What Works for Older Youth During the Transition to Adulthood

Child Trends recently released a factsheet on What Works for Older Youth During the Transition to Adulthood.

Observations included the following:

• Targeting low-income and or high-risk youth early during their transition to adulthood can be effective at improving education and employment outcomes.

• Programs that were implemented over a long period of time were more effective at improving educational attainment.

• Mentoring has a positive impact on school and employment outcomes, and is also associated with decreased delinquency.

• Individual case managers who assess the needs of the participants, coordinate ongoing services, track participant progress, and provide ongoing support and guidance increase the probability of improved outcomes.

• Programs that implement skills training techniques have been found to be effective at improving some outcomes, but not reproductive health outcomes. None of the sexual risk-taking programs were consistently successful at changing behaviors among youth.

• Providing child care for participants contributes to education attainment, school attendance, employment, and earnings.