The Children’s Bureau, within the Administration for Children and Families (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), is funding a multiphase grant program to build the evidence base on what works to prevent homelessness among youth and young adults who have been involved in the child welfare system. This program is called Youth At-Risk of Homelessness (YARH). YARH focuses on three populations: (1) adolescents who enter foster care from ages 14 to 17, (2) young adults aging out of foster care, and (3) homeless youth and young adults up to age 21 with foster care histories.
Eighteen organizations received funding for the first phase (YARH-1), a two-year planning grant (2013–2015). Grantees used the planning period to conduct data analyses to help them understand their local population and develop a comprehensive service model to improve youth outcomes related to housing, education and employment, social-emotional well-being, and permanent connections. Six of those organizations received funding to refine and test their comprehensive service models during the second phase (YARH-2), a four-year initial implementation grant (2015–2019). During the third phase (YARH-3, 2019–2028), Mathematica is continuing to support the YARH-2 grantees (also known as sites) in building and disseminating evidence related to grantees’ comprehensive service models. In addition, Mathematica designed and is implementing a federally-led summative evaluation of Colorado’s Pathways to Success comprehensive service model.
This brief describes the multiphase evidence-building process YARH undertook to select the Colorado Pathways to Success comprehensive service model for the YARH-3 summative evaluation and to support YARH-2 grantees not yet ready for summative evaluation in identifying lessons learned and possible next evidence-building steps. This brief should be of interest to evaluators, funders, child welfare agencies, and program developers and implementers.