Using AI for Employing Youth with Disabilities

Youth economic advancement

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Measure of America has reported that youth with disabilities are three times more likely to find themselves among the 143,000 16 to 24-year-olds in Los Angeles County who are disconnected from school and work, more than when the pandemic began.
Young Black men are more likely to be diagnosed with a disability that stigmatizes them and puts them at higher risk for school suspension and adjudication. Black adults with disabilities are 51% more likely to experience poverty and 84% more likely to lack adequate housing. Overall, people of color with disabilities realize poorer economic and employment outcomes. The National Disability Institute asserts that poverty is a cause of disability and that disability is a cause of poverty. Researchers have demonstrated that early work experiences for youth with disabilities can improve their career and earning potential in adulthood. Lack of steady employment in early adulthood can have detrimental repercussions across the lifespan.

For 80 youth with disabilities ages 17 to 24, Bridges of L.A. will provide workforce preparedness instruction, including career exploration, help with job searches, résumés, applications, and interviews, all culminating in job placement and ongoing case management. At least 64 youth will be hired in quality jobs with supportive employers and receive 12 months of post-hire follow-up. Of 64 hired, at least 48 will retain their jobs for 90 days and 40 for 180 days. Project innovation will result from Bridges’ collaboration with San Diego State University (SDSU) and technology firm Ultranauts. These partners will apply for a 5-year U.S. DOE grant due July 15. With the grant, all partners, including Bridges, will test Ultranuats’ AI-powered smartphone app called CoachX. Partners will evaluate CoachX’s functionality and efficacy in conducting routine check-ins and inquiries with Bridges participants once they begin jobs. For youth who opt-in to use CoachX, staff will receive instantaneous alerts when they engage with the app. Staff will be able to respond in real time when CoachX reports any issue that requires an urgent IM, phone call, or in-person meeting. CoachX cumulatively saves all responses and interactions, including IMs, thumbs-up/down, or emotions, and all can be uploaded to our case management system. All partners will evaluate efficiencies gained by Coach X, assess youths’ receptivity to the app, and compare the outcomes of youth who adopt it to those who do not.

Our L.A. program will test CoachX in the first year of the 5-year award. In years 2-5, CoachX will expand to all 10 Bridges cities. Lessons learned will improve the app’s efficacy over time. For example, we wonder whether neurodiverse youth will respond more favorably to AI-powered job coaching because it eliminates aspects of human “judgmental” biases that may come across as criticism. By year 5, we anticipate that 800 Bridges youth, including those in L.A., will have used CoachX during their pursuit of employment. Led by SDSU, all partners will employ ethical practices and will collaborate to publish articles about the efficacy of using AI to support youth in their career goals. Youth will secure quality jobs that increase self-confidence and promote economic advancement. EX: In 2022, Michael, a neurodiverse Bridges participant, got a temporary job as utility clerk at Superior Grocers. Still employed there two years later, he is now an assistant de[artment manager and owns a car.

For CoachX, we will measure the number of youth who agree to use the app and the number, frequency, and types of interactions they have with the app. Through focus groups with youth and employment specialists, we will solicit input for improving the app’s functionality. SDSU, Ultranauts, and Bridges will work together to iterate and improve the interface and increase the AI abilities of the app over the five-year project. For the established Bridges program, metrics of success include the number of youth with disabilities who apply and enroll, the number who get jobs, and the number who retain jobs for 90 and 180 days. For all, we collect their demographic data using Jotform and their employment data using the ClientTrack case management system. Since 1993, the Los Angeles program has enrolled 4,400 youth with disabilities and placed 3,500 in employment. Ongoing survey results among participants and the employers that hire them show that over 90% are satisfied with Bridges.