The two studies featured in this report both focus on the question of whether the Maryland Corps / Service Year Option (MC/SYO) program, which is administered by the Maryland State Department of Service and Civic Innovation (DSCI), delivers positive short-term outcomes to program participants (Members). The outcomes analyzed in the first study are associated with workforce development (employment rate, full-time / part-time employment, hourly wage) and educational attainment (attending college, attending college and/or working).
These outcomes are measured at two time periods: at the time the MC/SYO Members enroll in the program, and approximately six months after they complete their terms. The post-service data for MC/SYO are collected from an alumni survey, which has achieved response rates well above average for the field without any evidence of nonresponse bias. We compare the over-time change for MC/SYO Members to the change observed for a sample of respondents from the Current Population Survey (CPS). We create a comparison group by matching CPS respondents to the MC/SYO sample on key demographic variables as well as baseline levels of the outcome.
The results indicate that:
- Program participants are significantly more likely to hold jobs six months after completion than they were at enrollment. The increase in employment rate over this period is much larger for program participants than it is for the CPS comparison group; the difference in pre-post changes is marginally statistically significant (p < 0.10).
- MC/SYO Members who were employed at the time of enrollment were also more likely to experience significant increases in hours worked per week and hourly wages. Employed MC/SYO alumni experienced much higher wage increases than the comparison group members did (57.5% for program alumni; 23.0% for the comparison group) although the difference in post-service wage levels between the groups was not significant.
- No significant changes in college enrollment rate, or in attending college and/or working for pay, were observed for either group. However, the percentage of MMC/SYO Members who were employed and attending college was significantly higher than it was among the comparison group.
Taken together, these results suggest reason for optimism about the effectiveness of the program model in its early stages. Despite the limited amount of outcome data for MC/SYO alumni, which makes it difficult to observe statistically significant between-group differences in post-service outcomes, the differences in employment rates and wage levels are substantively large and (especially for employment rates) marginally significant.
The second study analyzes data from questions found on the MC/SYO pre-service and post-service surveys, which are administered to all Members at the beginning and end of the program year. The questions analyzed here measure developmental outcomes associated with the acquisition of professional skills (which lead to workforce development), civic skills (which encourage civic engagement), and capacity to develop and execute a plan for the future. The results from the analysis of pre-post survey data suggest that the improvements in several different workforce development outcomes may be the mechanism that drives the increases in employment rates and hourly wages we observe in the first study.
The analysis in this study shows that significant improvements occur during the program year for several workforce development outcomes: self-assessed views of the training and mentorship Members receive, of their confidence in professional settings, and of their ability to develop and execute future professional and personal plans. Members also report positive changes in their self-assessed capacity to identify community problems. The results reflect fewer significant improvements in the connection Members feel to their communities, their appreciation for diversity, or the likelihood of participating in various non-electoral civic activities. However, the projected likelihood of voting in national elections increases over the program year, as does the registration rate.