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Case Studies
Youth Offender Demonstration Project Technical Assistance
The Challenge
The Department of Labor’s Youth Offender Demonstration Project (YODP) is a grantee program with 29 sites across the country, comprised of local workforce boards, school districts, or other non-profit and government agencies. Sites received a wide range of grant amounts, based on award year (there were three award rounds), size of population served, and a variety of other factors. While some sites flourished due to an already established infrastructure and effective grant management, others needed a significant amount of coaching and technical assistance to become successful.
Our Approach
TATC, along with its partners, the Sar Levitan Center and Juvenile Re-Entry and Aftercare Center, serves as the technical assistance contractor for the YODP grantees. Our team’s technical assistance effort included:
- Designing the initiative’s management information system
- Offering national, regional and other group training
- Developing guides and tip sheets on programmatic issues.
- Hands-on assistance from highly experienced “site facilitators.”
Site facilitators provide a wide range of coaching and technical support, such as assistance with strategic planning and management and guidance on addressing program and management challenges. Site facilitators also provide suggestions for program and community linkages, and how to obtain technical assistance resources to address particular issues. Functional areas of assistance include:
- Youth workforce systems
- One-stop career centers
- National conferences and meetings
- Business and employer engagement
- Partnership development
- Gang suppression.
In addition to the work with the specific sites, TATC also served as coordinator of regional workshops, peer-to-peer training sessions, national training sessions, and annual conferences for all grantees involved in the Demonstration Project. For these efforts, TATC provided logistical support for all meetings, including site location, negotiation of facilities/vendor contracts, and on-site meeting/conference management support; developed the workshop or conference agendas; and identified workshop speakers and trainers.
Results Achieved
- Strong partnerships developed between youth offender service providers and workforce development agencies
- Measurable increases in program participation rates
- Sites were able to establish more effective and efficient policies, procedures, and systems
- Youth achieving intended program outcomes – educational completion and furthering their education and obtaining employment