Population in Focus: What Works for Young Adults?

Young adults (age 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 $12,466 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

Teenage Parent Demonstration had the largest effects on long-term benefit receipt (decreasing the amount of public benefits received by $282 per year). The Teenage Parent Demonstration provided education, training, and supportive services to teenage first-time parents who were recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).

Effects on long-term benefit receipt

Teenage Parent Demonstration

$282

Decrease 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
Adult Connections Team	Job readiness, Case management, Peer mentoring, Unpaid work experience/internships, Soft skills training	Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (age 16-24), Unemployed	Illinois	Short-term	$10,644
Adult Connections Team		Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (age 16-24), Unemployed	Illinois	Long-term
Bridges to Pathways (Bridges)	Case management, Ongoing support, Employment skills development, Employment experiences, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Assessment, Soft skills training, Job search assistance, Subsidized employment/transitional jobs, Basic skills/bridge programs, Transportation assistance, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives	Urban only	Justice involvement, Young adults (age 16-24), Less than a high school diploma or equivalent	East North Central, Illinois	Short-term	$36	16%		4%
Bridges to Pathways (Bridges)		Urban only		East North Central, Illinois	Long-term	$-2,661	-1%		4%
Broadened Horizons, Brighter Futures (BHBF)	Paid work experience/internships, Soft skills training, Job development, Job search assistance, Job readiness, Job placement, Financial education, Housing supports and subsidies, Employment coaching, Case management, Ongoing support, Goal setting, Employment experiences	Urban only	Disability(ies), Public benefits recipients, Young adults (age 16-24)	South Atlantic, Florida	Short-term	$3,827	3%	$-100	1%
Broadened Horizons, Brighter Futures (BHBF)		Urban only		South Atlantic, Florida	Long-term	$3,900	3%	$698	1%
Ecologically-Based Treatment	Case management, Assessment, Benefit navigation/access, Goal setting, Treatment or recovery services for substance use disorder, Mental health services, Housing supports and subsidies	Urban only	Young adults (age 16-24), Single parents, Parents, Homelessness, Substance use disorder	Ohio	Short-term		-5%
Ecologically-Based Treatment		Urban only		Ohio	Long-term
Job Corps	Occupational or sectoral training, Soft skills training, Job search assistance, Job readiness, Job placement, Basic skills/bridge programs, Physical health services, Mental health services, Case management	Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (age 16-24)	Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming	Short-term	$-1,385	4%	$-107	9%
Job Corps		Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (age 16-24)		Long-term	$1,239	1%	$-58	9%
JOBSTART	Occupational or sectoral training, Job placement, Unpaid work experience/internships, Paid work experience/internships, Integrated education and training, Basic skills/bridge programs, Transportation assistance, Stipends, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives	Urban only	Young adults (age 16-24), At least a high school diploma or equivalent	Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, California	Short-term	$0	-1%	$62	6%
JOBSTART		Urban only			Long-term	$2,114	-1%	$24	6%
Los Angeles Reconnections Career Academy (LARCA) Program	Education and Training, Ongoing support, Action step development, Employment Retention and Advancement Services, Soft skills training, Job search assistance, Job readiness, Job placement, Work and Work-Based Approaches, Supportive services, Health-Related Services, Cash/Income Supports, Peer mentoring, Case management	Urban only	Young adults (age 16-24), Less than a high school diploma or equivalent	Pacific, California	Short-term	$-1,859	-1%	$340	3%
Los Angeles Reconnections Career Academy (LARCA) Program		Urban only		Pacific, California	Long-term	$-4,775	-4%	$-34	3%
National Guard Youth ChalleNGe	Basic skills/bridge programs, Job placement	Tested in multiple settings	Unemployed, Young adults (age 16-24), Less than a high school diploma or equivalent	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	Basic skills/bridge programs, Job placement	Tested in multiple settings			Long-term	$5,212	6%		11%
Teenage Parent Demonstration	Case management, Job search assistance, Job readiness, Job placement, Work supports, Transportation assistance, Childcare and/or early education	Urban only	Single parents, Parents, Young adults (age 16-24), Cash assistance recipients, Public benefits recipients	Middle Atlantic, New Jersey, East North Central, Illinois	Short-term
Teenage Parent Demonstration		Urban only		Middle Atlantic, New Jersey, East North Central, Illinois	Long-term			$-282
Transition WORKS	Job readiness, Post-employment participant follow-up, Job search assistance, Job placement, Job development, Unpaid work experience/internships, Paid work experience/internships, Employment coaching, Case management	Tested in multiple settings	Disability(ies), Unemployed, Young adults (age 16-24), Public benefits recipients	Middle Atlantic, New York	Short-term	$328	3%	$-72	28%
Transition WORKS		Tested in multiple settings		Middle Atlantic, New York	Long-term	$2,916	1%	$216	28%
Urban Alliance’s High School Internship Program	Subsidized employment/transitional jobs, Career planning, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Employment experiences, Employment skills development, Ongoing support, Case management, Employment coaching, Financial education, Paid work experience/internships, Soft skills training	Urban only	Young adults (age 16-24), Less than a high school diploma or equivalent	East North Central, Illinois, Michigan, South Atlantic, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia	Short-term		5%		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, Job search assistance, Job readiness, Financial education, Mental health services	Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (age 16-24)	East North Central	Short-term		12%
		Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (age 16-24)	East North Central	Long-term
Year Up	Job development, Ongoing support, Employment skills development, Employment experiences, Career planning, Job readiness, Occupational or sectoral training, Stipends, Peer mentoring, Employment coaching, Soft skills training, Job search assistance, Paid work experience/internships, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Case management	Tested in multiple settings, Urban only	Young adults (age 16-24), At least a high school diploma or equivalent	New England, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Middle Atlantic, New York, East North Central, Illinois, South Atlantic, District of Columbia, Georgia, Pacific, California, Washington	Short-term	$-29,380	4%		5%
Year Up		Tested in multiple settings, Urban only			Long-term	$12,466	0%		5%
Year Up Professional Training Corps (PTC)	Education and Training, Ongoing support, Employment skills development, Employment experiences, Soft skills training, Job search assistance, Job placement, Unpaid work experience/internships, Stipends, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Peer mentoring, Employment coaching	Tested in multiple settings	Young adults (age 16-24), At least a high school diploma or equivalent	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, Delaware	Short-term	$-16,549	0%
Year Up Professional Training Corps (PTC)		Tested in multiple settings			Long-term
Young Adult Internship Program (YAIP)	Subsidized employment/transitional jobs, Ongoing support, Employment skills development, Employment experiences, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Job search assistance, Job readiness, Stipends, Peer mentoring, Case management	Urban only	Young adults (age 16-24)	Middle Atlantic, New York	Short-term	$2,552	8%		1%
Young Adult Internship Program (YAIP)		Urban only	Young adults (age 16-24)	Middle Atlantic, New York	Long-term	$911	2%		1%
YouthBuild	Pre-apprenticeship training, Assessment, Career planning, Stipends, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Employment experiences, Post-employment participant follow-up, Employment skills development, Goal setting, Ongoing support, Case management, Transportation assistance, Work supports, Financial education, Basic skills/bridge programs, Occupational or sectoral training, Unpaid work experience/internships, Job placement, Job readiness, Job search assistance, Soft skills training	Tested in multiple settings, Urban only	Young adults (age 16-24), At least a high school diploma or equivalent	New England, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Middle Atlantic, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, East North Central, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, West North Central, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, South Atlantic, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, East South Central, Kentucky, 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	$-219	1%	$131	2%
YouthBuild		Tested in multiple settings, Urban only			Long-term	$2,369	4%	$41	2%
YVLifeSet	Case management, Ongoing support, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Benefit navigation/access, Assessment, Action step development, Job search assistance, Job placement, Work supports, Housing supports and subsidies, Financial education, Treatment or recovery services for substance use disorder	Tested in multiple settings	Unemployed, Young adults (age 16-24)	East South Central, Tennessee	Short-term	$2,734	4%	$172	3%
YVLifeSet		Tested in multiple settings	Unemployed, Young adults (age 16-24)	East South Central, Tennessee	Long-term	$948	3%		3%