2006-07 Annual Report of Measurable Outcomes
Chicago Youth Programs
The priority of Chicago Youth Programs (CYP) is to improve the long-term outcomes of high-risk youth. With this goal in mind, CYP aggressively monitors the progress and outcome of each program participant. This practice prevents the application of an ineffective strategy and hastens development of more effective interventions.
I. Ability To Keep Youth Engaged
A necessary precursor towards improving long-term outcomes of at-risk youth is their involvement in effective programs throughout childhood. This section examines whether CYP has been effective at keeping youth involved in the program long-term.
The first step in improving the long-term outcomes of at-risk youth is to keep them engaged in program activities. This step is crucial during the difficult adolescent years, when youth are at highest risk for a variety of poor outcomes and are least likely to engage in positive activities. Without achieving this important first step, programs for youth cannot facilitate long-term change.
Yearly Retention: While yearly retention remained high on average for CYP, examining these rates by community showed a decline in our Uptown community program. This was likely due to high volunteer turnover, and staff turnover of our Program Director in Uptown. On the other hand, our Cabrini Green program recovered nicely from a 10 year low in 2006 of 84% to increase to 89% in 2007. Retention in Washington Park continued to be very high at 92%.
Average Years of Participation: Average years of participation are calculated for all program youth over 6 years old. This is to keep yearly fluctuations in enrollment of preschoolers from biasing this measure of long-term involvement. The average years of program participation increased dramatically from 6.6 years in 2004 to 7.6 years in 2006, to 8.3 years in 2007, reflecting that youth are increasingly remaining engaged in CYP programs long term. Long-term retention: Long-term retention was measured as the percent of children remaining in the program over a 4-year period. A total of 77% of youth active in the program in 2003 were still participating in 2007, close to our eventual goal of 80% retention over 4 years.
II. Avoiding Obstacles
This section examines whether involvement in CYP’s effective programs positively influences the outcomes of at-risk youth.
Teen Birth Data: Avoidance of teen pregnancy gives our girls the best chance of succeeding in education and career goals. In 2006, the teen birth rate for CYP teen girls was under 5.0%. The graph compares CYP's cumulative teen birth rates since 1984, with Chicago Department of Health data. CYP's rates are well below the best city figures during this period. These results are even more remarkable considering that city figures are for girls from all socioeconomic groups, whereas all CYP girls are living in poverty, and therefore are at much higher risk.
Outcome at Age 18 (absence of delinquency): Outcomes for participants who reached their 18th birthday are shown in the chart below. For these comparisons, a positive outcome is defined as "at least a high school education without involvement in gangs, criminal conviction, teen parenthood or victimization while a participant in violence.”
The comparison measures outcome for CYP participants who remained in the program during high school versus those who left before high school. To be included in this data, youth had to have been involved in CYP from before 10th grade until they turned 18. If a participant dropped out during or after 10th grade, they would be counted as an “In Program” outcome if they were delinquent (feeling that it was a failure of the program to keep them in and fail to prevent delinquency), but they would not be counted as an “In-Program” positive outcome if they avoided delinquency. This seeming disadvantage towards our programs’ data is to ensure that any difference between “In” and “Out” of Program Outcomes is likely to be due to the program’s influence. As shown in the chart, teens who remained active through high school had a far greater rate of positive outcome (84 of 92 were positive or 91%) than those who had dropped out (12 of 30 or 40% only had a positive outcome).
III. Educational Outcomes
This section also examines whether involvement in CYP has a positive influence on the outcomes of at-risk youth.
College and Trade School Placements: Without pursuing higher education and training programs, it is unlikely that disadvantaged youth can break out of the cycle of poverty in their families and communities. In recent years, CYP’s career services have flourished. In communities where less than 20% of residents have any college by the age of 25, CYP has been very successful in placing the majority of its youth into higher education soon after high school graduation; CYP placed 92% of 2007 high school graduates!
College Success: The national rate for minority completion of college is just 33%. CYP college placements are on target to at least double this rate.
IV. Program Efficiency
All 53 regular programs were primarily staffed and directed by volunteers and held in donated space, therefore reducing overhead immensely. Using conservative figures for volunteer time, donated space and donated materials, CYP estimates that at least 70% of all program expenses are in-kind.