National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Research Articles

Connecting high school dropouts to employment and education: an impact study of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program

Abstract This paper presents findings from the multi-year, random assignment study of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program (NGYCP), an intensive residential program for high school dropouts. The “second chance” program gives youth an opportunity to earn a high school credential and prepare to enter the workforce or continue on to post-secondary education. The NGCYP study sample includes 1173 youth, ages 16–18, from ten program sites across the USA. Positive impacts on employment and educational outcomes were sustained 3 years after entering the study, with some evidence of older participants benefiting more than younger participants. Implications for research and practice are discussed. JEL codes: J1, I26

“Somebody Who Was on My Side”

Youth initiated mentoring (YIM) is an innovative approach to mentoring being implemented by the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program in which youth identify and select their mentors. There is great interest in this approach; however, there has been little study of YIM or its implementation in ChalleNGe. Retrospective in-depth qualitative interviews with former ChalleNGe participants ( n = 30) were conducted to gain a descriptive understanding of the mentor selection process, the role these relationships played in participants’ experiences of the ChalleNGe program and in their lives more generally, and the nature and strength of these connections. Findings indicate that youth were able to successfully enlist the participation of mentors and YIM yielded enduring and emotionally supportive relationships. That the adults came from within their communities was viewed by these participants as having expedited the development of feelings of trust and contributed to the relevancy and meaningfulness of the guidance and advice offered.

Youth Initiated Mentoring: Investigating a New Approach to Working with Vulnerable Adolescents

This study examines youth initiated mentoring (YIM), a new approach to mentoring in which youth nominate mentors from among the non-parental adults within their existing social networks (e.g., teachers, family friends, extended family members). YIM is currently being implemented through the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program (NGYCP), an intensive residential intervention program for youth ages 16-18 who have dropped out or been expelled from high school. This study employed a mixed methods explanatory design, drawing on quantitative data from a national longitudinal evaluation of NGYCP (N = 1,173) and qualitative data from a subsample of participants (N = 30) in the evaluation. Results indicated that more enduring mentoring relationships were associated with increased retention of educational, vocational, and behavioral outcomes 3 years following entry into the study. Qualitative data suggested that, when relationships endured, mentors contributed to improvements in participants' educational and occupational success, quality of relationships with parents, peers, and others, and self-concept by providing social-emotional support, instrumental support, and guidance. Results also revealed that relationships were more likely to endure when youth chose their mentors on their own (rather than receiving help from parents or program staff) and when mentors were of the same race as youth. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Supporting the Transition to Adulthood among High School Dropouts: An Impact Study of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program

Using a multi-year, random assignment design, this study evaluated the effects of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program (NGYCP), an intensive residential intervention program for youth ages 16-18 who have dropped out of high school. The sample included 1,173 youth (predominantly male) of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds from ten NGYCP sites across the country. Positive impacts on educational and employment outcomes were sustained 3 years after entering the program, with older participants generally showing greater benefits than younger participants. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Staying on Course: Three-Year Results of the National Guard Youth Challenge Evaluation

High school dropouts face an uphill battle in a labor market that increasingly rewards skills and postsecondary credentials: they are more likely than their peers to need public assistance, be arrested or incarcerated, and less likely to marry. This report presents results from a rigorous evaluation of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, an intensive residential program that aims to “reclaim the lives of at-risk youth” who have dropped out. More than 100,000 young people have completed the program since it was launched in the early 1990s. MDRC is conducting the evaluation in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood. The 17-month ChalleNGe program is divided into three phases: Pre-ChalleNGe, a two-week orientation and assessment period; a 20-week Residential Phase; and a one-year Postresidential Phase featuring a mentoring program. During the first two phases, participants live at the program site, often on a military base. The environment is “quasi-military,” though there are no requirements for military service. The evaluation uses a random assignment design. Because there were more qualified applicants than slots, a lottery-like process was used to decide which applicants were admitted to the program. Those who were admitted (the program group) are being compared over time with those who were not admitted (the control group); any significant differences that emerge between the groups can be attributed to ChalleNGe. About 3,000 young people entered the study in 10 ChalleNGe programs in 2005-2006.

Reengaging High School Dropouts: Early Results of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program Evaluation

Very early results from a random assignment evaluation of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, an intensive, quasi-military residential program for high school dropouts, show that the program has large impacts on high school diploma and GED attainment and positive effects on working, college-going, health, self-efficacy, and avoiding arrest.

A New Slant on ‘Military Schools’

SUPPOSE you heard someone say, We are youth workers at heart. I'm betting you wouldn't be surprised if the source turned out to be a staff member of a community-based, after-school program, or a counselor at an alternative school, or even a teacher in a school that enrolls lots of needy students. None of these people said it, however. The comment came from a general in the U.S. Army, and he was talking to Hugh Price, former president of the National Urban League, about the the military uses to shape up young people haven't succeeded very well in traditional education and work settings. Price is promoting a conversation about, as he puts it, demilitarizing the lessons learned by the Pentagon in saving young people from useless lives. It's certainly a touchy subject, considering the criticism recruiters often hear about targeting vulnerable youths. However, Price is not recruiting struggling kids for anything except a better chance to make it through high school. Several years ago a RAND research study looked for reasons why children of military families performed so much better on standardized tests than did children from nonmilitary families, even when the comparison samples included the same percentages of minorities and low-income children. As might be expected, the environment has a lot to do with the performance of the children. Discipline is a way of life for military families, on-base schools provide safety, and after-school peer groups have focused activities to occupy students' time. Such strategies were peculiar to the military, though, and not ones that schools and communities could emulate easily. However, it might be worth revisiting why incarceration and dropout rates are low in military families and schools and digging further to uncover why certain things work for these young people. Through articles and presentations to policy groups, Price, is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, has been sharing what he has been learning. He studied the results from a range of military models--basic training, the pre-military development program, the National Guard's Youth ChalleNGe Program (which he helped organize), Junior ROTC programs and career academies, and quasi-military public high schools. If governors, educators, parents, and communities really care about helping youths who drop below the radar screen of most high schools, as Price describes them, they ought to consider some of the attributes of these programs and see what they can learn. What hits you right away is that the factors that are most at engaging disaffected youths do not include test preparation, threats, or remedial tracking. Before any of the quasi-military programs Price studied get to the academic part of their mission, they create a sense of belonging for the young people. This is the centerpiece, says Price. It is critically important to be part of a peer group where progress is everyone's focus. Like the military, the programs Price studied emphasize self-discipline, structure and routine, accountability and consequences, and safety. The leaders of these programs also believe that everyone enters can be successful and that it is important to address all the needs of growth and development. Starting with a focus on youth development, according to Karen Pittman, a national expert on youth development, will get such efforts to scale a lot faster than focusing on systems development. …

Effects of Group Therapy on Female Adolescent Survivors of Sexual Abuse: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT Treatment interventions for female sexual abuse survivors was explored through a pilot study examining the relationship between group treatment and adolescent self-image. Self-image was defined as body image, self-reliance, self-control, and impulse-control. An experimental pre-post design was utilized. Participants were 13 female adolescent high school drop-outs with a history of sexual abuse who participated in the National Guard Youth Challenge Program at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. Participants completed the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire for Adolescents. The hypothesis that group therapy was an effective intervention for sexual abuse survivors was not supported; however, this is likely due to the small sample size. Because this was a pilot study, mean trends were observed to see directional changes that may assist future researchers. Observation of mean trends revealed that participants who received group therapy increased in levels of impulse control while the group that did not receive group therapy remained the same. Mean trends also revealed that the experimental group had a decrease in self-reliance whereas the control group maintained their levels of self-reliance.