YouthWorks, Inc.: Providing life-changing career preparation for at-risk youth

YouthWorks'(YWs) mission is to build a community solution to help young people whose potential might otherwise be overlooked to pursue employment and career development opportunities. From short-term training to year-round employment and career exploration, YWs fulfills its mission in four significant areas of service: youth employment opportunities, skill acquisition, career exploration, and resources for youth development practitioners. YouthWorks views evaluation as an on-going process and critical to continuous quality improvement. YouthWorks will evaluate its success and progress toward objectives by utilizing a variety of tools and tracking multiple program outcomes. A customized Access database will be maintained of the participants served, mirroring a detailed case file on each participant to evaluate his/her academic improvement as well as participation in job searches, job readiness training, job shadowing experiences, work experiences, and other relevant services. The overall long-term impact of these services will be tracked through an independent evaluation. NCA/NCF