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Subgroups
Six local providers recruited 2,078 disconnected youth from January 2013 through October 2014 to participate in the LARCA study. Participants needed to be low income, have dropped out of high school (or be designated as chronically absent and performing below grade level), be between 16 and 24 years old, be living in Los Angeles County, be eligible to work in the United States, and be otherwise eligible for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) youth services. After completing the consent form and program application form, eligible individuals were randomly assigned, in equal proportion, to receive LARCA services (the intervention group) or to receive existing city and community services (the comparison group). The final study sample included 1,066 LARCA group participants and 1,012 comparison group participants. For employment and earnings outcomes, the California Employment Development Department determined a small number of individuals had not provided adequate consent for the evaluation. Omitting these individuals resulted in a sample size of 1,021 intervention group and 971 comparison group members. Data collection was timed so that one year of follow-up information was available for the full study sample and two years of follow-up information was available for the individuals assigned early in the study enrollment period.
LARCA operated from January 2013 to April 2016. Program enrollment occurred from January 2013 through October 2014. Complete program services were offered through October 2015, and follow-up services were provided through April 2016.
The study was funded by the Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWDD), which obtained funds from the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration.
The study focused on youth with low income who had dropped out of high school or were at risk of doing so. Within the full sample, 13 percent of participants were ages 16 to 17, 39 percent were ages 18 to 19, and the remainder were ages 20 to 24. About half (52 percent) were women, and about three-quarters (76 percent) identified as Hispanic or Latino, with most of the remaining participants (21 percent) identifying as Black and non-Hispanic. Roughly one-third (33 percent) were parents or were expecting a child, and more than half (56 percent) of participants lived in households receiving a mean-tested public benefit, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or Los Angeles General Assistance. In the two years before random assignment, 44 percent had worked, and 19 percent had been arrested.
The EWDD oversaw the LARCA program. Services were provided by the Coalition for Responsible Community Development, Los Angeles Conservation Corps, Youth Opportunity Movement-Boyle Heights, Youth Opportunity Movement-Watts, Youth Policy Institute-San Fernando Valley, and Youth Policy Institute-Pico Union.
The EWDD of the City of Los Angeles designed and developed the LARCA program, which operated from 2013 to 2016. The program built on lessons learned from prior programs and pilots operated by EWDD and its LARCA partner agencies.
Youth assigned to participate in the LARCA program worked with a case manager who developed and oversaw individualized service plans to address participants' education, training, and employment needs. Core program components included work-readiness training, financial literacy and life skills workshops, educational services aimed at helping individuals obtain a high school diploma or equivalent certification, vocational training, supportive services, and employment services (including paid work experience and job search and placement assistance). Providers also connected youth to postsecondary education at local community colleges and private programs, including in health care, construction, and conservation and green technology.
Participants assigned to the comparison group were referred to other programs and services available in the community, including WIA youth or adult program services.
None.
Participants could receive program services for 12 to 34 months, depending on the date of program enrollment. Follow-up services were available for at least 6 additional months.
Workforce Innovation Fund grant, U.S. Department of Labor.
Providers were located in low-income neighborhoods in Los Angeles, CA.
Criminal justice