ABSTRACT
The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program is a residential, quasi-military program for youth ages 16 to 18 who are experiencing academic difficulties and exhibiting problem behaviors inside school, outside school, or both;have either dropped out or are in jeopardy of dropping out of their high school;and, in some cases, have had run-ins with the law. ChalleNGe's stated mission is to "intervene in and reclaim the lives of 16-18-year-old high school dropouts, producing program graduates with the values, life skills, education, and self-discipline necessary to succeed as productive citizens" (National Guard Youth ChalleNGe, 2015, p. 2). Participating states operate the program, which began in the mid-1990s, with supporting federal funds and oversight from state National Guard organizations. At the beginning of 2020, there were 39 sites in 28 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (two sites closed during the summer of 2020, but three other sites are in various planning phases). Nearly 250,000 young people have taken part in the ChalleNGe program;roughly 184,000 have completed it. The ChalleNGe program is 17.5 months in length, broken into a 5.5-month residential phase (comprising a two-week acclimation period, called Pre-ChalleNGe, and the five-month ChalleNGe) followed by a 12-month post-residential phase. During the post-residential phase, graduates may continue their education, find employment, enlist in the military, or undertake some combination of these. Each graduate has a mentor whose role is to provide advice, assist with the transition after ChalleNGe, and provide monthly reports back to the program about the graduates placement (i.e., pursuing education, being employed, enlisting in the military, or some combination thereof). Graduates and mentors are expected to meet regularly.