Main findings from the program evaluation include the following: 90 percent of the young people involved in the JOBSTART program averaged 400 hours of activities, with wide variation in the intensity of their participation; program participants passed the GED (General Educational Development) exam or graduated from high school at rates higher than non-participants, 42 percent compared to 28.6 percent, respectively; while program participants earned less on average in the first year after finishing the program, their earnings in the 2 following years passed those of nonparticipants; and participants who had been arrested between age 16 and program entry or had dropped out of school saw the largest impact on their earnings after finishing the program. This report presents an evaluation of the JOBSTART program, a program aimed at improving the employment and earning prospects for school dropouts. The program was implemented between 1985 and 1988 in 13 sites, and included participants aged 17 to 21 who had dropped out of school and had poor reading skills. Participants received educational and vocational training along with job placement assistance. While the findings indicate that participants in the JOBSTART program saw improvements in participants' earnings in the years following completion of the program, the cost to the community of implementing the program was not offset by the increase in earnings. Suggestions for implementing the program in a more cost effective manner are discussed. Tables and figures
JOBSTART: Final Report on a Program for School Dropouts
NCJ Number
237270
Date Published
October 1993
Length
273 pages
Annotation
This document is the final report on the JOBSTART program, a program aimed at improving the employment and earning prospects for school dropouts.
Abstract