETN. Likewise, there are graduates from drug and alcoholism

programs who are ready for and need jobs if they are to

continue toward full rehabilitation. More information is

needed on the subject as well as models of coordination.

An initial step in this direction would be

to establish Adlcoholismsnd Drug Abuse Coordinating teams

in three selected localities in the Nation. These positions

would be funded only where local agreements have been

negotiated between drug treatment agencies

24. 1
- 186 -

and CETA. These coordinating

and informal linkages teams ,,ould survey all formal between CETA and drug treatment agencies in the

rates of participants

localities and would analyze the success who were substance abusers. Par- ticipants and unsuccessful applicants for CETA youth pro- grams as well as supervisors would be interviewed by common instruments in order to determine the possible need for supportive services. Likewise, youth participants in drug treatment programs would be interviewed in order to determine their work experience and qualifications for employment. The coordinators would, then, seek to arrange linkages between the two systems. CETA youth would be given

including the

drug screening and information about drugs, use of peer counseling by substance abusers now in treatment. Referral arrangements would be worked out for participants with substance abuse problems. Nonpositive terminees from youth programs who are suspected of drug or alcohol problems would be followed up for intensive treatment. Drug treatment programs would be provided funds for hiring limited numbers of youth as counselors, outreach workers, and the like. Employment and training slots within the CETA youth programs would be set-aside for referrals from drug treatment agencies.

The coordination teams would include at least one analyst or researcher (as well as one youth trainee who himself had a substance abuse problem). Each activity would be documented and assessed, 1.e., there would be reports on interrelationships between CETA and drug treatment agencies, the needs for CETA youth, the employment requirements for youth in drug treatment, the possible linkages which could be established and the success of these models. The result would'be a comprehensive technical assistance guide for CETA and drug abuse agencies. There would be a central research and administrative agent responsible for the entire set of activities.

The project would be jointly developed by the Departments of Labor and Health, Education and Welfare under the terms of an interagency agreement. A three-member advisory committee would be selected to pick the sites and the research agent.

The estimated 18-month cost of the program in three sites would be $.6 million.
- 187 -

d. Rural Youth Initiatives - The problems of

rural youth are quite different from those of young persons in urban areas. Isolation, lack of contact with

the labor market and limited socialization opportunities,

all offset their adjustment. For migrant and Indian

youth, cultural issues accentuate the differences.

Special programs and designs are needed. A

range of rural initiatives were put in place in 1978

and 1979. These would be supplemented by the following

initiatives:

(1) Rural Citizen's Rights Project -

The NAACP will demonstrate the effectiveness of utilizing

disadvantaged high school students and recent law school

graduates to provide specialized legal services, and

citizens' rights training to employment and training

program staff and CETA program participants in rural

areas of substantial unemployment.

The NAACP has had a long-standing commitment

to ensuring that minority persons are afforded the full

range of legal rights and remedies. A critical factor

to realizing legal rights by minorities has been access

to the system and knowledge of the rights and remedies

available. Typical problems of particular concern in

the minority community which require legal attention and

knowledge are: tenant/landlord issues; financial contracts; rights of the accused; voter registration;

legal education for consumers and participant or client

rights.

Under this project, the NAACP, in cooperation with the Street Law Institute and under the direction

of an experienced advisory committee, will develop a

curriculum to be utilized in the training of citizens'

rights teams consisting of one recent minority law school

graduate and three minority high school students, and

another curriculum for use by these teams in training

community residents, employment and training staff

members, and CETA program participants. In addition,

the NAACP and the Street Law Institute will cooperatively

develop several action project models which will seek to

apply concepts of citizen's rights to meeting community
- 188 -

TRANSLATING KNOWLEDGE INTO POLICY

The knowledge development activities under the youth initiatives represent the largest and most carefully structured effort in history to apply and demonstration research, evaluation

and potential techniques to examine a social problem solutions. Even with rapid and quick implementation turnaround of findings, will not be the results in many cases

under Entitlement

available for several years. For instance, some youth will participate and will then for 3 years

with the results

be followed up for a full year subsequently

earliest. not available until 6 months later at Most of the

1980 are for 2 demonstrations to be initiated in years and will not yield impacts until evidence on the end of that period. The new longitu- dinal survey of youth will yield 10 years depending new information for 5 to

"knowledge development" on how long it is extended. Obviously, and the concomitant

mulation must be policy refor- a continuing process, with the full payoff of 1978-1980 investments coming over many years.

Stable mechanisms must be established

the information for assessment of as it comes available, as well as for translation into policy terms and widespread dissemination. Balance must be achieved to assure that there is objective, multifaceted involvement in this assessment process. To supplement limited analytic resources within the Department of Labor, and in order to achieve

it is critical independent perspectives, that a full

utilized. range of outside mechanisms be

1. Minority College Involvement Project » Public policy interventions to improve the employment status of minorities, women and the disadvantaged have almost exclusively focused on entry opportunities. For the most part, these interventions

followup. have been short term with limited Their primary aim is to find work for those who are unemployed. Correspondingly, the gains to parti- cipants have usually been short term, reflecting greater stability of employment rather than increased wages. Through human resource development investments, employment
- 189 -

and training programs have sought to provide better access

to existing entry opportunities. There has been comparatively little effort to alter existing employment structures

or to work within them to provide career ladders. Research

into the internal labor market has revealed the crucial

importance of gaining access into job structures with

career potential, as well as the importance of being able

to navigate within these job structures. The intractability

of race and sex income differentials suggests the need to

move beyond concern with employment opportunities to concern

with career opportunities, and from programs which aim at

employment to those which aim towards access and realization of career progressions.

re is much that can be learned about the career advancemc..t and mobility process from the knowledge development

projects initiated in 1978-1980. This is a major dimension which needs to be exploited.

By the same token, minority institutions need to be

involved in the research and demonstration process to a

greater degree. "Knowledge is power" and, to date, there

has been little effort to develop the capacity of these institutions to compete for research and demonstration funds.

It is, therefore, proposed that a consortium of minority

colleges and universities be formed as members of a Career

Advancement Institute. The Institute would have three

fundamental roles:

1. It would conduct research on the causal factors which

promote and inhibit career survival and upward

mobility for minorities and women in different occupations and industries including the military and the

public sector.

2. It would coordinate, assess and conduct a series of

demonstration programs to explore public policies

which might be used to enhance career mobility and

advancement of minorities and wclen.

3. It would sponsor forums and develop policy statements

on issues affecting advancement and mobility including

analysis of the results of demonstration projects

funded under YEDPA.
- 190 -

The Career Advancement Institute would be structured as a nonprofit intermediary

tative of the with a Board of Directors represen- consortia of minority

Career Advancement universities. The Institute would have three divisions:

1. Research Division - This would focus on "action research," identifying targets of opportunity for public policy interventions. It would issue a series of research reports on the issues including an early summary and assessment of available

would be a dissertation literature. Part of the process grant program providing support to minority, disadvantaged and female be exploring researchers who would mobility and advancement issues.

2. Policy Assessment Division - This would hold conferences and seminars on mobility and advancement issues. It would prepare policy statements. It would assess legislative developments and governmental decisions. Finally, it would

volved in differentcoordinate groups and researchers in- aspects of mobility issues. and advancement

3. Demonstration Program Division - This division would mount action programs aimed at determining how best to overcome barriers to mobility and advancement. These projects would be integrated with research would provide activities and an input into the policy assessment process.

The Department of Labor would provide support for the primary activities of the Institute. The Employment and Training Administration's dissertation grant program has a demonstrated payoff in attracting the highest quality new researchers into critical policy research. It would be possible to fund such an activity through an inter- mediary. There would be a double social utility in that disadvantaged minority and female researchers would be supported in the advancement of their careers while a structured research base could be prepared on mobility advancement issues. Ten $20,000 2-year dissertation research grants would be given to MA and PhD students each year at minority member colleges. Second, the Institute might be used to assess how CETA programs could have a
- 191

greater impExt on career opportunities as well as what is

now occurring within the system. This would be done

through a research grant with the Office of Youth Programs.

Third, the Institute might mount demonstration programs

which have already been conceptualized and approved.. The

1979 Knowledge Development Plan called for a demonstration

to "test the feasibility of providing information focused

on youth who have already entered the labor market and

have a good possibility of being stranded in secondary

jobs. The target groups would be economically,disadvantaged 19 to 21-year-olds, with the information individualized

to consider previous job experience and attained skills

and with advanced education in minority institutions."

Obviously, such a demonstration would be central to the

work of the Careur Advancement Institute.

The funding for establishing such an Institute might come

from private foundations. However, the action items would

support the staffs in the three divisions. The cost is

estimated at $2.5 million.

2. Minority Research PersiDAtives Project - A major

focus of research efforts has oeen !-o determine the cause

of racial 4ifferentials in employment, earnings and occupational H-7vancement of youth. By its nature, research

rests on hypothses, methodologies and interpretations

of evidence which leave room for bias. It remains a fact

of "life tha minorities are underrepresented in the

rea..!arch community, so that most of the work which has

been completed to date has been undertaken by nonminorities.

There is a need for reassessment of the methodologies and

conclusions of this labor market research. This can be

accomplished through a process in which major research

papers are submitted for review by minority experts. A

conference might then be held on the subject. The arrangements could be made through a minority college. Since most

of the research work on racial differentials has already

been completed and since reviews would take less time than

the initial research, it should be possible to arrange for

such a conference by December 1979 so that it could still

have input into the policy formulation process. The cost

would be approximately $150,000.
- 192 -

3. Minority Research

Project and Demonstration Participation - Resources for research

tion activities evaluation and demonstra- related to social programs have been increasing rapidly with the greater emphasis on experimen- tation and accountability. Most Federal, State and local agencies responsible for funding such mandate to utilize activities are under minority and minority

agents whenever college research

firms which have

possible. There are a number of small

which only

been established to meet this market, of a few have developed to even a moderate small proportion of all Federal degree due tc research, evaluation and demonstration funds which end up going are a variety of to minority firms. There reasons.

developed specialized Established larger firms have units to identify

ing. and secure fund- In many cases, the

by these firms individuals who head or are hired have extensive and

Federal officials. continuing contacts with From the other perspective, the bureaucracies responsible for distributing research, evaluation and demonstration funds are frequently unfamiliar with or uncertain of the capabilities of the usually smaller minority firms and minority college research institutes. There is no mechanism for packaging these groups together to bid on larger-scale projects, so that most of the minority firms end up have to work as subcontractors and on smaller projects. The bidding, paperwork and uncertainties of operating numerous small projects reduce profitability and growth potential. is no system for Finally, there

developing capacity. Many firms which can deliver an adequate product fail because of lack of bridge financing or administrative skills. They could succeed if given some help.

One potential way to meet this need is to create a non- profit intermediary

large project organization to serve as a broker, a manager, and as a developmental mechanism.

The project would

It would hire

be funded with (MBE and/or CSA resources. a range of the best research, evaluation and demonstration experts and managers with an attempt to attract some of the most skilled in the Nation as well as those committed to building research potential in order to achieve greater equity.

and assistance The full cost of these packaging efforts would be financed on a continuing basis in order to aid smaller minority firms.
- 193 -

The intermediary would be formed under the terms of an

interagency agreement which would commit several Federal

agencies to set-asides of research, demonstration and

evaluation resources to be arranged through the intermediary. The activities themselves would be conducted by

8a and minority firms, community based organizations and

minority colleges and could be handled through procurement procedures established to increase the funding of

such groups. The cooperating agencies would agree to try

to make this approach work in order to increase the proportion of funds going to minority and community based

institutions.

The nonprofit intermediary would be structured with a

board of experts in research demonstration and evaluation

activity, with care to avoid conflict of interest. So

far as possible, this would be an active board which would

help in identifying, developing and guiding projects.

There would be three divisions within the intermediary:

Brokering Division: This staff would identify minority

firms, minority college research institutes and community

based organization research agents. It would seek to

assess the capabilities--both weaknesses and strengths--of

these groups. It would identify the spectrum of research

and demonstration fundings available. It would establish

a two-way communication network, making firms and institutions aware of opportunities and decisionmakers aware of

the capabilities of these firms.

Development and Assistance Division: This staff would

have a range of expertise to assist minority firms,

research institutes and community based organizations.

It would identify a team of consultants throughout the

country who would be available for aiding these organizations, and, where appropriate, it would arrange for needed

assistance either from these consultants or in-house. The

division would also serve as a clearinghouse or market for

matching talented individuals with job opportunities in

minority firms, research institutes and community based

organizations.

2
- 194 -

organization of worksites. Another might focus on alternate education approaches or school-to-work transition. One might assess all

determine the comparative

the rural youth projects or might seek to

effectiveness of different service deliverers. It would be important to structure the topics so that they suited the capacities of the different institutions. In general, the aim would be to review and synthesize existing information gathered under 1978-1980 knowledge development activities rather than the prepara- tion of original research. The cost, assuming 10 grants of $100,000 covering 2 years, would be $1,000,000.

The ETA dissertation grant program is another mechanism for arranging review and synthesis of knowledge development products. It has been the practice to solicit proposals on all subjects. An alternate approach might be to provide information on the youth activities to all persons inter- ested in applying for grants and to let them focus on the broad subject areas of youth employment and employability development using materials and data sources generated under YEDPA. The specialized competition, assuming ten grants annually, would be $200,000 for 2 years.

Finally, the small grants program might also be focused on utilization of these information sources. If ten '50,000 grants were provided, a range of topics might be covered for $500,000.

It would take considerable work to assure that the information needed by the institutions and individual researchers would be packaged for them, the topics well structured, and quality assured in the work. It might be necessary then to arrange the

tion and technical logistics for the competiassistance through a single agent which could be familiar with the complete spectrum of materials being prepared under YEDPA. The cost would be approximately $50,000.

5. Continuing Research - A range of research projects

were funded in fiscal 1978 and 1979 but there will con- tinue to be issues of importance which will arise, and there are some proposals currently in consideration for 1980:
- 195 -

Management Division: This division would manage largescale projects which would involve the coordinated work of

'several smaller agents. Every effort would be made to

assure that the intermediary would not compete for projects

which could be secured by existing minority and community

based groups. The aim would be to mount projects such as

supported work or the Entitlement program.

The intermediary could be established quite rapidly. The

five keys would be adequate startup funding, an interagency

commitment to work with and through this group, very

careful selection of board members to identify those

committed to this effort and with extensive expertise, very

rigorous selection of staff to insure the highest quality

at all levels so that the intermediary can successfully

perform its functions, and maintenance of demanding performance standards for subgrantees to insure quality control.

If the intermediary proved successful at the Federal level,

it might eventually be possible to regionalize operations.

Without minimizing the difficulties of establishing such

an intermediary and making it successful, it appears that

there is enough potential to justify the risk. It would

represent a very visible, cooperative effort to solve a

real and critical problem.

There would essentially be no cost to the Department of

Labor. The research and evaluation work set aside for

this intermediary would be from that already outlined for

projects in this plan.

4. Institutional, Dissertation and Small Grant

Support - The Employment and Training Administration's

Institutional Grant Program has helped to build employment

and training expertise at a number of colleges and universities around the country. As one part of the process, it

might be possible to provide support for assessment of

specific knowledge development subject areas at each of

the institutions. Resources from YEDPA would supplement

those already provided to the schools. For instance, some

institutions might specialize in pulling together and

assessing all demonstration and research findings related

to the value of work under the public programs and the
- 196 -

a. Vocational Education - CETA Linkages - The National Institute of Education is conducting a $5 million evaluation of the vocational

is needed education system. More work on the issue of vocational education-CETA linkages. While several

model programs process evaluations have identified as well as linkage problems, there has been no definitive study which provides a statistically profile of interactions reliable

or surveys the potentials for further linkages. A proposal has been developed by the NIE Vocational Education study group to assess some of these issues.

b. Economic Development and Youth Employment - Increased linkages between manpower and economic develop- ment programs are important. There have been several efforts to maximize the employment and human resource development impacts of the Tombigbee waterway project. A proposal has been developed for a comprehensive study of the impact on youth employment and mobility of such massive public works. The proposed study is large-scale and would follow youth for several years.

c. Employment in the Fast Food Industry - Agree- ment has been reached between the National Manpower Institute and a consortium of fast food chains to permit a detailed employment survey in the industry. It is estimated that as many as one-third of all youth work at some point in this industry. There is much which could be learned from such a survey and, in particular, it could be linked to the private sector initiative effort to study employment under different conditions in industries with standardized production functions.

d. Job Mobility and Youth Unemployment - Two schools of thought have emerged about the relationship between job mobility and youth unemployment--one which sees the process of transition as normal and helpful and another which views it as the reflection of inadequate options and floundering. The National Opinion Research Corporation has proposed a major study of mobility and its consequences using the NLS and CPS data.

e. Discrimination - The pervasiveness of

discrimination is usually surmised from the unexplained variance in regression equations. Research matching
- 197 -

workers and employers in a specific city might test the

issue more directly. Proposals have been submitted by

the National Urban League and by the Urban Institute to

address this issue, although further refinement is required in both.

Further research proposals will undoubtedly be submitted

as data becomes available from the new LS, the CLMS, as

well as the Entitlement longitudinal survey and the standardized pre-, post-, and followup information from the

demonstration projects. The analytical possibilities

will continue beyond fiscal 1980 and it would be prudent to

establish a youth research fund in the Department to make

full use of these potentials.

A departmentwide research committee has been established

to assess all research proposals in a consistent fashion.

A research fund of $2.0 million is recommended for 1980

and 1981 to cover all research costs. The active proposals would be reviewed through presentations by the

proposal writers and joint decisions would be made early

in fiscal 1980 on the first round of projects.
- 198 -

PUTTING THE LESSONS INTO PRACTICE

The youth initiatives have propelled the CETA system into many areas where it has limited expertise. for academic credit Requirements and for linkages and work demand between education

an understanding of well as career and education systems as

cooperative education approaches. The requests for occupational information and counseling give to CETA the responsibility for choosing between information sources and delivery systems. The require- ments for expanded training and vocational education linkages go further than ever in requiring of the content understanding

The emphasis

and methodology involved in training youth. on serving handicapped youth, drug abusers, young mothers and troubled youth requires information and understanding about their problems. "Knowledge develop- ment" has been stressed for prime sponsors as well as at the Federal level, so that information is required about practical applications of evaluation and demonstration techniques, as well as about Federal project findings which might be applied locally.

These new needs cannot be met by existing technical assistance efforts. The ETA-wide review of training and assistance activities reveals very serious There is little deficiencies. investment in the substantive training of prime sponsor and Department of Labor staffs. For youth programs at the local level, there has been both rapid hiring and high turnover so there is an immediate need for such training. While the youth initiatives have resulted in a massive array of written materials and technical assistance guides, as well as a number of c( ferences, there are limited mechanisms ffir follow-through to assure that materials are utilized. applied, one-on- one assistance is extremely rare. Training tends be abbreviated and focused on process issues rather than substantive areas. Although available materials may cover most needs, there is no brokering mechanism to identify specific materials for specific problems.

In order for the youth initiatives to "take hold" and to produce substantial and continuing changes in service approaches and delivery, it will be necessary to mount large-scale and continuing technical assistance
- 199 -

and training activities. These cannot be financed by the

regular, limited technical assistance and training allocation. They must be concerned with substance, not just

process.

1. Improving the State Role - The resources provided

to States for coordination and linkage activities as well

as for special programs are critically important as

incentive mechanisms, for activities which require coordination beyond the local labor market, and for linkages

to State-operated programs. There is limited review of

the use of these funds, and almost no technical assistance

to improve performance.

One way to meet this need would be to utilize a consortium

of national organizations representing the State constituencies

with specific functions related to youth employment and

training. These would include the National Governors'

Association, the National Association of State Boards of

Education, the Council of Chief State School Officers and

the American Vocational Association. Under a coordinated

project, these groups would provide technical assistance

in three general areas: First, State-level guidelines and

rules including academic credit and school attendance rules

as they relate to youth programs, State employment standards for youth, competency certifications for basic

skills, employment readiness, academic achievement and

vocational mastery, and for occupational information and

delivery system; second, needs of special segments of

the youth population including handicapped youth, adolescent parents and young welfare recipients, youth under

supervision of the State and substance abusers, as well

as rural, migrant and Indian youth; third, improving

quality and coordination of youth programs through evaluation, assessment and other knowledge development activities,

improved technical assistance from the State level, and

incentive efforts to link education, vocational education,

apprenticeship, work-education and other activities with

CETA youth programs.

The process would begin with a compilation and analysis

of all youth activities planned and funded from the State

level. There would be a report on each State prepared by

a team representing each of the consortium members, with

the input gathered from plans and from other materials

provided by the States.
- 200 -

Review teams of experts from other

and assess States would then visit

with all the

participating States. The aim would be to meet affected institutions, grams, and to to walk through pro- prepare a specific agenda of recommendations based on awareness of practices then be a meeting elsewhere. There would with all State

findings and leaders to discuss the to agree upon

grams. An agreement a strategy for improving pro- would be developed

consortium and between the the State to provide specific types of assistance including tracking of State for visits to experts, arrangement other States, purchase of special conferences and expertise,

specific needs

the like. This would be directed to the of the State and

voluntary. it would be completely Some of the activities might be on a State cost-sharing basis;

the Federal others would 1.)e provided fully through support of the consortium. There would be specific benchmarks in the agreement

and each participating between the consortium

State specifying provided and the the products to be actions which would be taken by the States.

This comprehensive approach will be costly and would require continuity. It would be funded for 2 years with an aggregate cost of approximately $1.45 million.

2. Assistance to Community Based YEDPA requires Organizations (CBO) - "special consideration" to community based

however, no uniform

organizations of "demonstrated effectiveness." There are, criteria of demonstrated effectiveness, or mechanisms for local community based groups to either prove their worth

support is provided

or overcome their problems. Modest by the Office of the Department National Programs in of Labor for certain national but this is used organizations, chiefly for national

as well as the operation organization support of national projects. There is variability in performance among both nationally net- worked and locally

of one local based organizations, so that the needs CBO differ markedly for those of another, and the standards imposed by prime sponsors for assessing qualifications and performance also vary markedly.

While support for generalized information about youth programs and policies will continue to be needed, local CBO's need help in overcoming the specific impediments and shortcomings they find in competing for local funds
- 201 -

and in delivering programs effectively. The best method

to provide assistance would be to first inventory all

sources of assistance, to conduct individualized reviews

of local organizations involving prime sponsors in this

process, so that specific problems can be identified and

technical assistance tailored to meet specific.. needs. A

service agreement might then be drawn specifying the

technical assistance which would be provided. The prime

sponsor and the deliverer of the technical assistance

would then certify that the work had been accomplished.

There are several alternate arrangements. The prime

sponsors might be provided funding directly to work with

community based organization in certain areas. National

organizations of community based groups might be funded

directly to give support to their locals. In a State or

region, a consortium of CBO's might be formed or might

work under the auspices of the State manpower services

council. In all cases, the same procedures would be

followed: there would be an inventory of available

technical assistance services, an independent assessment

of need with the participation of the prime sponsor, and

the delivery of individualized assistance under the terms

of a specific agreement. It would make sense to concentrate on prime sponsors and areas with less effective

linkages that need improvement. The assistance would

concentrate on substantive areas and not just funding

and procedural issues. In all cases, the technical

assistance agreements would spell out specific benchmarks

of competence to be achieved by the community based groups

and to be certified by the prime sponsors.

To pilot this approach, which might subsequently be funded

with formula resources or from the national level, it

would be conducted with one national community based group,

one regular prime sponsor and one State prime sponsor. The

cost would be approximately $1,250,000. The aim would be

to develop the prototype approach rather than to make

major changes in the delivery system under the grant.

3. Vocational Training - CETA prime sponsors have

responsibilities for purchasing and providing vocational

training for youth. A major source of such training is

the vocational education community. CETA contains a number
- 202 -

of inducements and requirements for collaboration which have borne fruit in

setaside funds

many areas. A portion of the 6 percent are available specifically for linkage activities. On the whole,

do not have hcvlever, prime sponsor staffs a great deal of tdmiliarity with the vocational education system and what it can offer, or with training requirements and approaches.

There is a need, then, for a broad-based CETA staff training program to assist selected CETA staff members to become more effective purchasers of training. This would have the following dimensions: First, a series of training workshops would be designed and conducted. These workshops will increase both the awareness levels and the competencies of selected CETA personnel in identifying and using appropriate training and program resources. The training workshops and related activities would enable workshop participants to describe how individuals learn and identify the ways'in which vocational education can accommodate the learning systems of CETA clients, to identify diagnostic services and procedures which can further assure appropriate training for client employa- bility needs, to identify available program options and select programs compatible with diagno-d client needs, to use such criteria as cost of training, length of training, rate of job placement, and length of client retention on the job, to identify effective methods by which clients are matched to training programs and train- ing programs are matched to jobs, and to identify appropriate placement and follow-through services for clients and employers.

The workshops would result in developing specific technical assistance needs for each prime sponsor. There would, then, be arrangements for individualized assistance under the terms of an agreement developed with each par- ticipating prime sponsor. There would be followup also in the sense that the participating primes would be integrated into the vocational education network and provided a range of materials which are offered to vocational education.
- 203 -

This project would be jointly undertaken with HEW and would

be contracted through the National Center for Research in

Vocational Education. This is the central mechanism for

vocational education training and the use of the center

would represent a continuing commitment to vocational

education-CETA linkages. It would also provide a continuing institutional base for such interaction. The

estimated cost of this intensive assistance would be

approximately $.85 million.

4. Education Systems and Approaches - CETA prime

sponsors are funding alternative education systems under

YETP as well as remedial education offerings. They must

arrange academic credit for work experience. They are

required to interact with local education agencies on a

continuing basis and are a possible change agent in the

schools. For the most part, however, they are illprepared for these activities. Likewise, understanding

of CETA among local education personnel varies widely but

needs improvement.

There have been a variety of conferences to address the

broad issues and to open the dialogue between educators

and manpower personnel. What is needed is a more focused

and intensive effort which will result in practical

suggestions for improved programs locally. The best

approach would be a one-week retreat of LEA and CETA

officials within a State in which they could be intensively schooled in education and career education

approaches, systems and policies as well as those on the

CETA side, and where they would intensively examine LEACETA agreements, education components of CETA grants, as

well as cooperative and vocational education practices

in each area. The aim would be to reform and reformulate

agreements so that the educational efforts could improve.

In each case, a technical assistance plan would be developed for each prime sponsor that would be supported under

the LEA, SMSC and vocational education setasides as well

as the prime sponsor budgets.

A standardized package on education and CETA background

information would be prepared and the remainder would be

adopted for State or local experiences. The packages
- 204 -

would be prototyped in one State in

Federal funding. each region with full

the approach in

There would then be an effort to promote other States

matching basis. throughout the region on a The initial ten tion of materials conferences and prepara- would cost approximately $650,000. Matching from that point would

this approach. depend on the success of

5. Occupational Information

requirements for - Under YEDPA, there are the provision of to participants. occupational information There are, however, career information a multiplicity of services and delivery ing quality. systems of vary- Only rarely have sponsors imposed standards and uniformity in a single labor market. other users such At the same time, as vocational education, and the Employment school counselors Service may be systems with little operating their own linkage or consistency.

At the State and Federal level, there has been an effort to coordinate data sources and delivery through the National mechanisms and State Occupational Information Coordinating Committees.

in most States These were formed in 1978 and are fully operational.

Working through

pull together in

these SOICC's, it could be possible to a workshop or retreat

figures involved setting the major in occupational

for youth. information and its use

shop all information

They would be required to bring to the workavailable about career information systems they were funding.

the state of Besides general exposure to

to suggest

the art, the aim of the workshop would be ways in which informational systems in each area might be coordinated and improved. an action agenda There would be derived for each area. The National Occupational Information

prepare the background Coordinating Committee would

materials for the could administer conference and

funds already

the. grant on a matching basis with the provided to the SOICC's. This would demon- strate the Department's

a collaborative continuing commitment to work in fashion to improve

usage. information and its This would be prototyped in two or three States which would be willing to cooperate on a matching basis with the aim of developing a model

from regular which could be funded SOICC resources. The YETP cost would be $500,000 assuming NOICC agreed to participate.

2,4)
- 205 -

6. Counseling - Counseling is a component of almost

all youth programs yet staffs of prime sponsors and delivery

agents are unevenly trained in professional methods and

alternate approaches. A few technical assistance guides

have been prepared, but these have not been focused on the

needs of economically disadvantaged youth. School personnel are more frequently accredited, but they do not

necessarily have expertise in the needs of CETA clients.

To improve the quality of counseling in youth programs, a

standardized package would be developed which could be

presented in workshop settings using audiovisuals, youth

participation, and seminars along with background readings.

Where prime sponsors would want to participate, these

workshops would be held for all counselors. There would

be a range of presentations by local counselors and one

aim would be to establish a network at the local level

that would continue beyond the workshops. The purpose

would be for the group to inventory each other's approaches

and to suggest ways they could be improved. The cost of

this local effort would be shared by the prime sponsors.

There would be ten regional conferencer to bring attention

to counseling issues and approaches ane to interest prime

sponsors in this type of activity, . The cost would be

approximately $439,000.

7. Knowledge Development - A :series of very successful conferences have been carried in fit-:al 1979 to

educate prime sponsors concerning possibilities for the

use of evaluation, demonstration and research approaches

at the local level. These need to be followed up by oneon-one technical assistance which will bring in experts

to completely review prime sponsor activities and to

suggest specific ways they can be improved as well as

assisting in this process. This would include recommendations for staff development including linkages with

manpower programs in higher education institutions including manpower institutional grantees.

There would have to be a demonstrated commitment by the

prime sponsors to utilize this process, and this could

best be accomplished through a cost sharing approach.

The effort would occur in perhaps 20 prime sponsor areas

a year for two years. The cost, assuming some sharing,

would be approximately $450,000.

2ji
- 206 -

8. Supervisor Training - The key element all evaluators according to of youth work

quality of the experience programs is the worksite supervisors. know about youth What they need to and about basic

general and specific programs must be both

of this effort to different prime sponsors. The aim would be to

packages and develop supervisor training

a cost-sharingconference formats that could be utilized on basis by prime

this cost-sharing. sponsors, and then to provide The cost would be approximately $650,000.

9. Performance Standards and Records - The CETA reauthorization requires employability for individuals development plans

about the form

but there has been very little guidance and usage of the EDP. It is widely recognized that the impact

grams -- particularly measures used for adult profor young placement rates -- are unrealistic persons where participation a multi-year in CETA is part of

psychometric

development process. There is a need for measures of individual as more refined accomplishment as well

of assessment descriptions of status changes. A plethora techniques have been utilized, some quite sophisticated, but rarely have these mine progress been used to deterabout competence

within programs. There are major questions

of States have certifications. In education, a number

have frequentlyadopted competence tests. Private employers complained that CETA does not the quality of its differentiate

have the lowest participants so that all are assumed to common denominator.

basic life skills, Certifications for job maturity, reading and writing ability as well as vocational competencies are needed throughout CETA. Finally, given the emphasis on work experience activities for youth, there is the issue of productivity and the return in terms of output of the dollars spent for

for work valuationyouth wages and salaries. Some procedure is needed to assess these important benefits.

A good deal of work has been done on measurement and assessment issues

ment activities.

under the 1978 and 1979 knowledge develop- The EDP approach

prime sponsors has been used by some for a long time as well as by some other
- 207 -

programs. Certification is extensive in vocational

education as well as in education. Work valuation methodologies have been applied in knowledge development activities

The first step would be to pull together this information

in a reasonable format for presentation in regional conferences with prime sponsor representatives. This would

occur in 1980. Based on these conferences, prime sponsors

seek' 7 to modify their procedures or approaches would be

prov .dd individualized technical assistance. The cost

would be approximately $350,000 for the background work

and the conferences.

10. Youth Partiapation - The Charter for the youth

initiatives stated that "Youth participation should be

emphasized" in design, implementation and administration

of programs. Evaluations of YETP and YCCIP have uniformly

found that effective participation has been limited.

Experience has demonstrated the difficulty of youth

involvement in planning although it has also revealed

opportunities for involvement in monitoring and review,

peer counseling, entrepreneurship and other activities.

Many prime sponsors tried hard to involve youth but were

unsuccessful because of lack of understanding.

The plan for fiscal 1980 is to hold a set of regional

conferences emphasizing ways in which prime sponsors

have been successful in utilizing youth. This would be

?Mowed by one-on-one technical assistance to work with

interested prime sponsors to increase their youth involvement. Cost-sharing would be considered but it might be

necessary to bear the full cost from the national level.

The estimate for 1980 and 1981 would be $375,000.

11. Brokering Assistance Services - This vast array

of technical assistance and training activities would

add to the base which was established in fiscal 1979

which provides assistance directly to prime sponsors and

staff for job restructuring, job development and service

to special needs groups. Additionally, voluminous

information was gathered in fiscal 1978 and 1979 on model

programs. There were a range of mailings of pertinent

information on youth employment, training and education.

In 1980, there will be copious studies resulting from

the national knowledge development activities which will

have application locally.
- 208 -

If this

training tailored

information is to be utilized and assistance anc there must be

to the needs of each prime sponsor, arrangements for addressing them coordinating activities, to individual needs, and to assure that following-throL

local level.

the information is fully utilized at the A broker is needed to coordinate this individualized assistance. On an as-needed broker would work basis, the with the prime

in which the sponsor to suggest ways various mechanisms

to fill needs could best be utilized locally. It would serve as a referral point as well as packaging generalized information about assistance options.

effectiveness of

It would also be able to review the the services offered to assure the highest quality. The estimated cost for eighteen would be $475,000. months

sponsors can finance

12. Professional Development of CETA Staffs. Prime

staff development activities with administrative funds, but they have not uniformly stressed such efforts. There have been to develop various attempts a professional association which would focus on substantive issues, and there is now an effort underw, to form such

tion of the

a group. Youth activities are a major porwould be important responsibilities of prime sponsors and it to provide support for professional development. The cost would be approximately $75,000 annually for networking, assuming a contribution from other CETA national

from prime office services and the primary suppc sponsors.

13. Publication and Dissemination - The findings of knowledge development

useful for research

activities -- both those which are and policy purposes and those which are needed at the local level -- will have little appli- cation or recognition unless they are widely distributed. Experience with ETA R&D efforts in the 1960's demonstrate unequivocably that dissemination was a key feature in determining impact and that failure to provide adequately for this left many important findings unexplcited. With more than half a billion dollars of demonstration it is critically project important that adequate aside for publication resources be set

and dissemination. In the technics assistance account, therefore, $100,000 would be specifi- cally designated for 1980 to produce and distribute research, evaluation and demonstration findings.
- 209 -

14. Summer Improvement - A special monitoring effort

in 11 large cities in 1979 has identified a number

of serious problems under the summer program. These can

be solved by earlier and better planning, improved worksite agreements and better training of supervisors and

other administrative steps.

Prime sponsors in these sites will sign an agreement to

work to improve the program next year through the use of

available administrative funds to provide year-round staff

and to provide technical assistance. In addition, a

Federal contractor will work with the technical assistance

personnel in each city and will coordinate and monitor

their efforts across the board. The cost for this Federal

initiative will be $150,000.
- 210 -

CONTINGENCIES AND SPECIAL PROJECTS

1. The adjustment

in the methodology provisions to correct for changes of calculating unemployment in the allocation formula required $2.5 million funds in fiscal in discretionary 1979. Errors in calculating under the carry-in summer program led to necessary adjustments from discretionary SYEP resources. Floods and other crises led to requirements for 'ICCIP special funding. These needs would be met under this plan with the funds retained by each region from those returned under YEP, where discretionary resources are being substituted for formula funds in order to allow flexibility for consoli- dated planning. It is estimated that $12 million will be returned to the regions by this method.

2. In the vast array of projects which there are constant are underway, requests for modifications ments to meet and suppleneeds. unforeseen requirements and to realize new A contingency for such modifications is abso- lutely essential to maintain operation of the complex array of projects. The minimal amount projected as nec- essary to meet these needs is $1.0 million. be retained by This would the Office of

to longer term Youth Programs and applied projects at the end of fiscal 1980 if not obligated by that point.

3. During both fiscal 1978 and fiscal 1979, numerous proposals were received

of the original that were not within the scope plans and yet deserved consideration. Needs arose which had not been anticipated. Provision for such contingencies will be especially

fiscal 1980 important in because of the possibility of major changes in the youth legislation which may require additional or supplementary approaches. For these purposes, $7.5 million will be set aside for special by the Secretary projects decided and Assistant Secretary. The special youth projects account will be established in ONP. Any projects not covered otherwise by this plan will be submitted to the Assistant Secretary or Secretary or their designated representatives who will make determinations
- 211 -

on funding. ONP will be responsible for project development

and oversight on these funds. A monthly report on project

fundings and activities will be provided to OYP by ONP.

At the end of the year, those funds not obligated will be

applied to continuing youth projects such as the National

Longitudinal Survey.

2J?.
- 212 -

BALANCE, FEASIBILITY AND COST

The 1978 - 1980 youth initiatives represent the most significant commitment in history to assessing and improving a specific area of social welfare programming. Congress and the

ment of Labor Administration have provided the Depart- an unparalleled degree of flexibility and resources to develop knowledge and to promote changes which will lead to more effective efforts. While youth employment and training

expand, and while programs will continue and perhaps

will accrue the returns of the 1978-1980 investment over many years, there

a continuation of cannot nor need not be structured knowledge development and institutional change efforts on the scale of these last few years. Instead, attention will be needed in other critical areas of social welfare programming. This plan, then, aims to achieve some degree of closure on these dimensions of the youth initiatives. It is a departure from previous knowledge development plans in that it emphasizes follow-through and application rather than massive new initiatives.

A primary criterion for assessing this plan is whether it does, in fact, achieve closure. For the most part, knowledge development activities funded under this plan are carried through their completion. There are refine- ments which might be tested in the future, but every major intervention or concept will have been tested. This plan continues

in place projects which had already been put so that they will operate long enough to assure reasonably clearcut findings. There will be some activities which will need continuing support, such as the National Longitudinal Survey, the Consolidated Youth Employment Program, the Comprehensive Opportunity Project, the Career Advancement Intermediary and the Labor Union Intermediary which, by design, represent multi-year commitments beyond the funding authority of 1980 appro- priations; however, most projects in the comprehensive agenda will be supported through termination with the resources provided in fiscal 1980. At the same time, the mechanisms for assessing and applying the results of knowledge development are established in this plan to assure a substantial degree of follow-through and appli- cation.
- 213 -

A second major assessment criterion for this plan is its

operational feasibility. The activities of the 1978-1980

period are cumulative, i.e., projects implemented in 1978

will for the most part be continuing in 1980 with concomitant administrative burdens while new projects must

be implemented in 1980 and then administered.

The capacity of the Department of Labor and the delivery

agents will all be challenged by this cumulative agenda.

The plan seeks to distribute the responsibilities and

burdens as in 1978 and 1979 through the utilization of

many offices in the Department of Labor, other Departments

through interagency agreements, community based organizations, prime sponsors and nonprofit intermediaries.

All the initiatives proposed have already been conceptualized

and a significant degree of developmental work has been

accomplished. If these activities represent the last

significant new initiatives on the youth front, so that

in 1980 the total focus can be on completing what has been

proposed rather than laying plans for new efforts in 1981,

and if the phasedown of 1978 projects begins in 1980,

then the agenda outlined in this plan can be completed.

Another dimension of the feasibility question is simply

cost. The resources available for initiatives in 1980

are $104.0 million in YETP discretionary funds, $28.1

million in YCCIP and $26.4 'million in SYEP. No unobligated carry-in from 1979 SYEP discretionary dollars is

anticipated. This plan fully allocates these resources

with a built-in cushion for special needs which will

emerge during the year.

A third assessment criteric, for this plan is the balance

in the distribution of resources. The plan explicitly

addresses this issue, involving prime sponsors, national

community based groups, labor unions and the private

sector. Funds are administ, ed under a variety of interagency agreementr., and by '..)nprofit intermediary

corporations as vell r; or ?.r direct administration from

OYP. There is a major .Jommitment to the involvement of

minority firms and colleges.
- 214 -

The most important

will achieve the criterion, however, is whether the plan knowledge development and institutional change objectives of YEDPA. With the completion of activities outlined in this plan, will have been every major youth program

will have been

comprehensively evaluated. Demonstrations completed to test

well as impacts. alternative designs as

achieve recognized

Resources will have been utilized to program changes. Every major policy issue will have been addressed

Each known service and comprehensively assessed. approach will have been carefully tested and new packaging will be a vast arrangements demonstrated. There amount of basic data about youth and their needs. Mechanisms will have been established and apply this to interpret information.

The institutional change effects should also be significant. There is already a track record of major interagency cooperation and this would be continued. The involvement of community based organizations has significantly improved their capacities. Resources will have been used to foster linkages between all major youth serving institutions. Delivery capacity will hopefully have been improved by the large scale investment in dissemination and focused tech- nical assistance.

In other words, the activities

should culminate financed with 1980 resources what has been one of the largest efforts ever to improve social welfare programming through structured experimentation and institutional change leveraged by discretionary resources. The result should be a study foundation for youth employment policies and programs to the 1980's.
- 215 -

Fiscal 1980 Projected

Continuation of Existiml

Funding*

YCCIP YETP SYEP

Projects

VICI (CPPV) 500,000

Low-Head High 500,000

Continuation

Watts Youth Employment

and Community Improvement

1,000,000 750,000

Demonstration

Exemplary In-School Grant

Continuation

5,000,000

Rural Youth Occupational 300,000

Information

Private Sector Initiatives 2,300,000

Continuation

Youth Career Development for 1,800,000

School to Work Transition

Researching Alternative 150,000 300,000 300,000

Program Approaches

Youth Community Service 450,000

Demonstration

Career Intern Program 4,200,000

Demonstration

NOICC 3,650,000 1,350,000

Youth Enterprises 1,500,000

Demonstration

Youth Initiatives in Appreticeship Demonstration

1,700,000

National Longitudinal 3,200,000

Survey

Youth Agency Involvement 400,000

Project

*All figures in this table are tentative subject to

and negotiation of specific projects. The planting

are based on the YCCIP, YETP and SYEP budgot levels

by the Conference Committee of the House and Sanate

2 41

development

ficsnres

approved
- 216 -

Continuous Longitudinal 600,000 600,000 Manpower Survey of YCCIP

and YETP

Supported Work 3,500,000

Jobs for Delaware

2,000,000 Graduates

Youth Discretionary

Feedback Demonstration

Project 100,000 200,000 100,000

Knowledge Development Retrieval Project 100,000 200,000 200,000

Advanced Training Employ- ment Demonstration Project 1,360,000

Vocational Exploration

Demonstration Project 2,300,000

Job Corps Education

250,000 Improvement Effort
2. Extension, Replication

and Follow-Through

Low-Head Dam Replication

Cooperative Youth Weatherization Demonstration

Exemplary In-School Grant

Program

Private Sector Initiatives

Volunteer Youth Agency Involvement Project

Consolidated Youth Employment Program

Delinquency Prevention

Project

Mixed Income Experiment

Career Advancement Voucher

Demonstration

Job Restructuring Demonstration

Agriculture Entrepreneurship Project

Summer Demonstration Programs

- 217 -

YCCIP

7,800,000

6,000,000

2.13

YETP SYEP

9,000,000

6,500,000

5,500,000 3,500,000

12,000,000

4,300,000

6,000,000

3,200,000

500,000

4,000,000

11,000,000
3.

- 218 -

New Initiatives

YCCIP YETP SYEP

Vocational Improvement 200,000

Wage and Allowance 50,000 250,000 Experiment

Computerized Assessment 50,000 250,000

YACC Enrichment 150,000 250,000

Job Corps Follow-Up

250,000

Second Chance Program 250,000 500,000 350,000

Career Development Awards

100,000

Parental Involvement

1,000,000

Comprehensive Opportunity

Project* YIEPP $2,500,000 500,000 500,000 1,000,000 Labor Union Youth Employ- ment Intermediary 3,000,000

Handicapped Youth Transition Project 1,000,000

Support Services Demonstration for Handicapped 350,000 250,000 Youth

Solo Parents Demonstration 2,650,000

Troubled Youth Intermediary

Demonstration 2,000,000

Support Services Demonstration for Substance 350,000 250,000

Abusers

Rural Citizens Rights

Project 1,000,000

Rural Models Project 100,000 100,000 100,000

Refugee Employment Efforts 1,000,000

*All figures in this table

and negotiation are tentative subject to development of specific

are based on the projects. The planning figures YCCIP, YETP and the Conference STEP budget levels approved by Committee of the House and Senate.

2,N
4.

- 219 -

Translating Knowledge

YCCIP YETP SYEP

Into Policy

Minority College Involvement 2,500,000

Project

Minority Research 50,000 50,000 50,000

Perspectives Project

Institutional, Dissertation and Small Grant

250,000 650,000 500,000

Support

Continuing Research 250,000 1,000,000 250,000
5.

- 220 -

Putting the Lessons

YCCIP YETP SYEP

Into Practice

Improving the State Role

in Employment and Training

250,000 700,000 500,000

Programs

Assistance to Community

Groups 250,000 750,000 250,000

Vocational Training

500,000

Education Systems and

Approaches 500,000 150,000

Occupational Information 500,000

Counseling

100,000 239,000 100,000

Knowledge Deyelopment 150,000 200,000 100,000 Supervisor Training

250,000 400,000

Performance Standards

and Records 50,000 350,000 50,000

Youth Participation 125,000 125,000 125,000

Brokering Assistance

Services 125,000 175,000 175,000

professional Development

of CETA Staffs 25,000 50,000

Publication and Dissemination 25,000 50,000 25,000

Summar Improvement

150,000

Contingencies and Special

100,000 Needs Demonstration Project

Secretary's Discretionary

Fund 2,000,000 3,500,000 2,000,000

TOTAL $28,150,000 104,049,000 $26,575,000