This digest examines features of both process and impact evaluations to help officials of youth programs assess the programs for which they are responsible. With proper planning, evaluation can be part of a program without having to compete for attention and resources with the services the program is trying to provide. A process evaluation…

This Digest argues that management factors are central to youth program successes and failures and that these factor have been ignored in research on youth programs. Instead, the Digest notes that research and evaluation of programs have focused on the following: (1) whether the right audience is served; (2) whether to make incremental…

How youth programs, particularly those that try to prepare young people for work and higher education, are organized and implemented in the field is reviewed. In many cases, the needs of program practitioners are overlooked by the research community. The focus here is on "second-chance" programs that promote the self-sufficiency of…

Vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies are required partners in the one-stop system mandated by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). The following features have long characterized VR: the primary goal of integrated competitive employment for persons with disabilities; state flexibility in VR systems, approaches, and structures; case…