Supporting Adolescents with Guidance and Employment (SAGE)

OVERVIEW

Supporting Adolescents with Guidance and Employment (SAGE) is a community based violence prevention program targeted toward African American males. The program combines three components, an Afrocentric “Rite of Passage” instructional program, a summer job training and placement program, and an after-school entrepreneurial training program, to foster positive development and reduce violent behavior among African American male adolescents. The SAGE program was found to have positive impacts on carrying a gun and selling illegal drugs at the 18-month follow-up.  There were no significant impacts on carrying a knife, fighting, receiving treatment for intentional injury, using a gun or knife to hurt someone, using drugs, consuming 5 or more alcoholic drinks, having sexual intercourse, or damaging property at the 18-month follow-up.  In addition, there were no significant impacts of the SAGE program across these measures at the 30-month follow-up. 

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: African American male adolescents.

The SAGE program is comprised of three components: an Afro-centric “Rite of Passage” program (ROP), a summer jobs training and placement program (JTP), and an after school entrepreneurial program that uses the Junior Achievement model (JA).

The Rite of Passage (ROP) program consists of biweekly seminars held over an 8-month period covering topics such as conflict resolution, African American history, male sexuality, and manhood training. On alternate weeks, participants spend time with an adult African American male mentor.  In addition, academic tutoring is provided to youth with academic difficulty, and outreach is provided to the families of disruptive or disengaged youth. The Rite of Passage program culminates in an overnight camping trip, including a private rite of initiation into manhood, and a graduation ceremony. The job training and placement program (JTP) takes place over the summer, beginning with an orientation and training session about behavior and dress in the workplace. After the training, youth are matched with worksites and placed in a 6-week summer job paying minimum wage.  The after-school entrepreneurial program (JA) takes place over a three- month period.  Under the guidance of an adult volunteer from the local business community, the youth form a legal corporation, develop a business plan, elect officers, and sell stock to family and friends.  The youth then market and sell a product and are paid a salary.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Flewelling , R., Paschall, M.J., Lissy, K., Burrus, B., Ringwalt, C., Graham, P., & et al. (1999). A process and outcome evaluation of “Supporting Adolescents with Guidance and Employment (SAGE)”: A community-based violence prevention program for African American male adolescents. Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute. Final Report to: Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Grant No. U81/CCU408504-01.

Evaluated population: The study was conducted with African American males 12 to 16 years old living in Durham County, North Carolina. Youth were identified and recruited through radio announcements, referrals from school guidance and juvenile court counselors, and direct contact in public housing developments. A total of 263 youth were enrolled over a two-year period; of these, 255 were eligible. The mean age of the sample was 14. 53 percent of the sample was eligible for free or reduced lunch. 50 percent of the sample was not in residence with a father or father-figure.  

Approach: Of the youth eligible for the program (N=255), 86 were randomly assigned to the condition with all three components (ROP, JTP, JA); 84 were randomly assigned to the condition with the summer job training component and the after-school entrepreneurial component (JTP, JA); and 85 were randomly assigned to the control group, receiving the delayed entrepreneurial component (delayed JA). In baseline and in two follow-up surveys, youth were asked about their most recent participation in a variety of risk behaviors, including physical violence-related measures (i.e., physical fighting, carrying a gun or knife); using or selling of illicit drugs; engaging in sexual activity; and vandalism. In addition to the survey, data were collected from school suspension records, hospital records, and juvenile court records. The survey was conducted at the baseline, as well as at 18-month and 30-month follow up interviews.    

Results: The three-component SAGE  intervention (ROP, JTP, JA) was found to have positive impacts on carrying a gun and selling illegal drugs at the 18-month follow-up.  There were no significant impacts of the three-component intervention on carrying a knife, fighting, receiving treatment for intentional injury, using a gun or knife to hurt someone, using drugs, having 5 or more drinks, having sexual intercourse, or damaging property at the 18-month follow-up.  There were no significant impacts of the three component intervention at the 30-month follow-up.  The two component intervention (JTP, JA) demonstrated no significant impacts at either the 18- or 30-month follow-ups. The authors note that the pattern of inputs was encouraging at 18 months, but the positive trends dissipated by 30 months. 

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

References:

Flewelling , R., Paschall, M.J., Lissy, K., Burrus, B., Ringwalt, C., Graham, P., & et al. (1999). A process and outcome evaluation of “Supporting Adolescents with Guidance and Employment (SAGE)”: A community-based violence prevention program for African American male adolescents. Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute. Final Report to: Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Grant No. U81/CCU408504-01.

KEYWORDS: Adolescents (12-17); Male only; Black/African American; High risk; Community-based; Skills training; Vocational learning; Other Behavioral Problems; Delinquency; Aggression; mentoring; After-school program; Summer program; Tutoring; Other substance use; Sexual activity; Alcohol use.

Program information last updated 08/29/2011.

© Child Trends 2003