Program Profile: Job Corps

This is an educational and job training program for economically disadvantaged youth. The program is rated Promising. Youth in Job Corps demonstrated a lower rate of future arrest, conviction, and incarceration, as well as a higher rate of employment, higher earnings, and longer time spent employed, compared with control group youth. These findings were statistically significant. However, there were no statistically significant differences in alcohol or illegal drug use.

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

This program's rating is based on evidence that includes at least one high-quality randomized controlled trial.

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

This program's rating is based on evidence that includes at least one high-quality randomized controlled trial.

Program Goals

Job Corps is the nation’s largest federally funded and vocationally focused educational and training program for economically disadvantaged youth. The main goal of Job Corps is to help youth become more employable and productive citizens. This is measured primarily across four broad areas: 1) educational attainment, 2) employment and earnings, 3) reduction of public assistance, and 4) reduction in crime and recidivism. To help economically disadvantaged and at-risk youth secure stable, high-paying jobs, Job Corps provides them with additional education, vocational training, and support services. To help them become productive citizens, Job Corps teaches civic awareness and respect for others, which helps reduce criminal offending and recidivism within this population of youth.

Program Activities

Job Corps services are delivered in three stages: 1) outreach and admissions, 2) center operations, and 3) placement. Outreach and admissions functions are usually performed by agencies located in economically disadvantaged communities, both urban and rural. These agencies recruit participants for Job Corps by providing information about the program to community groups and civic organizations that work with youth (schools, courts, welfare agencies). Job Corps offers vocational training for more than 75 different trades. The typical Job Corps center will offer 10 or 11 trades for which youth can receive training.

Center operations include the program’s core services of academic education, vocational training, residential living, and health care along with a wide range of other services, such as counseling, social skills training, health education, and recreation. Though enrollment in this phase of the program does not have a fixed duration, participants are typically involved for 8 months. Most of the enrolled participants will reside at one of the Job Corps centers during their vocational training and education classes. Residential living is one of the unique aspects of the Job Corps program. Even the minority of participants who do not reside on campus spend most of the work week (Monday through Friday) on campus. Both residential and nonresidential participants receive meals and health and dental care and are allowed to participate in all of the various activities offered. In addition, placement services and agencies help former Job Corps participants get jobs that will allow them to be self-sufficient or to pursue additional training. These services start while youth are enrolled in the Job Corps centers and continue for up to 6 months after they leave the program.

Target Population/Eligibility

To be eligible for Job Corps, participants must meet the following requirements:

• Be between 16 and 24 years old
• Be a legal U.S. resident
• Be economically disadvantaged (receiving welfare or food stamps)
• Live in an area with high crime rates, limited job opportunities, or a disruptive home life
• Need additional education, training, or job skills
• Be nonviolent or free of serious behavioral problems
• Have a clean health history
• Have a child care plan (for participants who have children)
• Have registered with the Selective Service Board
• Have parental consent (for minors)
• Be judged to have the capability and aspirations to participate in Job Corps

Additional Information

Job Corps was established by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and currently operates under the provisions of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. The U.S. Department of Labor administers Job Corps through a national office and six regional offices and provides services through partnerships with private and public agencies. Job Corps delivers intensive education (academic and general health) and training (vocational and social skills) to participants enrolled in its nationwide network of residential campuses. This training is delivered through a combination of classroom and practical hands-on experiences to prepare youth for stable, long-term, high-paying jobs. Training approaches and methods vary to allow for individualized instruction to meet the needs of each participant.

Study

Schochet, Burghardt, and Glazerman (2001) used an experimental design with random assignment to assess the effects of the Job Corps program on criminal justice involvement, employment, earnings, and time employed. This was the first nationally representative experimental evaluation of a federal employment program. Between Nov. 17, 1994, and Dec. 16, 1995, nearly 81,000 eligible applicants nationwide were randomly assigned to either enroll in a Job Corps program group or to a control group which did not receive Job Corps services (although they could participate in other training or education programs). This large sample was followed for 4 years after random assignment to the treatment group (Job Corps program services) and the control group (not receiving Job Corps program services).

Outcome measures for the study were obtained from two sources: survey data and administrative earnings records. The surveys were conducted at baseline (shortly after random assignment) and at 12-, 30-, and 48-month follow-up periods. Surveys were conducted primarily by telephone and, if necessary, in person. Final analysis and results are based on participants who completed a 48-month follow-up interview. This resulted in 6,828 youths in the Job Corps program group (an 81 percent response rate) and 4,485 youths in the control group (a 78 percent response rate). Educational attainment, employment and job characteristics, receipt of public assistance, and criminal offending were all measured in the participant surveys. Educational attainment was measured by items such as number of programs that youths participated in; attainment of degrees, diplomas, or certificates; and number of hours in training. Employment was measured with similar items such as number of hours worked in a week, number of weeks employed, and job characteristics. Receipt of public assistance was measured with items asking about sources of income (unemployment insurance), receiving assistance in the form of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families or food stamps, and living in public housing. Criminal offending was measured by items asking about number of arrests, number of convictions, most serious charge for which one has been convicted, substance use, time spent in drug or alcohol treatment, and time spent in jail or on probation/parole.

The administrative earnings records (tax data) were collected for 9 years after random assignment. By year 9, participants in the original sample were between the ages of 25 and 33. This data came in two forms: 1) annual summary earnings reported by employers to the Internal Revenue Service and 2) wage records reported to state unemployment insurance agencies. These two sources of tax data cover most workers in formal jobs. Agricultural labor, railroad workers, and some domestic service workers are not covered in either data source. This tax data was used as another source of information to corroborate employment and earnings data collected in the participant surveys.

The study population was mostly male (60 percent) and younger than 20 (73.2 percent were 19 or younger). Most of the sample were racial or ethnic minorities (47.4 percent African American, and 17.7 percent Hispanic) and did not have high school diplomas or GEDs (77 percent). Almost one third of the female participants (28.7 percent) reported having children of their own. The majority of the sample reported never having been arrested (76.6 percent); only a small number stated they had been arrested for a serious crime (4.7 percent). Owing to the random assignment and large sample sizes, there were no significant statistical differences between the treatment and control groups at baseline.

The analysis used average impact estimates per eligible applicant. These were obtained by computing differences in mean outcomes between all treatment group members and all control group members. Weights were used in all calculations and analyses to adjust for the sample and survey designs. Notably, these impact estimates represent the effects of Job Corps relative to other employment and training programs in the community, but not relative to the absence of training. These impact estimates represent the incremental effects of the Job Corps program relative to other programs in which control group members participated. Subgroup analysis was not conducted.

Job Corps has 125 centers nationwide, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Eligible students are typically matched with a center located close to their hometown. A map and listing of all Job Corps centers is available on the Job Corps website: https://www.jobcorps.gov/

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

Johnson, Terry, R. Mark Gritz, Russell Jackson, John A. Burghardt, Carol Boussy, Jan Leonard, and Carlyn Orians. 1999. National Job Corps Study: Report on the Process Analysis. Princeton, N.J.: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

McConnell, Sheena, and Steven Glazerman. 2001. National Job Corps Study: The Benefits and Costs of Job Corps. Princeton, N.J.: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Schochet, Peter Z. 2001. National Job Corps Study: Methodological Appendixes on the Impact Analysis. Princeton, N.J.: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Schochet, Peter Z., Sheena McConnell, and John A. Burghardt. 2003. National Job Corps Study: Findings Using Administrative Earnings Records Data. Princeton, N.J.: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Schochet, Peter Z. John A. Burghardt, and Sheena McConnell. 2006. National Job Corps Study and Longer-Term Follow-Up Study: Impact and Benefit–Cost Findings Using Survey and Summary Earnings Records Data. Princeton, N.J.: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Schochet, Peter Z., John A. Burghardt, and Sheena McConnell. 2008. “Does Job Corps Work? Impact Findings From the National Job Corps Study.” American Economic Review 98(5):1864–86.

Following are CrimeSolutions-rated programs that are related to this practice:

Noncustodial Employment Programs for Individuals with Recent Criminal Records

This practice involves job training and career development for people with a recent criminal record in order to increase employment and reduce recidivism. These programs take place outside of the traditional custodial correctional setting, after they are released. The practice is rated Ineffective in reducing criminal behavior for participants in noncustodial employment training programs compared with those who did not participate.

Evidence Ratings for Outcomes

Crime & Delinquency - Multiple crime/offense types

Why might a practice's outcome ratings differ from the ratings of specific programs encompassed by that practice?