The Impact of Youth Transition Programs
Smart Transitions is an educational intervention based on the philosophy that high-risk, vulnerable populations of youth deserve access to the same set of skills that benefit more affluent and well-connected youth and the skills that correlate most closely with adult success. The impact of youth transition programs like Smart Transitions can be seen in the measurable improvements in graduation rates, employment readiness, and overall youth connection to the community.
Our programming is designed to nurture and enhance skills in critical areas of adult life-work success, such as self-awareness, goal identification and planning, personal brand building, personal presentation, career and post-secondary skills acquisition, network building, personal money management, and behavioral modification to improve mental and physical health and happiness.
Smart Transitions is a multifaceted information and education-based approach that includes:
Within our direct service area of Hampton Roads / Southeastern Virginia
- In-person success skills classes;
- An online, self-paced, skills development course;
- Educational guides developed for youth and mentors/parents/counselors, coaches, and youth-serving program staff, along with staff training;
- Post-program, emergency financial support; and
- Regional advocacy.
Outside of our direct service area and available nationally
- An online,self-paced, skills development course,
- Educational guides developed for youth and mentors/parents/counselors, coaches and youth-serving program staff along with staff training; and
- Smart Transitions Instructor Certification Training.
Measuring Success
We are a data-driven organization and have tracked our program graduates for specific measurable outcomes from the launch of our programming in 2010. We’ve been tracking outcomes to ensure that what we are doing is impactful and beneficial. Youth at risk of disconnection struggle in a number of areas, but we have decided to focus on some of the most critical factors that keep youth from transitioning successfully:
- High school graduation;
- The pursuit of post-secondary education or vocational skills training to break the minimum wage poverty trap;
- The ability to find employment; and
- Behavioral modification to increase the odds of adult life-work success and happiness.
Our programming addresses critical skills like self-awareness and personal presentation, goal-setting, planning, and network building. In addition, we emphasize behavioral growth and the development of grit, resilience, and flexibility.
Key Outcomes
- 92% of youth who complete our program matriculate to the next higher grade and earn a high school diploma on time compared to only 72% of youth with similar risk factors and no intervention.
- 68% of our program graduates pursue some kind of post-secondary education or skills training to help break the minimum wage poverty cycle compared to only about 6% of at-risk youth without intervention.
- 78% of youth report the ability to find and maintain employment compared to 16% of at-risk youth with no intervention.
- More importantly, we have been a significant force in the region in bringing down our overall level of youth disconnection since 2015.
The Impact of Youth Transition Programs
As the graph above illustrates, we are committed to serving significant numbers of youth with risk factors for disconnection each year. Post-pandemic, we are currently back to serving youth in person and have seen our number of youth served bounce back to pre-COVID-19 numbers. Our rapid growth across the Hampton Roads community is a testament to the value our partnering organizations perceive in our training programs.
Because of community support from individual donors, municipalities, foundations, and community organizations, we’ve gone from serving less than 50 youth per year to serving roughly 1,500 youth per year with high-impact, direct service (our staff providing the training and monitoring outcomes).
In addition, we’ve distributed over 82,800 Smart Transitions Guides to youth across Hampton Roads. That includes 32,500 GET SET Guides since 2014, 28,750 GET WORK Guides since 2015, and 21,560 GET MONEY Guides since 2020. We’ve also provided training for youth program staff, educators, and mentors.
Measuring the Impact of Together We Can Foundation
The important question should be is whether it is working. Are we making a difference? We believe we have evidence that it is working. The impact of Together We Can Foundation is evident across Hampton Roads and beyond, where youth who participate in Smart Transitions programs demonstrate stronger life-work readiness and sustained success. In a report by the Social Science Research Council from 2015, Hampton Roads was ranked 45th best out of 98 metropolitan areas studied. Within the last 8 years, Hampton Roads has improved to rank 16th best nationally. That’s a drop in youth disconnection from 13% down to 9.5%, with real numbers dropping from over 35,000 youth to just under 21,000 youth.
Of course, we cannot claim to be the sole reason for this improvement. The concerted focus and effort from our community partners (schools, NGOs, and human service agencies), along with funding from municipalities, foundations, and corporate and individual donors, are all contributing factors.
Expanding Our Reach
With solid successes under our belt in Hampton Roads and Southeastern Virginia, we are now offering to share the secrets of our success nationally with:
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Smart Transitions Print Guides and staff training in areas such as
- Adult Transitions (GET SET)
- Workforce Development (GET WORK)
- Personal Finance and Money Management (GET MONEY)
- Health and Wellness (GET HEALTHY) (Coming Soon)
- Smart Transitions Online (A self-paced digital version of our popular Life-Work Portfolio Course)
- Smart Transitions Instructor Certification Training (so you or your staff can offer this life-changing program to youth in your care)