Program Information

Developer and contact

Developed and evaluated by Public/Private Ventures (P/PV), STEP is no longer an active program, and no current developer or contact information is available. Additional information about the STEP model and the implementation experience of the organizations that used it can be found in Walker and Vilella-Velez (1992), listed in the references for this report.

Scope of use

STEP was initially implemented in 1984 as a pilot program operating through two local Job Training and Partnership Act (JTPA) employment and training agencies. In 1985, the program began a five-site national research demonstration. In 1987, the program began rolling out a national replication effort with funding from both private and government sources. From 1987 through 1991, STEP served more than 20,000 youth at 100 sites in 15 states. Although the program has since ended, the core components—job placement combined with educational remediation—are shared with many programs for disadvantaged youth still operating, such as youth programs funded through the Workforce Investment Act.

Description of intervention

STEP is a summer employment, academic remediation, and life skills program intended to lower school dropout rates by reducing summer learning loss and preventing teen parenthood. The program is offered during six-to-eight-week sessions in two consecutive summers and serves low-income 14- and 15-year-olds who tested below grade level in either reading or math. The STEP model is an enhancement to the federal summer jobs program that offers full-time, paid summer work experience to youth from low-income families.

Each summer, participants are expected to complete approximately 200 hours of program activities, including part-time summer employment, a reading and math curriculum, and life skills classes. STEP jobs are similar to those offered through the standard federal summer employment program, except that STEP jobs are half time rather than full time in order to accommodate the program’s remediation and life skills components. Employment opportunities vary by site and can include day care center work, buildings and grounds maintenance, and clerical positions. STEP reading and math classes meet daily and include computer-assisted instruction, practical exercises, journal writing, and sustained silent reading. STEP life skills and opportunities classes meet twice a week and focus on topics such as decision making, sexual behavior, drug use, careers, and community involvement. STEP participants are paid both for the time they spend in the classroom and on the job, so that participants’ wages are equivalent to those earned by participants in the regular summer jobs program. During the school year following STEP’s first summer, the program also offers a small, voluntary component consisting of recreation and other noneducational activities. This component is designed to encourage participants to return for STEP’s second summer.

Cost

Researchers estimate the per-participant cost of one summer spent in STEP to be $2,455—about 60% higher than the per-participant cost in the standard federal summer jobs program (estimated to be $1,535).⁶