YARH-3 Impact Study
Creators: name: Wissel, Sarah
Publisher: name: Open Science Framework
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Social and Behavioral Sciences

description: The YARH-3 summative evaluation will be the first rigorous impact evaluation of Colorado’s Pathways comprehensive service model. The impact study will use a cluster quasi-experimental design to assess the outcomes of youth and young adults in counties offering Pathways (intervention condition) and counties offering Chafee services as usual (comparison counties). Pathways case managers (known as Navigators) will use coaching strategies to develop a working alliance with the youth or young adult by listening to them, asking powerful questions, approaching them with curiosity instead of judgment, encouraging them, helping them set achievable goals, and respectfully holding them accountable. The impact study will examine outcomes at three timepoints – 6-, 12-, and 24-months after enrollment – to see the short- and long- term effects of Pathways. The impact study will collect outcomes in five areas: (1) housing, (2) education, (3) employment, (4) permanent connections, and (5) health and well-being. This study will address the following research questions: 1. What is the impact of Pathways on key outcomes, including but not limited to housing, educational attainment, employment, permanency, and well-being? 2. Is Pathways particularly effective for key subgroups of the target population? Subgroups of interest are based on demographic characteristics and foster care experiences. 3. Do features of Pathways implementation influence youth outcomes? Outcome Domains The impact study includes 10 outcome domains, most of which will be measured at the 24-month follow-up survey: 1. Education and employment 2. Stable housing 3. Child welfare history and status 4. Permanent connections to caring adults 5. Connections with youth/peers 6. Social-emotional well-being 7. Involvement with criminal justice system or juvenile justice system 8. Access to available system resources 9. Readiness for adulthood 10. Parenting These outcomes will also be examined as secondary outcome measures, by examining impacts at 6- and 12-months post baseline. Inclusion criteria There are three study inclusion criteria: 1. Youth is between 14 and 23 years old 2. Youth or young adult has a foster care history at age 14 or older 3. Youth has at least one risk for homelessness according to the Pathways screening tool Key Design Features: • Well-matched quasi-experimental design: Twenty-one counties will implement Pathways and sixteen counties will serve as a comparison group. The counties are well matched in terms of demographics, poverty levels, urbanicity, youth homelessness, and Chafee service receipt. • Strong effective contrast: The Pathways program will be compared against business-as-usual service provision provided by a Chafee worker. Standard service provision is not coach like nor is it youth driven. Referrals through Pathways will be needs driven rather than standardized, and Pathways youth will have far more frequent interactions with their Navigator than will youth in comparison counties. • Large study sample: Approximately 750 youth are expected to enroll into Chafee services in study counties during the impact study and will be invited to participate. • Comprehensive measurement of outcome domains and at multiple periods: Survey data collection will occur with youth at 6 months post enrollment (about halfway into typical Pathways duration), 12 months after entry (immediately after completing Pathways), and 24 months after entry (12 months after the end of Pathways). The survey will cover 10 outcome domains of interest. Administrative data from the Linked Information Network of Colorado will provide additional outcomes on child welfare, public assistance, and employment, among others. • Bayesian interpretation of impact findings to complement frequentist presentation: The study will supplement the traditional inferential test results from the impact study with a Bayesian presentation of the findings to offer a more nuanced interpretation. The impact study of Pathways will provide information on the effectiveness of the program on outcomes related to stable housing, education, employment, permanent connections to caring adults, and social-emotional well-being . It will provide information the child welfare field, particularly Chafee programs, can use to rethink the services offered to and way of working with youth and young people at risk of homelessness.