Measuring the Benefits of Social Capital to Young People

In Defining and Measuring Social Capital for Young People: A Practical Review of the Literature on Resource-Full Relationships, the authors define social capital as the developmental relationships young people make and the many kinds of life-enhancing benefits that accrue to them through those relationships. Access to social capital is associated with a variety of positive health, education, and employment outcomes, but useful measurement tools for youth agencies are just beginning to be developed.

Access the Literature Review: 

• https://www.search-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SOCAP-Lit-Review.pdf

Other relevant resources:

• https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/private/aspe-files/261791/value-social-capital-during-covid-19-pandemic_0.pdf 
• https://www.acf.hhs.gov/blog/2020/06/crosswinds-youth-services-uses-open-table-partnership-to-help-at-risk-youth

New Report to Congress on RHY Programs Released

The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) recently published its biennial report to Congress describing the uses and outcomes of RHY funding for fiscal years 2014 and 2015. According to the report, in FY14 programs provided emergency shelter services to 30,000 youth; longer term shelter and services to 3,000 young people; and made over 450,000 contacts with runaway and homeless youth on the streets.

For more detailed information and a break-out by program, read the full report here: 
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/fysb/report/report-congress-runaway-and-homeless-youth-program-fiscal-years-2014-and-2015

More Than a Million Reasons for Hope: Youth Disconnection in America Today

Measure of America's latest report, More than a Million Reasons for Hope: Youth Disconnection in America Today, updates disconnected youth estimates for the country as a whole, for states, counties, and metro areas, and by gender and race and ethnicity. The report finds that the youth disconnection rate declined in the United States for the sixth year in a row, reaching a low of 11.7 percent in 2016.

Read the report here: https://ssrc-static.s3.amazonaws.com/moa/dy18.full.report.pdf

Progress on Pathways: Findings from Qualitative Interviews with Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) Participants

This brief, published by HHS/ACF, summarizes findings from interviews conducted with participants in PACE, a rigorous evaluation of nine career pathways programs. Program applicants were randomly assigned to a treatment group that could access the career pathways program or a control group that could not. This brief describes the experiences of interviewees in the treatment group, two years after entering the study. Respondents reflect on the progress they've made on their chosen career pathways. 

Read the brief here: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/progress-pathways-findings-qualitative-interviews-pace-participants

Is Your Partnership Going Anywhere? New Tools Available to Measure Collective Progress

Multi-agency partnerships and system-level coalitions are hailed as key vehicles for making a big impact in your community, but it can be hard to know if collaborations are on track to yield results. New tools developed by Urban Institute – to support partnership development between Seattle Housing Authority and Seattle Public Schools – determine how well partners are aligned, identify what areas of the partnership require focus, and indicate whether activities are moving beyond service integration toward true collective impact.

Access these tools in the full report here: 
https://www.urban.org/research/publication/measuring-progress-seattle-housing-authority-seattle-public-schools-partnership