Prevention & Retention: An Analysis of a Community Law Office Youth Program Attendance Patterns

In order for programs that target at-risk youth to best engage with students, they need to understand which types of students are at risk for dropping out of the program. If a program can identify which students are more likely to attend based on certain demographics or identifiers, they can use this information to strengthen the program. This study examines the retention patters of students at the Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office (CLO) and looks at the relationship between key demographics of participants, such as their age, grade, sex, and race, and their attendance history. This study investigated the following research questions: is a student’s demographic related to their attendance pattern at the CLO & which demographics of students are more or less likely to attend? It was hypothesized that older students who also have siblings who participate are more likely to attend.

This study involved secondary data analyses of participant information and attendance records over a five-year period at the CLO. The hypotheses were tested using a survivability analysis.

The findings are expected to add to the understanding of the agency of the relationship between a student’s basic demographic variables and their likelihood to attend the program.