Student Re-Engagement

Youth Advocate Programs

Mentor spends time with student working out on school bleachers

The Crime Lab and Education Lab, in partnership with Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP), conducted a randomized controlled trial of YAP’s wraparound advocacy services to evaluate the program’s impact on youth academic outcomes and violence engagement outcomes.

Challenge

Youth violence in Chicago, like in most large cities in the United States, has been a persistent challenge for decades. Chicago has tested many programs and strategies over the years, all with the hope of identifying effective and lasting approaches to reduce the number of young people involved with violence as either victims or offenders.

Opportunity

Reaching disengaged youth at higher risk of violence engagement requires an intensive model to reach and actively engage such youth. One potential promising approach is Youth Advocate Programs, inc. (YAP). YAP’s wraparound services are rooted in building trusting relationships between youth and trained mentors. These mentors work intensively and holistically with youth and their families for an extended period of time, providing individualized, immediate support and connecting families to resources within their communities. In 2018, YAP, Chicago Beyond, and the Crime Lab and Education Lab partnered to implement a randomized controlled trial to measure the causal effects of YAP’s wraparound services on key academic and violence engagement outcomes for high-need youth in Chicago.

Project overview

The randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies the YAP model in its “purest” form by imposing minimal restrictions on who YAP serves, overall program length, and the types of service referrals that are provided. YAP directors and advocates have emphasized that the key feature of the YAP model is the ability of YAP staff to continually modify program delivery for each participant based on their assessed needs and goals. Our impact evaluation seeks to assess the impact of YAP on participants’ school engagement and violence involvement.

To complement the RCT, we use program engagement and qualitative data to develop a comprehensive understanding of the components of YAP’s services and how outcomes may be achieved through an in-depth implementation evaluation. Our qualitative study involved interviews with YAP service providers, YAP clients, and individuals in the client’s personal network; and extended observations of YAP service providers in the field.

Analysis for both the RCT and the implementation evaluation is ongoing.

Years Active

2018 – present

Project Leads

Nour Abdul-Razzak

Nour Abdul-Razzak

Research Director, Inclusive Economy Lab

Heather Bland

Heather Bland

Research Manager

Monica Bhatt

Monica Bhatt

Senior Research Director

Brandon Domash

Brandon Domash

Analytics Manager

Max Kapustin

Max Kapustin

Assistant Professor

To complement the RCT measuring program impacts, we use programmatic and qualitative data to develop the first comprehensive understanding of the components of YAP’s services and how services are delivered and received, as well as to generate insight into how outcomes are achieved through an in-depth implementation evaluation using improved program data collection and analysis; interviews conducted with YAP service providers, YAP clients, and individuals in the client’s personal network; and extended observations of YAP service providers in the field.

Related Resources
Scaling Promising Practices in Youth Mentoring
Case study

Scaling Promising Practices in Youth Mentoring

Oct 2023

This case study by Results for America highlights the Crime Lab and Education Lab’s role in the City of Chicago’s bold initiative to expand the evidence-based Becoming a Man group mentoring model to serve thousands of young men.

Randomized evaluation of a school-based, trauma-informed group intervention for young women in Chicago
Academic Paper

Randomized evaluation of a school-based, trauma-informed group intervention for young women in Chicago

Jun 2023

Science Advances journal publication.

Working on Womanhood- Research Brief
Research Brief

Working on Womanhood- Research Brief

Jun 2023

Research brief for the Working on Womanhood project.

Seizing the Opportunity to Advance Education Equity
Report

Seizing the Opportunity to Advance Education Equity

Jun 2021

2021 Education Lab report on barriers to education faced by CPS students.