Youth Service Prevalence Surveys
Youth Service Resources
The State of Youth Participation in America
Prevalence of Youth Participation in Out-of-School Time, Youth Development, Community-Based, and Faith-Based Programs
In 2023, with the support of The Allstate Foundation, YSA partnered with Qualtrics XM to survey 2,017 individuals associated with organizations that work with youth in the United States, including out-of-school time programs, positive youth development programs, community-based organizations, and faith-based organizations.
Based on the survey results, less than 1 in 4 organizations offer youth participation opportunities:
- 23% offer/provide community service program activities
- 22% offer/provide service-learning program activities
- 22% offer/provide social capital & leadership development program activities
- 20% offer/provide voting & civic engagement program activities
Based on these rates, and the average percentage of youth reached by these organizations that participate in these opportunities, we estimate that nationally:
- 14% of youth participate in community service program activities through these types of organizations
- 13% of youth participate in service-learning program activities through these types of organizations
- 12% of youth participate in voting & civic engagement program activities through these types of organizations
- 13% of youth participate in social capital & leadership development program activities through these types of organizations
Top reasons for youth participation include community engagement, teaching interpersonal skills, closing the achievement gap, and increasing academic achievement.
The top barriers across all activity types are lack of funding, lack of transportation, and disengaged youth.
The most common supports provided include financial support, special recognition for youth, and community partnerships.
Prevalence of Youth Participation in K-12 Schools
In 2022, with the support of The Allstate Foundation, YSA partnered with First Book Research & Insights to survey 1,231 K-12 school principals in the United States.
Based on the survey results:
- 63.3% of K-12 schools arrange/provide community service program activities
- 35.9% of K-12 schools arrange/provide service-learning program activities
- 34.1% of K-12 schools arrange/provide social capital & leadership development program activities
- 26.8% of K-12 schools arrange/provide voting & civic engagement program activities
Based on these rates, and the average percentage of students that participate in these opportunities, we estimate that nationally:
- 37% of students participate in community service program activities through their school
- 16.9% of students participate in service-learning program activities through their school
- 13.8% of students participate in voting & civic engagement program activities through their school
- 15.2% of students participate in social capital & leadership development program activities through their school
Top reasons for youth participation include increasing student knowledge and understanding of the community; to encourage student altruism or caring for others; to improve student personal or social development (social and emotional learning); to advance civic education and engagement and help students become more active members of the community; and to teach 21st Century workforce skills.
The top barriers across all participation types are lack of staff to coordinate program activities; lack of training or professional development content and opportunities; lack of funding or other resources; lack of time because of state curriculum and/or testing requirements; and lack of transportation for students.
The most common supports provided include importance of student participation being emphasized to teachers; access to partnerships with community groups or nonprofits; special recognition, awards, or honors for students who participate; and inclusion in school district’s mission, strategic plan, and/or board-approved curriculum.
Partner Surveys & Reports
Recent reports show a consistent trend across multiple forms of service and community participation of about 1 in 4 young people engaged.
Volunteering & Service
22% of young people ages 15-24 volunteered on average from 2012-2015 (4 year average of Volunteering in America data as analyzed by the Do Good Institute).
The most recent 2021 Volunteering in America data shows that 28.2% of 16-17 year olds and 17.8% of 18-24 year olds volunteer, which averages out to ~20.1% for ages 16-24.
Sources: https://dogood.umd.edu/sites/default/files/2019-07/Good%20Intentions%2C%20Gap%20in%20Action_Do%20Good%20Institute%20Research%20Brief.pdf and https://americorps.gov/about/our-impact/volunteering-civic-life/demographics
34.5% of children ages 6-17 years participated in any type of community service or volunteer work at school, church, or in the community in the past year. (2020-2021 survey completed by parents.)
Source: https://www.childhealthdata.org/browse/survey/results?q=9472&r=1
22% of youth ages 15-24 donate to charitable causes. (16.4% of high school students and 27.1% of college students.)
Source: https://dogood.umd.edu/sites/default/files/2019-07/Good%20Intentions%2C%20Gap%20in%20Action_Do%20Good%20Institute%20Research%20Brief.pdf
26% of students say they often work on projects with real-world applications in school.
Source: https://www.gallup.com/education/267449/creativity-learning-transformative-technology-gallup-report-2019.aspx
Voting & Civic Engagement
23% of eligible voters ages 18-29 voted in the 2022 midterm election. (Note: We prefer to look at 18-19 year-olds specifically since that tracks participation in their first election. We also prefer to look at midterm elections rather than presidential elections as a baseline since that indicates more regular participation. CIRCLE doesn’t have 18-19-year-olds broken out for midterm years, but in the 2020 election, 50% of youth ages 18-29 voted while 46% of youth ages 18-19 voted, so if that’s similar for mid-term years, it’s likely no more than 19% of those age 18-19 voted.)
Sources: https://circle.tufts.edu/2022-election-center and https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/state-state-youth-voter-turnout-data-and-impact-election-laws-2022
22% of eighth-graders scored at or above the NAEP Proficient level in civics. More higher-performing students see themselves able to make a difference in their community.
Sources: https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/civics/2022/ and https://www.nagb.gov/news-and-events/news-releases/2023/eighth-grade-scores-decline-in-civics-and-us-history.html
29% are encouraged to get involved in civic activities as part of their civics education.
Joining & Leadership
23% of families have a child enrolled in an afterschool program, and 22% of children were in a structured summer experience in 2019.
Source: http://afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM/data/geo/National/summer?question=35&year=2019
24% of K-12 students who want to be in an afterschool program are in one. (7.8M children are in afterschool programs. 24.5M children would participate in an afterschool program if one were available to them.) This represents 14% of K-12 students in the United States. (Note that this was measured during Covid; the pre-Covid rate was 18%.)
Source: http://afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM/data/geo/National/demand and http://afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM/data/geo/National/challenges
43% of children ages 6-17 participated in any clubs or organizations after school or on weekends. (2020-2021 survey completed by parents.)
Source: https://www.childhealthdata.org/browse/survey/results?q=9469&r=1
36% of parents report that their child’s afterschool program offers service learning or community service. While this number is nearly half among parents of high schoolers (49%), the number drops back down to roughly 1 in 3 among parents of middle schoolers (37%) and elementary schoolers (32%).
Source: http://afterschoolalliance.org/documents/AA3PM/AA3PM-Healthy-Futures-Report-2022.pdf
In 2020-2021, 10,652 21st CCLC programs nationally had 781,099 students attend, of which 373,101 were regular attendees. Collectively, these programs offered community service/service learning 2,504 times per week (if offered at least once a week) and 2,701 times per month (if offered less than once a week). They offered youth leadership activities 5,802 times per week (if offered at least once a week) and 3,921 times per month (if offered less than once a week). For comparison, the activities held most frequently were focused on homework assistance (23,394 times/week), physical activity (21,777 times/week), literacy (19,082 times/week), STEM (18,971 times/week), tutoring (15,374 times/week), and arts and music (14,075 times/week).
Source: https://oese.ed.gov/files/2022/11/21st-CCLC-Overview-of-the-Annual-Performance-Data-2020-2021.pdf
In 2019-2020, 10,496 21st CCLC programs nationally had 1,208,293 students attend, of which 602,469 were regular attendees. Collectively, these programs offered community service/service learning activities 5,900 times per week (if offered at least once a week) and 7,473 times per month (if offered less than once a week). They offered youth leadership activities 13,559 times per week (if offered at least once a week) and 8,959 times per month (if offered less than once a week). For comparison, the activities held most frequently were focused on homework assistance (54,307 times/week), physical activity (51,970 times/week), literacy (41,201 times/week), STEM (42,147 times/week), tutoring (31,861 times/week), and arts and music (32,939 times/week).
Source: https://oese.ed.gov/files/2022/11/21st-CCLC-Overview-of-the-Annual-Performance-Data-2019-2020.pdf
32% of young adults age 18-29 are a part of more than one community group.
Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/02/22/americans-with-higher-education-and-income-are-more-likely-to-be-involved-in-community-groups/
