RMC’s qualitative research associate, Cynthia Juniper, presented findings from our Evaluating Services for Texas Opportunity Youth (ESTOY) project at the Texas Network of Youth Services (TNOYS) 41st annual conference held June 4-7, 2024, in Houston, Texas.
The purpose of the ESTOY evaluation is to pursue a deeper understanding of the experience of opportunity youth whose needs were not met by the community’s traditional education systems. The qualitative research method for this evaluation employed a community-based research design to invite voices from the community to collaborate with researchers in the design of the study, an approach that depends upon the knowledge, insights, and experiences of the individuals who are the subject of a study to assist and guide researchers. The ESTOY evaluation engaged youth and young adults currently enrolled in workforce development services to guide the development of a survey tool to be completed by youth and young adults receiving workforce development services in four Texas communities: Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston. The presentation highlights key considerations for preparing for this research, engaging the community, and lessons learned from the process.
You can view the presentation slides here.
The Better Employment and Training Strategies Task Force, or BETS, is a group of more than 40 workforce experts formed in November 2020 by Prof. Stephen Crawford of the 
