Evaluation Results for the Los Angeles Women's Job Corps Center.

An empirical analysis of the LAWJCC experimental commuter program. The program was compared with the Center's traditional residential program in terms of three short-term indicators of long-term outcomes: cognitive gains, changes in work-relevant attitudes, and length of time at the Center. In performance, commuters were at least as good as, and possibly superior to, residents. Commuters seem less likely than residents to drop out of the Center during the first three months, and no more prone to drop out thereafter. With other factors controlled, commuters register greater cognitive gains than residents. Attitude changes are about the same. Indications are that a commuter-type program can serve segments of the population not reached by residential programs. Other findings were: (1) cognitive gain is positively associated with number of hours of basic education; (2) Mexican-American women are likely to remain at the Center longer than whites but register less cognitive gain; (3) high school graduates remain longer than dropouts; and (4) the Center improved the job-relevant attitudes of some women but not of the majority. 81 pp.