National Youth Outcomes Initiative

Annual Club Member Survey evaluating their Club Experience

View our 2023 Community Impact Report

HOW IS THE NATIONAL YOUTH OUTCOMES INITIATIVE USED TO MEASURE YOUTH PERCEPTION?

These results show that Club Members at Boys & Girls Clubs of the Rogue Valley have a higher perception of key positive youth development elements than the national average. As an organization, we use this information to continually improve program areas in an effort to provide local youth with the highest-quality Club Experience possible (as defined below). It is also part of our strategic plan that the overall optimal Club Experience reach 75% by 2025.

In 2004-05, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) partnered with the Search Institute to undertake a comprehensive study to identify core Club practices that foster positive youth development. The research yielded strategies and practices that were synthesized into the Five Key Elements for Positive Youth Development that are at the center of our Movement’s Formula for Impact theory of change. When implemented together and with consistency, the Club meets the developmental needs of youth by providing:

  1.  A safe, positive environment
  2.  Access to fun and a sense of belonging
  3.  Access to supportive relationships
  4.  Meaningful opportunities and expectations
  5.  Formal and informal recognition

The annual National Youth Outcomes Initiative (NYOI) consistently and credibly measures the Formula for Impact by measuring youth perception of the above key elements for positive youth development. From this, the Club Experience indicator was developed.

The Club Experience indicator is powerful. Research from recent years using NYOI data has validated the growing emphasis on the quality of a members’ Club Experience. The data continues to show that a high-quality Club Experience drives positive outcomes for members. Through NYOI data, our local Club can identify areas for improvement based on Member’s perception of each category. By responding to a series of questions about each component of the Club experience, the components are scored separately, then categorized as optimal, indeterminate or insufficient. Optimal indicates that the Members’ survey answers signal positive responses. It represents the experience necessary for Members to fulfill their developmental needs and achieve priority outcomes. If Members’ survey answers signal disconcerting or troubling responses for the measure, their Club Experience is rated Insufficient. Indeterminate signals a mix of responses that do not clearly align Members to the other two categories.

Each of the Club Experience components are then used together to create a composite rating of our Members’ Overall Club Experience. To score at the optimal level on the Overall Club Experience, members’ responses must indicate that the Club is optimal in three of the components and is not insufficient in any component. A rating of insufficient on the Overall Club Experience indicates that members rated at least two of the Club Experience components as insufficient.

WHAT IS A HIGH-QUALITY CLUB EXPERIENCE?

Club Experience is a BGCA-branded term that refers to everything Clubs provide to young people. Through research and analysis, we’ve determined that a high-quality Club Experience is one in which Members feel physically and emotionally safe, receive support and recognition from caring adults who set expectations for them, are provided opportunities to try new things, have fun, and feel a sense of belonging.

When Club staff intentionally focus on these youth development fundamentals and young people attend the Club more frequently, this combination drives stronger outcomes for youth in BGCA’s three priority areas — Academic Success, Good Character and Citizenship, and Healthy Lifestyles.

It is our goal that every young person who enters our Club have the highest-quality Club Experience possible. Members who report having the highest-quality experience achieve stronger positive youth development outcomes and are better equipped to thrive.

 

Quality Programs With Impact – 2023 Club Member Survey Findings – NYOI results

  • 99% report feeling emotionally safe while at their Club.

  • 99% of Club members report being on track to graduate on time.

  • 96% of Members have FUN while participating in the Club’s education-based activities.

  • 90% of Members feel like they can stand up for what they think is right, even if friends disagree.

  • 91% of Members understand how their feelings influence their actions.