OYF Annual Youth Data Collection & Reporting Process

A New Process for Calendar Year 2024 Youth Data Reporting

Updated: 2.19.25 

This page may be further revised up to the launch of the data reporting portal (date TBD, but no later than June 16, 2025); please check for updates.

This webpage documents the new youth data reporting process that OYF will launch in 2025, for the collection and reporting of collaborative partner youth data from calendar 2024 by OYF collaboratives. This process replaces the prior data collection approach, which was included in the annual self-assessment survey fielded by Equal Measure. All OYF collaboratives are required to participate in this process. For this year, very few data points are required, but we hope that OYF collaboratives will collect and report as large a range of youth service numbers and outcomes as is possible.

The new data reporting tool has not yet been launched, we will inform OYF collaborative site leads when it is available (which will be no later than June 16, 2025). The deadline for reporting 2024 youth data will be July 15, 2025.

The following  instructions relate to the accompanying sample data collection template (.xlsx file download), and are followed by a glossary of commonly used terms and a FAQ.  Please review all of these materials together, and feel free to contact us with any questions by emailing Yelena Nemoy (yelena.nemoy@aspeninstitute.org).

Sample Reporting Template

To assist in this new data collection process, we have provided a sample data reporting template here (.xlsx file download). The template serves as an example of the data that is requested from your collaborative. The template has three tabs:

  • Tab 1 asks a small handful of questions about who is completing the report, and a few optional narrative questions about the data being reported
  • Tab 2 shows the youth served and youth outcomes data that will be requested in the new data portal when it is launched
  • Tab 3 is an optional tab, for reporting youth demographic information, if available

PLEASE DO NOT USE THE SAMPLE DATA TEMPLATE TO REPORT DATA TO ASPEN.

Instruction Guide

Overview

Again, thank you for participating in the OYF annual youth data reporting process. Aspen has requested aggregated partner youth data from OYF collaboratives since the launch of the network in 2013, and in the most recent year of data collection, over 80% of collaboratives were able to provide at least partial data on youth being served in their communities. Understanding how many youth are being served in communities is valuable information not just at the OYF network level, but most importantly, at the site level, as it can play a critical role in making the case for increased funding, understanding who is being served (and who is not) by local service providers, raising awareness of the needs of opportunity youth, and coordinating the work of the collaborative.  As a network, understanding the total impact of OYF collaboratives helps us to understand our progress against the network’s goal of decreasing youth disconnection by 50% in 10 years.

Note that  when we talk about the data collection process, we are only talking about aggregated information on youth being served across all partners; Aspen will never request any individual – even anonymized – youth data. Aspen also will not share your individual site data without your permission. Aspen does use the summarized data for the entire network publicly, including telling the stories of the network’s successes, and for raising funds to redistribute to sites and run the network, among other things.

The 2024 youth data collection is the first year that reporting this data to Aspen is a requirement of being part of the OYF. To help those sites that have not reported data previously, our required data in the first year is intentionally modest:  we ask for the numbers of youth served by at least one partner in the calendar year 2024. Our goal is to get as complete as possible a picture of the numbers of youth being served (both in OY interventions, and in prevention-related work), as well as the outcomes attained for those youth. Historically, we know that the annual youth data reporting has only captured a fraction of these numbers, resulting in a large undercount and a missed opportunity to show both the strength of the network, as well as the need for increased funding and services for young people who are disconnected or at risk of disconnection.

Many OYF sites are already contributing more than this level of information, and we hope that all sites will continue to grow their ability to report these kinds of data to Aspen:

  1. data from as many direct service partners as possible, particularly including large public systems partners such as school districts, colleges, and workforce investment boards
  2. data that can specifically distinguish between young people that meet the technical definition of OY (or “disconnected from both work and education”), and those not technically disconnected, but receiving services to prevent disconnection
  3. data both about the numbers of youth being served, and also the significant outcomes of those youth – particularly high school (or equivalent) completion, postsecondary completion, and workforce entry

The data we are requesting has not changed substantially (with one exception, noted below) from what has been requested in prior years as part of the annual self assessment, so if you are using the prior format currently with partners to solicit 2024 data, it should work seamlessly with this new approach.

Sample Data Template

The sample data reporting template attempts to clearly lay out the data that will be requested from sites (and their partners).  If you have questions after reviewing these materials, please feel free to contact us by emailing Yelena Nemoy (yelena.nemoy@aspeninstitute.org).

  • The first tab of the spreadsheet requests data on the respondent, and has a few open ended questions about your data collection practices and challenges.
  • The second tab of the spreadsheet outlines the data that’s being requested (and also asks how many partners are reporting data in each category.
    • it asks for data on OY, and for “non-OY” (including those of unknown OY status). We know that some sites only serve OY, or non-OY (all prevention work), which is fine; we also know that some partners do not know OY status of participants, and this is also fine. Note: the distinction here between these two groups is the one change from the prior data collection approach.
    • it asks for both numbers of youth being served, as well as the 3 major outcomes OYF is most interested in tracking. We know that not all collaboratives are focused on all the outcomes here, which is fine.
    • it includes optional space to include other, non-overlapping, outcomes tracked by the collaborative.
  • The third tab is completely optional, but includes space to report on demographics of youth being served by partners, in three categories: age, race, and gender.  Partial data may be reported here; we know that not all collaborative partners collect such data.

If helpful to you, you may share this sample template with your partners (as well as these Instructions and the Glossary/FAQ), and use it as the data collection tool for your collaborative.  Final reporting of your total data, however, will occur via a new data portal that has not been launched yet.

 

Data Template-specific Definitions:

This section explains specifically what we mean on the sample data collection template.

 

COLUMN HEADINGS:

  • OY (Disconnected Youth) Receiving Re/Connection Services: this column of the spreadsheet is for reporting data on youth receiving services who have been identified as meeting the technical definition of OY (neither in education nor in the workforce).
  • Non-OY (or unknown OY status) Receiving Services to Prevent Disconnection: this column is for reporting data on any youth receiving services who is known not to be disconnected from BOTH workforce and education, or where the OY status of the youth is unknown.

 

ROW HEADINGS:

# OF YOUTH SERVED:

  • # of partners reporting youth served data below: indicate the number of partner orgs whom you’ve gathered data from, specifically on the numbers of youth in services
  • # served in K12-related programs: the number of youth who became connected to K12 education/GED program or maintained connection to a K12 education/GED program
  • # served in Postsecondary-related programs: the number of youth who became connected to or maintained enrollment in a postsecondary education program (very broadly defined, including short-term credentials).
  • # served in jobs-related programs: the number of youth who became connected to or maintained connection to job training/preparation programs meant to help them connect to future work opportunities, including skills building, counseling, barrier removal services, summer youth employment programs, etc.
  • # served in other programs: the number of youth who were connected to a program or service that is not related in any way to connection to K12, Postsecondary, or Jobs.

GUIDANCE: If the partner is offering services across multiple categories named above, report their data in whichever category is the single largest service provided.

CORE OUTCOMES: 

(these outcomes are subsets of the youth enumerated in the preceding # OF YOUTH SERVED section):

  • # of partners reporting outcomes data below: indicate the number of partner orgs whom you’ve gathered data from, specifically on the outcomes of youth in services (this number may vary from the number of partners reporting #s in services)
  • # completing K12 (HS credential): the number of youth who completed a HS credential, including GED/etc.
  • # completing Postsecondary: the number of youth who completed a postsecondary credential, including short term credentials that are awarded by a postsecondary institution.
  • # attaining a paid, permanent job: the number of youth who attained full time or part time permanent, paid work. Internships generally do not count, as they are temporary. Paid apprenticeships likely count, as they are intended to be part of a career ladder.  Self-employment and long-term gig work count.

OPTIONAL – OTHER MAJOR OUTCOMES: you may report here any outcomes not included in the 3 major outcomes listed above. These should be distinct outcomes that are completely outside of workforce or education outcomes that the partner(s) assisted with, for example, attaining housing.

Timeline

    • The deadline for reporting 2024 youth data will be July 15, 2025.  
    • The new online reporting tool will be available no later than June 16, 2025. We will send an announcement when it is available.

DO NOT USE THE SAMPLE DATA FORM TO REPORT YOUR DATA TO ASPEN; please wait for the online data reporting tool to be announced and launched.

Finally, we know that due to various circumstances, not every collaborative may be able to report data for a given year. In particular, brand new collaboratives that are just launching may not yet be collecting partner data; likewise, if your collaborative was not operational during 2024, you may request an exception. We do ask that if you cannot meet the minimum youth data reporting, please contact Yelena Nemoy (yelena.nemoy@aspeninstitute.org) in advance of the reporting deadline to secure an exception to the reporting requirement.

 

GLOSSARY:

General terms

OY: 16-24 year olds that are not working AND not engaged in education.

OY Intervention: a service that connects or re-connects an opportunity youth to education or workforce.

Non-OY:  a young person (~13-24) who is deemed at risk of disconnection from education or work. For data collection purposes, please also include youth for whom OY status is unknown in the “Non-OY” category.

OY Prevention: a service that maintains the connection of a young person at risk of disconnection from education or work.

Receiving Services: intentional activities meant to either connect, re-connect, or maintain connection of a young person to either education or workforce, where the young person has been identified as being at risk of (or experiencing) disconnection.

Collaborative Partners: a collaborative may have service provider partners, and non-services offering partners. For the data collection work, we are focused on those partners offering services. For this data collection work, we also encourage collaboratives to get data from all service providers who serve young adults who are disconnected or at risk of disconnection, regardless of whether they are ‘official’ members of the OY collaborative. (see FAQ for more comments on this topic)

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Data (De)Duplication: 

  • Q: We know we have data from different partners that are for sure serving some of the same people. Do we have to de-duplicate that data?
    • A: No, you do not have to de-duplicate such data (unless you have an existing, easy to use method to do so, then please do). However, if you have a partner where you know that 100% (or close) of their clients are also included in another partner’s data, please do not include their data (for example: a CBO partners’ data is only from services from a school district re-engagement program, and the district already reports all those students to you).
  • Q: Within a specific partner, there may be some youth who are counted twice, because they are in different services/programs at that same partner; should we ask them to deduplicate that data?
    • A: Yes, in this case, because we assume the partner is able to track individuals (as opposed to service instances) we ask that the partner deduplicate the data, if at all possible.
  • Q: In our data, some individual youth are likely to be counted both, for example, as “connected to K12” and “completing K12” in the same year (or both getting a job and being connected to postsecondary, etc.); do we need to report such a youth in only one of these two categories?
    • A: Please don’t deduplicate in this case; we expect such a youth to be counted in all appropriate categories.
  • Q: What about young people who were OY at program entry, but who are now reconnected to work or school? Which category should we count them in?
    • A: Please count such youth in the “OY” category for their first year of program involvement.

Accuracy/Use of Estimates:

  • Q: We have a partner that can only provide estimates; is that okay?
    • A: Yes, if you and the partner feel the estimates are reasonably accurate, please include them.

Data Completeness/Number of Partners Reporting Data: 

  • Q: We have some partners that can only report to us the numbers served, but not the outcomes – and others that can provide only some outcomes data for some youth served (it’s incomplete); should we include such partial data?
    • A: Yes, please include data even if it’s only partial; it’s fine if you have a different set of partners reporting the numbers served, vs. the outcome data.

Data Sources / Who is a ‘partner’?:

  • Q: Should we only include data obtained directly from partner organizations through Data Sharing Agreements (DSAs) or other official means?
    • A: No, we are open to whatever methods you and your partners have agreed upon for data sharing. We are also open to, and in fact encourage in appropriate cases, using publicly available data (typically from public systems partners, such as K12, postsecondary, or workforce systems). In some cases, such partners may not be ‘official’ collaborative partners, but if they have substantial services they are offering to prevent or correct disconnection from education or workforce, we encourage your collaborative to secure such data from public records or the institution, in order to understand the total number of youth people in your community engaged in disconnection prevention or intermediation services.
  • Q: We, the backbone for the OY collaborative, are also a service provider; should we also report our data as a ‘partner’?
    • A: Yes. For the purpose of this data collection, you are also a ‘partner’ organization.

Calendar Year vs. School or Other “Year”: 

  • Q: The tool indicates that the data collected should be for calendar 2024. Can there be any variation in that?
    • A: Yes; if a partner needs to report against the school year (in this case, SY 23/24 would apply) or a fiscal year that is somewhat off (e.g. federal fiscal year Sep 23-Aug 24) that is fine. However, please do not report on an annual period that is majority from 2023.

What Counts as “In Services”?

  • Q: What’s the threshold for what counts as services? We have partners who provide very intense long term services, and others that are very minor; do these all count as the same? What about services that are offered to all young people in an institution?
    • A: We’re focused on understanding youth that are receiving intentional, meaningful services meant to create or maintain connection to education or workforce, where the young person has been identified as in need of such services. There is no set minimum threshold, but, for example, a 10 minute call/meeting that refers a young person to another service should not be included. Likewise, a program that is implemented across a large group of youth, without understanding their likelihood of disconnection, should not be included, because it’s not targeted at a group of youth who are or at risk of disconnection (eg. a high school offers college counseling to all students; this should not be considered an OY-specific intervention).
  • Q: What about different kinds of services that may not be focused directly on education or workforce connection; should those be counted?
    • A: Yes, if they are meant to support creating or maintaining connection to education or workforce, such as getting/maintaining housing, food, transportation, childcare, etc.; and are focused on young people who are disconnected, or are at risk of, disconnection.

 

Please note that all discussion of data here for reporting to Aspen is for aggregated youth data; Aspen will never request any data on individuals, including de-identified data.