Welcome

Tuesday, June 8, 2021 – Thursday, June 10, 2021

Civic Engagement as a Catalyst 

for Community Change: 

2021 Research Grantee 

Dialogue

1

Mary Hyde, Ph.D.

Director, 

Office of Research and Evaluation
Civic Engagement as a Catalyst for Community 

Change: 2021 Research Grantee Dialogue.

2

Civic Engagement and 

Pathways to Employment

June 09, 2021
3

Melissa Gouge, Ph.D.

Research Analyst

Office of Research and Evaluation/ 

AmeriCorps NCCC

Panel Moderator

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment
4

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment

Carlin Rafie, Ph.D., MS, RD

Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist

Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Exercise

Virginia Tech

Participatory Action Planning to Address the 

Opioid Epidemic in a Rural Virginia Community

Emily Zimmerman, Ph.D., MS, MPH

Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine 

and Population Health, Div. of Epidemiology, 

Virginia Commonwealth University

Director of Community Engaged Research and 

Qualitative Research, Center on Society and Health

2018 Community Conversations Research Grantee
5

☼ Opioid use disorder (OUD) as an emerging national 

health issue

☼ Martinsville and Henry County, Virginia identified as 

a community with a significant OUD crisis

☼ Community task force approaches Engaging 

Martinsville for help.

☼ The SEED Method

☼ Multi-level stakeholder engagement

☼ Generation of community derived responsive 

strategies

☼ Community buy-in and prioritization of strategies for 

action

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment

Project process
6

Project Accomplishments

 Create a Detox Center in Martinsville & Henry 

County

 Establish a Drug Court in Martinsville & Henry 

County

 Increase public awareness of local substance 

and opioid use treatment, recovery, and 

support resources

 Expand and sustain youth and parent opioid 

use prevention education in Martinsville & 

Henry County schools

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment
7

Sam Intrator, Ph.D.

Elizabeth A. Woodson 1922 Professor of Education & 

Child Study

Smith College

2018 Grantee

Insert Headshots Here

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment

Project S.P.A.R.C
8

How Out-of-School Programs Can 

Support the Transition Out of High 

School

Ready to Launch 
9

Getting Stuck Youth Participatory Action 

Research on How Out-of-School 

Programs Can Support the 

Transition Out of High School
10

Youth Participatory Action 

Research on How Out-of-School 

Programs Can Support the 

Transition Out of High School

Swimming At Your Own Risk
11

Does AmeriCorps Experience Improve a Young 

Person’s Employment Prospects?

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment

Jodi Benenson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, School of Public Administration, 

University of Nebraska Omaha

Noorya Hayat, Ed.M.

Senior Researcher, CIRCLE, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, 

Tufts University

2015 National Service and Civic Engagement Research 

Competition
12

Two Complementary Studies

• Study 1: A correspondence study to 

examine the impact of AmeriCorps on 

employment outcomes. We created 

fictitious application materials and applied 

to 2,010 jobs between 2016-17.

• Study 2: Used a survey, interviews, and small 

correspondence study to explore the 

perceptions of hiring managers from the 

Employers of National Service (ENS) network 

on AmeriCorps service experience. 

Focus Area: National Service and Employment

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment
13

Study Findings

• In the correspondence study, we found that there was 

not a significant difference in the rate of callbacks 

between applications that included national service 

experience and those that did not. 

• We also found that a college degree was the major 

predictor of receiving a callback for a job 

application. 

• By examining perceptions of ENS, we found that if 

employers know and understand AmeriCorps they are 

likely to take it into account in hiring decisions.

• However, many hiring managers lack in-depth 

understanding of AmeriCorps and how it builds career 

and leadership skills that are invaluable in any job 

position. 

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment
14

Research & Policy Implications 

• College degree is used as a “signal” for implicit 

qualities and earned skills

• Very few job opportunities are visible in an 

online search for non-college youth, including 

national service alumni

• Building familiarity with national service through 

Employers of National Service opens 

employment pathways

• Further exploration needed around why and for 

whom national service experience boosts 

employment prospects

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment
15

Laura Schlachter, Ph.D.

Research Analyst, 

AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation

Researcher, 

University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives

UW-Madison

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment
16

Grantee Program Accomplishments

Add Community 

Partners Logo

The “civic spillover hypothesis” posits that participation 

at work begets civic participation. But what happens 

when civic engagement leads to more participatory 

workplaces?

We use survey and interview data from the most 

systematic study of U.S. worker cooperatives to 

complicate core assumptions of the civic spillover 

hypothesis and propose an alternative “civic 

enrichment hypothesis.”

Our civic enrichment framework recognizes that 

professional and civic spheres often overlap and the 

potential for civic experiences off the clock to shape 

the nature of work.

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment
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Our first study demonstrated how civic enrichment 

operates in the unique context of firms fully owned and 

democratically controlled by workers.

Our next step is to examine the spillover vs. enrichment 

hypotheses in the context of conventional workplaces.

We will analyze responses to new questions about the 

relationship between work and civic life we are 

introducing in the 2021 CPS Civic Engagement and 

Volunteering Supplement.

Grantee Program Accomplishments

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment

Add Community 

Partners Logo
18

Kimberly Bender, PhD, MSW

Philip D. and Eleanor G. Winn Endowed Professor for 

Children and Youth 

University of Denver, Graduate School of Social Work in 

partnership with the Colorado Coalition for the 

Homeless

2018 Grantee

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment
19

Using participatory research methods, this study 

aims to understand how mutual aid (i.e., peer -

t o - peer support) can support young people 

experiencing homelessness to build social 

capital and civic engagement. 

Our team has developed deep insights into how:

1 . Young people experiencing homelessness 

perceive mutual aid provided by peer workers

2 . Peer workers experience their role, including 

the personal benefits, challenges and needs 

associated with providing mutual aid 

3 . Young people experiencing homelessness 

conceptualize social capital and civic 

engagement

Grantee Program Accomplishments

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment
20

Our methods have included:

• Individual interviews

• Semi - structured journaling

• Photovoice 

Relevant to today’s topic, we’ve found

• Engaging in photovoice can be a 

source of social capital and civic 

engagement

• Peer support can be a pathway to 

paid meaningful employment but 

requires thoughtful organizational 

support

Grantee Program Accomplishments

Civic Engagement and Pathways 

to Employment
21

Melissa Gouge, Ph.D.

Research Analyst, 

Office of Research and 

Evaluation, 

AmeriCorps

Civic Engagement and Pathways to Employment

Panelist Discussion and Q&A

Jodi Benenson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor,

University of Nebraska 

Omaha

Carlin Rafie, Ph.D., 

MS, RD

Assistant Professor and 

Extension Specialist

Virginia Tech

Noorya Hayat, Ed.M

Senior Researcher, CIRCLE, 

Tufts University

Emily Zimmerman, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor and 

Extension Specialist

Virginia Tech

Kimberly Bender, Ph.D., 

MSW

Philip D. and Eleanor G. Winn 

Endowed Professor, 

University of Denver

Laura Schlachter, Ph.D.

Researcher,

University of Wisconsin Center 

for Cooperatives

Sam Intrator, Ph.D.

Elizabeth A. Woodson 1922 

Professor of Education & 

Child Study

Smith College