With the support of JPMorgan Chase, The Aspen Institute, and the UP Partnership, the Ray Marshall Center is examining the pathways taken by Opportunity Youth in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. This five-year grant, known as Evaluating Services for Texas Opportunity Youth (ESTOY), represents one of the largest efforts undertaken in Texas to date to study the systems that serve, and the trajectories taken by, disconnected young adults (between the ages of 18 and 24 who are neither enrolled in school nor working) after participation in a youth-serving program. The study aims to determine the size of the OY population in each of these cities, map out OY-serving organizations in each of the study’s cities, as well as measure programmatic impact in terms of employment and/or enrollment in postsecondary education. In addition to providing a clearer picture of the OY landscape, it is our expectation that the study findings will inform OY policy for the state.

The study aims to address several research questions that will inform OY policy and practice, including:

1. Who provides services for OY in the target cities, how do they operate, and what services do they provide;

2. What trends can be identified for OY in each of the four cities;

3. What are the fields of study for OY enrolled in post-secondary education (2-year, 4-year) or workforce training;

4. Are opportunity youth earning industry-based credentials from their post-secondary institution? Which credentials;

5. What are the industries that opportunity youth enter;

6. What are their wages once they enter the workforce, and how do their wages change over time;

7. How do these metrics disaggregate by race and gender; and

8. Are opportunity youth earning a livable wage, and, if so, how much time does this take?