To get the best from recruitment focuses, you need to, you know, actually focus on something. I see so many people just having open wide parameters and expecting hundreds of results. If you're doing that, you're as well just using player search and scouting players individually.
Narrow your search down. Don't just search for players 15-18 without any other focus. Give your scouts instructions on the type of player to look for, otherwise they'll have no clue who to recommend.
I've not had any issues with scouting in this year's game, and this is the method I use.