National Evaluation of Youth Corps

Click here to view a printable document about the National Evaluation of Youth Corps.

Do Corps change lives? This rigorous random-assignment evaluation is designed to find out.

The largest-ever random assignment study of national service programs, the National Evaluation of Youth Corps will assess how service changes young people. The study, which includes 22 Corps, 2,500 Corpsmembers, and rigorous treatment and control groups, examines whether participation improves educational attainment, employment success, workplace skills, civic engagement and citizenship, and avoidance of risk behaviors.

Preliminary findings are expected in the Fall of 2008.

This research is the second generation of a 1997 report by Abt Associates and Brandeis University, “Youth Corps: Promising Strategies for Young People and Their Communities.” That earlier study documented positive impacts on Corpsmembers, especially on young African-American men. This new study, because of its greatly enlarged scope, will deliver even clearer evidence about the benefits of Corps for young people and their communities.

The National Evaluation of Youth Corps is funded by The Corporation for National and Community Service and conducted by Abt Associates, Inc., in partnership with The Corps Network and Atlantic Research and Consulting.