Text messages to increase use of youth workforce programs
Last Revised: December 17, 2025
- Outcomes
- High-quality employment
Program overview
Increasing engagement with youth employment services through text messages: Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program (CCMEP) is a workforce development program for low income 14 to 24 year-olds. To increase application, program retention, and completion rates, a series of 12 weekly text messages were sent to eligible youth and active participants to increase uptake of CCMEP services. The text messages incorporated elements of behavioral science to maximize their effectiveness at re-engaging or soliciting applications from youth.
Utilizing behavioral psychology to write text messages: Text messages were developed by analyzing the likely behavioral causes of participant disengagement. Researchers then created messages that incorporated strategies rooted in behavioral science and research on engaging young adults in out-of-school programs and other services. This approach resulted in an increase in the number of youth accessing services within 60 days and increased CCMEP completion rates by 10 percentage points relative to participants who did not receive text messages.
Weekly text messages with varied content: The weekly text messages were not only reminders. To increase the likelihood of participant engagement, messages included encouraging language, calls to action, links to video testimonials from fellow youth participants, reminders of the program’s various offerings and how it can benefit participants, and other strategies.
- Strategies
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Job placement services and supports
A single study with rigorous design shows that there is some evidence for text message reminders as a strategy for increasing application and completion rates.
A 2023 randomized controlled trial found that weekly text messages to participants in a youth employment program in 11 counties in Ohio led to an increase in the number of services youth initiated within 60 days. Text messages also led to a 10 percentage point increase in service completion outcomes within 60 days.
Tailoring text messages to address points where participants drop off: CCMEP program administrators identified several points within the program where participants commonly disengage from the program. Text messages were designed to address these points in the process, such as moving from screening to intake, by focusing on the free services included in the program and including encouraging language to reinforce the self-efficacy of participants.
Including approachable and encouraging content to increase service utilization: Workforce programs are geared towards adult workers, and their language and approach may not resonate with young adults. Recognizing this, the CCMEP text messaging program included encouraging language, links to video testimonials from fellow youth participants, and more conversational language that may resonate with participants.
Obtaining feedback from program administrators and participants: To ensure text messages are both helpful and effective, researchers designing the text messages sought feedback from CCMEP administrators and participants. Feedback helps the messages convey accurate information in an engaging way for youth participants.