Tailored for Success: Customizing Youth Employment Programs in L.A. 

The transition to adulthood can be challenging for young people who are disconnected from work and school. Workforce programs targeted to opportunity youth can be a critical bridge to employment, stability, and long-term success. A recent report from our partners at MDRC, “Tailored for Success” evaluates two different Los Angeles organizations focused on helping youth find stable employment and navigate adulthood.

The Brotherhood Crusade and the Los Angeles LGBT Center are Hilton Foundation grantee partners using different approaches to achieve the same goal of providing workforce development and support for young people. The report found that highly tailored approaches, external work opportunities, and comprehensive support systems were crucial to helping young people succeed.

Programs Background 

The Brotherhood Crusade’s Movin’ on Up initiative is a highly structured, research-informed workforce development training program that maintains strong attendance, participation, and performance expectations. Movin’ on Up’s primary goal is to position young people aged 16-24 in career paths with sustainable wages and opportunities for advancement or entrepreneurship.  

The Los Angeles LGBT center provides a wide range of programs and services to LGBTQ+ youth and adults. Most participants in the center’s Youth Services Workforce Development Program (YSWDP) have little to no prior work experience. Some have faced previous workplace discrimination due to their LGBTQ+ identities. Unlike the high-intensity programming and skill development the Movin on Up Initiative focuses on, YSWDP emphasizes giving its participants foundational job-readiness skills and achieving stability. 

Findings  

Highly tailored approaches

Movin’ On Up uses tiers to divide participants into more specified paths.

• Tier one: No previous job experience. 
• Tier two: Previous work experience, as well as a developed resume. 
• Tier three: Ready to be employed full-time. 

YSWDP has a multi-step approach to ensure participants are supported and comfortable taking their next step. 

• Gather documents and attend “Youth Academy” workshops to learn basic work skills 
• 120 Hours of Paid in house vocational training 
• 300 hours of paid in-house internship opportunities 
• Potential externship 

External work-based learning opportunities

Movin’ On Up:

• Focus on finding employers that will provide long-term, career track jobs.  
• Staff regularly foster external connections while gauging whether an employer is willing to hire high-quality workers from their community and pay them a living wage.  

YSWDP:

• When searching for employers, its priority is to ensure a safe and supportive working environment. 
• Instead of moving toward a “forever career” it highlights finding stability and mission alignment.  

Comprehensive support

Comprehensive support refers to additional services such as housing, transportation, or mental health treatment, that help young people stay engaged in programs and move toward stable employment.

Movin’ On Up:

• Aids in legal issues and provides access to licensed therapists, focusing on building resilience and immediate crisis management.  
• Emphasizes building trust early so their population is more likely to accept help and follow through with the external services.  

YSWDP:

• Provides almost all services in-house. 
• The goal is to ensure participants feel comfortable and protected from discrimination when accessing services. 

In both cases, strong relationships between staff and participants are critical to success, building the trust needed for young people to seek and accept support.

The report makes it clear that what is effective for some young people might not be a fit for others. By supporting this research and these grantee partners, we hope that other stakeholders will focus on designing unique support systems to best fit the needs of the populations they serve.