21st Century Community Learning Centers State of North Dakota: State Evaluation SY 2023-2024

 A 2025 evaluation of North Dakota’s 21st CCLC programs during the 2023–2024 school year found positive outcomes related to participants’ school-day attendance, behavior, and family outcomes. Participants are significantly less likely than non-participants to be chronically absent overall (15% vs. 19%), with similar results for Hispanic, Native American, and FRPL-eligible students. While there are no statistically significant differences in English language arts and math assessment scores between participants and non-participants, school leaders and teachers recognize the educational value of programs, including programs’ academic rigor and alignment with school-day content. Surveys from young people, parents, teachers, school leaders, and community partners emphasize the positive social, behavioral, and community impacts of programs, and evaluators highlight the economic value– estimating that programs’ economic impact is up to $33 million.

The Long-Term Impacts of Mentors: Evidence from Experimental and Administrative Data

This multi-method study explores the long-term impact of participation in Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS), a national mentoring program pairing young people with volunteer mentors, rooted in 30 years of experimental and observational data. Findings reveal that BBBS has significant effects on the long-term behavioral and economic outcomes of matched participants. For instance, reanalysis of a randomized control trial finds that youth in the program are 10 percentage points more likely to attend college by age 20, and participation is associated with lower rates of teen birth and higher rates of marriage. Additionally, a secondary observational study finds similar effects on college attendance, as well as a positive impact on earnings, both in young adulthood and throughout participants' lifetimes. It is estimated that participants are expected to earn $56,000 more by age 65. 

Afterschool in Oregon: Return on Investment

This return on investment study finds that for every dollar Oregon invests in afterschool programs, $4.60 is returned to the state due to reduced drug and alcohol addiction, increased graduation rates, reductions in crime, and lower healthcare costs because of increased physical activity. Pulling from state-level data and existing afterschool evaluations, researchers estimate that an annual $122.8 million investment in afterschool programs would provide year-over-year returns such as $41 million in economic productivity gains from reduced dropouts, $353 million from lower juvenile crime rates, and $167.6 million in healthcare savings, totaling a $569 million annual return to Oregon's economy.