CVPP Evaluation: Youth Employment Program & Parent Program

1. CVPP Evaluation:Youth Employment Program & Parent Program Presentation by: Jessica Reichert, Senior Research Analyst Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority CVPP Steering Committee Meeting February 13, 2014

2. Evaluation of Youth Employment Program

3. YEP evaluation methods • Administrative data • Job readiness training survey • Mentor training survey • Employer exit survey • Coordinator manager survey • Mentor exit survey • Youth exit survey • Youth pre- and post-assessment

4. Lead Agencies: Program data • 7,254 youth applied to the program • 1,894 were accepted • 1,604 completed job readiness training • 1,838 were assigned a mentor • 1,466 completed employment

5. Youth: On job readiness training Agreed or strongly agreed about the training:

6. Youth: On job readiness training Spend more time on • Resumes, applications (n=48) • Interview techniques (n=44) • Money management (n=29) Spend less time on: • Dressing appropriately for a job (n=45) • Hygiene (n=31)

7. Youth: On job readiness training Liked best about the training: • Learning job readiness/life skills (n=152) • Activities/role plays/games (n=95) • Teamwork/ group discussion (n=81) Change about the training • Nothing (n=228) • More interactive activities (n=131) • More organized/prepared (n=69)

8. Mentors: On training Agreed or strongly agreed about the training:

9. Mentors: On training Spend more time on: • Nothing (n=31) • More time with youth (n=13) • Dealing with problems, crises, emergencies (n=10)

10. Employer: Program ratings Ratings: • YEP was successful or very succesful-85% • Satisfied or very satisfied with their experience as a YEP employer- 84% • Satisfied or very satisfied with matching of youth with their agency- 81% • Good or very good communication with YEP staff - 80% • YEP youth were prepared or very prepared 71%

11. Employer: Interested in serving as YEP employer again

12. Employer: Hiring YEP youth

13. Employer: Change about program • Nothing (n=15) • More preparation for youth (n=15) • Longer program/more hours for youth (n=13) • Better communication with program (n=12)

14. Coordinators/Managers: Ratings Rated aspects of YEP good or very good:

15. Coordinator/Manager: Comment “I really appreciated the fact that it kept a lot of kids off the street this summer and gave them a chance, not only to do something positive, but earn money.”

16. Mentors: Ratings Rated aspects of YEP good or very good:

17. Mentor: On relationship w/ mentee Rated aspects of YEP good or very good:

18. Youth: How learned about YEP How learned about YEP

19. Youth: Ratings of program Rated aspects of YEP good or excellent:

20. Youth: Job training prepare you for job?

21. Youth: Training skills used • Time management- 77% • Dressing appropriately for the job- 75% • Professional vocab, communication- 70% • Money management- 59% • Conflict resolution- 54%

22. Youth: Job a good match?

23. Youth: Work benefitted employer?

24. Youth: Offered a job?

25. Youth: Gain from mentoring? Most common responses: • Guidance/general advice (n=85) • A Relationship/Someone I can talk to and trust (n=82) • Confidence/self-esteem (n=62) • Communication skills (n=52)

26. Pre- and post-assessment Measured: • attitudes toward employment • attitudes toward violence • conflict resolution • self-esteem Received: • 2,068 forms • 1,446 pre- and 622 post-assessments • 368 matched pre- and post-assessments

27. Pre- and post- results

28. Conclusions from YEP evaluation • Youth very satisfied with program, job training, job, and mentor • Small decreases in some mean pre- and post- scores (started and ended high) • Mentors rated training and program high • Recommendations to improve payroll • Employers satisfied with program, some suggestions to better prepare youth

29. Suggestions to enhance YEP Focus on youth at-risk, in need • Selection process • Limit college students • Limit prior participants • Priority to those with jj or cj involvement • Priority to those with no prior employment • Priority to those with limited, no opportunities for another job

30. Suggestions to enhance YEP Encourage education for higher level, higher paying jobs Enhance mentoring component • Mentors should discuss, help mentees with • conflict resolution • self-esteem • violence

31. Suggestions to enhance YEP • Enhance evaluation • Improve survey administration, completion rate • Repeated instruction by Evaluator • Encourage administer the same way each time, no distractions, enough time allotted • Add questions

32. Evaluation of Parent Program

33. Evaluation of PP methods • Administrative data • Parent Leader training evaluation • Coordinator/ Manager exit survey • Parent Leader exit survey • Parent Leader pre- and post-survey

34. Lead Agencies: Program data • 983 Parent Leaders recruited • 834 Parent Leaders trained • 4,816 hours spent on service projects • 107 projects completed

35. Parent Leader: Training ratings Agreed or strongly agreed:

36. Parent Leader: Learned from training Agreed or strongly agreed:

37. Coordinators/Managers: On program Rated good or very good:

38. Coordinators/Managers: Community service Improved community Increased protective factors

39. Coordinators/Managers: Continuing service project

40. Parent Leaders: On program Rated good or very good:

41. Parent Leaders: Incorporate what learned in daily life?

42. Parent Leaders: Community service Improved community Increased protective factors

43. Pre- and post- survey Measured: • family functioning and resiliency • social and concrete support • nurturing and attachment • Child development/ knowledge of parenting Received: • 889 surveys • 613 pre- and 276 post-surveys • 204 matched pre- and post-surveys

44. Pre- and post- results

45. Conclusions from Parent Program evaluation • Program increased protective factors • Parent Leader trainings well received • Administrative teams’ responses were favorable to the program • Parent Leaders thought program was well conducted and successful

46. Suggestions to enhance PP • Increase protective factor of social and concrete support • Reduced change in means on 3 items: • I have others who will listen when I need to talk about my problems. • I wouldn’t know where to go for help if I had trouble making ends meet. (reverse coded) • If I needed help finding a job, I wouldn’t know where to go for help.

47. Suggestions to enhance PP • Recruit younger parents with young children • More at-risk for child abuse, neglect • Continue to recruit primary caregivers • To have greatest impact on parenting; training material most relevant to them • Recruit more fathers • Involvement in child’s life is a protective factor, can reduce child maltreatment

48. Suggestions to enhance PP Enhance evaluation • Improve survey administration, completion rate • Add questions: • Parent Leaders: Age; gender; number & ages of children; status as primary caregiver of own children or grandchildren; loss of custody of children, prior DCFS involvement • Service projects: Number of participants/attendance per project; duration of service project

49. Thank you! Questions/comments Jessica.Reichert@Illinois.gov Reports will be available Spring 2014 on website www.icjia.state.il.us