Thriving Over Time: Youth Employment Programs with a Track Record of Success — A Discussion with the PEPNet 2002 Renewal Awardees

A Forum — September 12, 2002

Today’s forum continues a tradition where American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), with the National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC), recognizes PEPNet award-winning programs, exemplars of effective practice in the youth employment and youth development fields. NYEC, assisted by a diverse group of youth employment development experts from around the country, developed PEPNet (Promising and Effective Practices Network) seven years ago to improve programming provided to youth, encourage policy that supports effective programs, and increase support for investments in effective youth programs. PEPNet’s awardees have gone through a rigorous selection process that includes a comprehensive application and review by a volunteer board of peers with expertise in the youth employment and development fields. The programs being recognized at this event are 10 PEPNet renewal awardees that have received two PEPNet awards within the past five years. These programs, a diverse group of school-based, community-based, out-of-school-youth focused, and some WIA funded, have thrived over time and traveled to Washington, DC along with youth representatives to share their wisdom with policymakers.

PEPNet’s stringent application challenges programs to demonstrate effectiveness in Five Categories of Criteria for Effective Practices: 1) Purpose and Activities, 2) Organization and Management, 3) Youth Development, 4) Workforce Development, and 5) Evidence of Success. Moderator Sally Prouty, Executive Director of the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps, explained that her program from past years, the Ohio Conservation Corps, applied for the PEPNet program and was not accepted the first time. Impressed by the level of sophistication in the application and the formal feedback presented to applicants, Prouty and her organization used this as a basis for strategic planning and improvement. According to Prouty, the feedback provides detailed suggestions for improvement around areas found to be weak when measured against PEPNet criteria. “The principles in PEPNet were put to use, documented and utilized,” said Prouty. The PEPNet application stands alone as a high quality, organizational development piece, assisting organizations by challenging them to improve their program and organizational structure.
Prouty directed questions to PEPNet award winners, first to a panel of youth representatives from each program, and then to a panel of program directors. Youth were asked to gauge the impact of these programs on their development and employment.

Why did you join the program you were in?

• “STARS ignited my dream. I came from a farming community and I was lableled at-risk. Also, I came to the program with cultural barriers. I realized there were higher limits I can reach outside of [becoming] a wife and mother in my farming community. I’m now going to college and will teach elementary school.”
• “They were wonderful people. REAP was too good to be true. They gave me a lot of motivation and made me feel like I could do whatever I want.”
• “Before I started in Youth Connections I was using drugs, had been suspended and expelled from school, had assault charges filed against me, had been in and out of juvenile justice four times and had been kicked out of the house and was in foster care. I saw an application and applied. I decided to do it. I went for the interview and got the summer job. I got a chance. All the kids out there are lost. There are negative influences and crime. But so many want to turn their lives around. If more kids would get help early on, then maybe they wouldn’t have to sleep on the streets. If I can do it, anyone can do it.”
• A graduate of My Turn, Inc. (Massachusetts Youth Teenage Unemployment Reduction Network, Inc.) in Brockton, Massachusetts, who is now a foreign currency trader, offered six recommendations to others working towards building a career.
  1. Always have a resume updated
  2. Take advantage of the program counselors
  3. If your job doesn’t have mentoring program, pick a mentor –make that connection
  4. Learn about the company’s culture and politics
  5. Always be willing to do the dirty work and you will be the first to stop doing it
  6. Be positive and happy and have fun

What was the biggest attraction to join the program?

• “Getting a certificate in cooking.”
• “Getting my GED. The program calls it the Dream Team. You go to school two days per week and go to work for three.”

Why should your program be around for other youth?

• “There are gangs and in high school there’s a lot of pressure. I decided to leave because nobody cared. I met with a Job Corps counselor. She showed how people cared – they don’t even know you and they want to help you! I earned my GED and got vocational and leadership skills. Without the staff, I wouldn’t be anything. They put their hearts out there for you.”
• “The staff have a lot to give, and if the programs are there, others can make it to a better future.”
• “Youth are easily influenced. If you teach good, you get good. If you teach bad, you get bad. REAP (Re-entry Education Attainment Program) shows youth that they care and they are dedicated.”
• “A lot of us are out on our own, we have to use our knowledge of the street. We need a helping hand to guide us down the right path to follow.”
• “These programs help fill a gap. Often families don’t have the resources or knowledge to get their kids connected to their future. We need these programs to fill this gap.”
• “If you’re running a program it’s hard because the streets are calling. So you need staff with clear hearts and minds. If they’re tired, tell your staff to keep trying, don’t give up. More kids want help so much.”

Prouty asked practitioners how effective practices happen. Program directors concurred with youth representatives, reiterating the importance of sincere staff commitment. This element is critically important to the task of getting youth to commit to join and stay with the program. Other themes surfaced during the discussion. Keep it flexible – Karine Kanikkeberg from REAP cautioned against having too much program structure which can stifle the flexibility needed to customize services for each youth. Everyone counsels – Susan V. Cooper expects all staff members at David Carrasco Job Corps to be there to support and mentor youth, from the groundskeeper to the center director. High standards from students and staff – Kelly Woodell at Pittsburgh Job Corps seeks continuous improvement by using PEPNet criteria for internal quarterly assessments. One section at the Job Corps assesses another section. They learn more about the organization by shifting their perspective of it during internal assessments. Barbara Duffy at MY TURN seeks funding to sustain the initiative, keeps data on youth that pass through the program, uses mid-level managers as eyes and ears to improve services, and asks staff to maintain a good sense of humor. Marge Kuethe at Youth Connections strives to continuously improve her program by listening to what youth say about the kinds of help they need. She believes it is crucial to accept youth as partners in the process. Through 10 years of service, she has learned that it takes time to grow a quality youth serving organization, so multi-year funding is important. Kuethe sees a need to build a network of young people who graduate from PEPNet awarded programs and to develop a way to measure transformational youth development experiences in their life. Kerry Knodle of YouthBuild Rockford requests more multi-year funding opportunities that allow programs like theirs to breath and grow. Both practitioners and youth representatives agreed that these PEPNet awarded programs are successful in helping youth make the transition into adulthood and the workforce. They urged policymakers to consider greater support these and other proven programs like them to provide a beacon of hope for youth. Youth reminded participants of the forum, “the streets are calling us and we need a place to go to that will show us the right way.”

For access to PEPNet ’02 Profiles visit NYEC on-line at www.nyec.org. The NYEC site also provides a full description of the PEPNet criteria, a self-assessment for youth programs, funding strategies, and an application for next year’s PEPNet awards.

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