Young Adult Talent Development

Challenge

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the social–emotional well–being and employment trajectories of millions of young adults across the country.  According to Measure of America, the rate of young people experiencing disconnection shot up 13% between 2019 and 2021. In 2021, the school enrollment rate for youth ages 16–24 dropped to an unprecedentedly low level of 59.3% and the national youth disconnection rate stood at 12.1% with just under 5 million young people still struggling to find a foothold in our education and workforce training systems and missing out on a lifetime of economic gains while our economy desperately needs entry-level workers to remain competitive. 

Approach

Jobs for the Future’s Young Adult Talent team, a group of subject matter experts and thought leaders, works with young adults, community-based organizations, employers, foundations, postsecondary institutions, and other systems partners to accomplish two overarching goals: 

1. Design and scale pathways that provide training and wraparound supports for young adults to succeed in the labor market.  
2. Change the narrative about young adults who reside in low-income communities and face barriers to advancement in the labor market by positioning them as untapped talent for employers and as an asset for their communities.  

JFF has been working toward our two overarching goals in the field for over a decade to plan, implement, and sustain a portfolio of Back on Track models for youth and young adults who need support to gain a foothold in the labor market and achieve economic advancement. 

We help our partners bring their visions and strategies to life with customized support including technical assistance, coaching, thought partnership, and implementation support. From targeted projects to large, complex, multi-site initiatives, we drive outcomes that matter for young people and their communities. 

To accomplish our two overarching goals, we offer services in the following areas:

Results

JFF implemented and scaled the Back on Track model as part of Opportunity Works, a Social Innovation Fund (SIF) initiative in 7 communities. Urban Institute conducted a quasi-experimental evaluation of the model that yielded remarkable results in terms of enrollment, persistence, and completion of postsecondary programs of study, particularly for young adults of color, including the following: 

❏ Twice as many young adults from Opportunity Works enrolled in postsecondary programs as young adults in a comparison group. 

❏ Six times more young men of color enrolled in postsecondary programs than young men of color from a comparison group. 

❏ Opportunity Works participants enrolled in college for three more semesters on average than the comparison group. 

❏ Over seven times as many Opportunity Works participants earned a postsecondary credential as the comparison group.

JFF’s Back on Track model was adapted as a promising education and career pathway approach within the Learn and Earn Initiative (LEAP), a national initiative of the AECF, to meet the specific needs and goals of young adults ages 14-25 who have been in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems, parenting youth, or youth who have experienced homeless.  The nonprofit research firm MDRC released an evaluation of the Initiative’s early implementation efforts in 2019 and an addendum to the study in 2021, which looked at the factors that facilitate engagement and persistence. The Foundation collected data from the Initiative’s launch in 2016 to the present (2024), the final year of LEAP implementation.  Below are a few LEAP data highlights from the Initiative’s 2 phases (LEAP 1.0 and LEAP 2.0): 

1. Enrollment. 5,436 youth have enrolled in LEAP (2947 LEAP 1.0 + 2489 LEAP 2.0) as of December 31, 2023.
   
   • LEAP 2.0 enrollment shows Black, Latine, and women of all backgrounds as the most represented participant identifiers.  
   • Young parents represent 16% of LEAP participants.
   • LEAP partners enrolled an additional 386 youth this reporting period.
2. Persistence. LEAP 2.0 participants are showing signs of continuing persistence in a turbulent economy—only 21% (521 youth) have discontinued, which is consistent with the previous reporting period.
3. Outcomes. LEAP 2.0 participants are continuing to achieve key milestones: 
   • 76% of Back on Track participants enrolled in postsecondary or advanced training/certification—on par with national averages for all youth.
4. Systems partnership.
   • Public systems are connecting to LEAP pathways through co-investment, wide-ranging partnerships, and MOU/MOAs and data sharing agreements. 

Link to LEAP Data Snapshot: https://aecf.app.box.com/s/0y9m0f24rnl7yg75zbek7q5drdkj99dv.  

For more information about our models and services, contact Marie Davis, associate vice president, mdavis@jff.org 

For more information about our models and services, contact Marie Davis, associate vice president, mdavis@jff.org