Conducting comprehensive, well-planned evaluations of programs serving youth and young adults is a critical to ensuring programs achieve outcomes that support this population. Evaluations help program providers understand and recognize their impact on participants' lives and shed light on areas within the program that require improvements.
Resources on this page discuss the importance of evaluating programs that serve youth and young adults as well as findings of reports completed on existing programs.
Findings From the Transitional Living Program Youth Outcomes Study
Mahathey, Brown, de Sousa, Loya, Thornton Walker, & Santucci (2021)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation
Presents the findings from the Transitional Living Program Youth Outcomes Study, a grant-funded program that supports runaway and homeless youth ages 16 through 21.
A Meta-Regression of Racial Disparities in Wellbeing Outcomes During and After Foster Care
Kennedy, Potter, & Font (2022)
Trauma, Violence, & Abuse
Reports on the differing outcomes and racial disparities between Black and non-Black and between Hispanic and non-Hispanic youth and young adults related to foster care outcomes.
Youth Center Toolkit: Creating Resources for Safe Spaces, Youth Centers, and After-School Programs (PDF - 950 KB)
YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation (2020)
Provides information for those looking to build positive and constructive safe spaces for youth, including afterschool programs and youth centers, to improve youth development and engagement outcomes.
Youth Engagement in Research and Evaluation: New Guides Help Organizations Build Effective Youth Engagement Programs
Casey Family Programs (2023)
Provides a recently published guide on how youth-serving systems can better partner with youth and young adults in program and policy evaluation.
Youth Outcomes Project
Youth Collaboratory
Offers guidance on improving measurement strategies to evaluate the outcomes of youth and young adults experiencing homelessness, including findings from Youth Collaboratory's research.
Youth Participatory Evaluation (PDF - 342 KB)
Wilder Research (2017)
Provides guidance that youth can use in collaboration with supportive adults to evaluate and conduct research on issues impacting their lives.
What Are the Outcomes for Youth Placed in Group and Institutional Settings?
Casey Family Programs (2022)
Details the poorer outcomes of youth and young adults who reside in group or institutional settings compared with those in family-based settings and the resulting impact on their overall well-being.