Population in Focus: What Works for Young Adults?

Young adults (aged 16-24)

Population in focus: what works for young adults?

For more information about the interventions covered in this proﬁle, use the hyperlinks in Exhibit 1 below.

Overview

Are you looking for the best ways to support the young adults you serve? Young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 can face unique challenges and opportunities as they transition into the labor market. This Population in Focus page summarizes what we know about how labor market outcomes for young adults experiencing economic hardship are affected by interventions that aim to improve their education, employment, and economic self-sufﬁciency.

What works?

As of April 2023, the Pathways Clearinghouse identiﬁed 14 interventions that served young adults and had at least one study with evidence rated high or moderate. These 14 interventions were described in 14 studies. Across all interventions measuring impacts on a given outcome domain—earnings, employment, public beneﬁt receipt, and education and training—the interventions with the largest long-term effects and a supported rating were the following:

Earnings

Year Up had the largest effects on long-term annual earnings (an average of $7,154 per year). Year Up offered training and work experience in the information technology and investment operations fields to young adults to help them access careers with good pay and advancement opportunities.

Employment

National Guard Youth ChalleNGe had the largest effects on long-term employment (an average of 6 percentage points). The ChalleNGe Program aimed to improve the lives of youth who were out of school and under- or unemployed by providing education, positive youth development, and mentorship.

Public benefit receipt

Job Corps had the largest effects on long-term benefit receipt (decreasing the amount of public benefits received by $47 per year). Job Corps provided individualized education, vocational training, residential support, comprehensive health services, counseling, and job placement assistance to economically disadvantaged youth. These services were typically provided in a residential setting with the goal of helping participants become more responsible and obtain employment.

Effects on long-term beneﬁt receipt

Job Corps

$47

Increase long-term benefit receipt

Education and training

Transition WORKS had the largest effects on education and training (increasing the attainment of a degree or credential by an average of 28 percentage points). Transition WORKS aimed to empower youth receiving disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and improve their economic self-sufficiency through a series of workshops focused on self-determination, education and employment services, case management, financial incentives, work-based experience, and job development.

Interventions serving young adults: implementation and outcomes

Understanding the way an intervention is implemented can help practitioners decide whether it is likely to have similar effects if implemented in a new setting. Exhibit 1 lists 14 interventions for young adults including their primary services, settings, populations, and their effectiveness by outcome domain.

View table help

Exhibit 1. Interventions serving young adults: characteristics and effectiveness.

Intervention	Services	Settings	Populations and employment barriers	State(s) where implemented	Term	Increase earnings	Increase employment	Decrease public beneﬁt receipt	Increase education and training
Bridges to Pathways (Bridges)	Education, Case management, Job search assistance, Soft skills training, Work readiness activities, Work and work-based learning, Health services, Subsidized employment, Supportive services	Urban only	Young adults (aged 16-24), Former incarceration, Male, Justice system involvement, Less than high school diploma or GED	East North Central, Illinois	Short-term	$21	16%		4%
Bridges to Pathways (Bridges)		Urban only		East North Central, Illinois	Long-term	$-1,527	-1%		4%
Broadened Horizons, Brighter Futures (BHBF)	Case management, Work experience, Unpaid work experience, Apprenticeships, Work and work-based learning, Training, Supportive services, Soft skills training, Financial incentives, Financial education, Employment retention services, Job development/job placement, Job search assistance, Work readiness activities, Employment coaching	Urban only	Disability(ies), Young adults (aged 16-24)	South Atlantic, Florida	Short-term	$2,196	3%	$-80	1%
Broadened Horizons, Brighter Futures (BHBF)		Urban only	Disability(ies), Young adults (aged 16-24)	South Atlantic, Florida	Long-term	$2,238	3%	$558	1%
Job Corps	Training, Supportive services, Soft skills training, Substance use disorder treatment and mental health services, Physical health services, Health services, Education, Job search assistance, Work readiness activities, Occupational or sectoral training	Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (aged 16-24)		Short-term	$-795	4%	$-85	9%
Job Corps		Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (aged 16-24)		Long-term	$711	1%	$-47	9%
JOBSTART	Training, Job search assistance, Work readiness activities, Work experience, Unpaid work experience, Occupational or sectoral training, Supportive services, Soft skills training, Financial incentives, Education, Job development/job placement	Urban only	Young adults (aged 16-24), Less than high school diploma or GED	Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, California	Short-term	$0	-1%	$50	6%
JOBSTART		Urban only			Long-term	$1,213	-1%	$19	6%
Los Angeles Reconnections Career Academy (LARCA) Program	Education, Job development/job placement, Job search assistance, Work readiness activities, Work experience, Work and work-based learning, Occupational or sectoral training, Training, Supportive services, Soft skills training, Financial education, Case management	Urban only	Less than high school diploma or GED, Young adults (aged 16-24)	Pacific, California	Short-term	$-1,067	-1%	$272	3%
Los Angeles Reconnections Career Academy (LARCA) Program		Urban only		Pacific, California	Long-term	$-2,740	-4%	$-28	3%
National Guard Youth ChalleNGe	Education, Work readiness activities, Soft skills training, Case management, Job search assistance	Tested in multiple settings	Less than high school diploma or GED, Young adults (aged 16-24)	East North Central, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, South Atlantic, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, East South Central, Mississippi, West South Central, Texas, Mountain, New Mexico, Pacific, California	Short-term				11%
National Guard Youth ChalleNGe		Tested in multiple settings			Long-term	$2,991	6%		11%
Transition WORKS	Work readiness activities, Employment coaching, Work experience, Unpaid work experience, Apprenticeships, Work and work-based learning, Soft skills training, Financial incentives, Financial education, Employment retention services, Case management, Job development/job placement, Job search assistance	Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (aged 16-24), Disability(ies)	Middle Atlantic, New York	Short-term	$188	3%	$-58	28%
Transition WORKS		Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (aged 16-24), Disability(ies)	Middle Atlantic, New York	Long-term	$1,673	1%	$173	28%
Urban Alliance’s High School Internship Program	Work experience, Supportive services, Soft skills training, Financial incentives, Financial education, Case management, Work readiness activities, Subsidized employment, Work and work-based learning, Job search assistance, Training	Urban only	Young adults (aged 16-24), Less than high school diploma or GED	East North Central, Illinois, Michigan, South Atlantic, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia	Short-term				1%
Urban Alliance’s High School Internship Program		Urban only			Long-term				1%
Vocational Coaches to Enhance Multisystemic Therapy for Emerging Adults (MST-EA)	Employment coaching, Work readiness activities	Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (aged 16-24), Mental illness, Former incarceration	East North Central	Short-term		12%
	Employment coaching, Work readiness activities	Tested in multiple settings		East North Central	Long-term
Year Up	Job development/job placement, Job search assistance, Soft skills training, Work readiness activities, Sanctions, Work experience, Financial education, Work and work-based learning, Education, Occupational or sectoral training, Training, Supportive services	Tested in multiple settings, Urban only	Young adults (aged 16-24)	New England, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Middle Atlantic, New York, East North Central, Illinois, South Atlantic, District of Columbia, Georgia, Pacific, California, Washington	Short-term	$-16,859	4%		5%
Year Up		Tested in multiple settings, Urban only	Young adults (aged 16-24)		Long-term	$7,154	0%		5%
Year Up Professional Training Corps (PTC)	Supportive services, Job development/job placement, Job search assistance, Education, Work readiness activities, Work experience, Work and work-based learning, Occupational or sectoral training, Training, Soft skills training	Tested in multiple settings	High school diploma or GED, Young adults (aged 16-24)	New England, Massachusetts, Middle Atlantic, New York, Pennsylvania, East North Central, Illinois, South Atlantic, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia, West South Central, Texas, Mountain, Arizona, Pacific, California, Washington	Short-term	$-9,496	0%
Year Up Professional Training Corps (PTC)		Tested in multiple settings	High school diploma or GED, Young adults (aged 16-24)		Long-term
Young Adult Internship Program (YAIP)	Work experience, Work and work-based learning, Supportive services, Soft skills training, Financial education, Employment retention services, Case management, Job development/job placement, Job search assistance, Work readiness activities, Subsidized employment	Urban only	Young adults (aged 16-24)	Middle Atlantic, New York	Short-term	$1,464	8%		1%
Young Adult Internship Program (YAIP)		Urban only	Young adults (aged 16-24)	Middle Atlantic, New York	Long-term	$523	2%		1%
YouthBuild	Training, Job search assistance, Work readiness activities, Work experience, On-the-job training, Work and work-based learning, Occupational or sectoral training, Supportive services, Soft skills training, Health services, Financial incentives, Employment retention services, Education, Case management	Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (aged 16-24)	New England, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Middle Atlantic, New Jersey, New York, East North Central, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, West North Central, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, South Atlantic, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, East South Central, Mississippi, Tennessee, West South Central, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Pacific, California, Oregon, Washington, Puerto Rico and Island Areas, U.S. Virgin Islands	Short-term	$-126	1%	$105	2%
YouthBuild		Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (aged 16-24)		Long-term	$1,360	4%	$33	2%
YVLifeSet	Case management, Supportive services, Soft skills training	Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (aged 16-24)	East South Central, Tennessee	Short-term	$1,569	4%	$138	3%
YVLifeSet		Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (aged 16-24)	East South Central, Tennessee	Long-term	$544	3%		3%