At Cree-ative Youth and Family Services every youth deserves the opportunity to succeed. The goal of Cree-ative Youth & Family Services is to prepare and equip young people to meet the challenges of adulthood and achieve their full potential.

Here are just a handful of at-risk youth statistics that tell us just how critical Youth Development is.

There’s a Big Need for Youth Development

Nearly 40% of children in the United States live in low-income families with incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

Nearly 87% of the world’s youths live in developing countries.

Children from low-income families are more likely to:

  • have sex before age 16
  • become a gang member
  • attack someone or get into a fight
  • steal something worth more than 50 dollars
  • run away

At-Risk Youth and Education

12% of high school dropouts are unemployed.

High-quality early childhood programs lead to income gains of 0.33% to 3.5% each year when the children become adults.

High school dropouts are more than 8x as likely to commit crimes and serve prison time.

Children from low-income families are more likely to start school with limited language skills, have less parental support with homework, and deal with more emotional and social problems that interfere with learning.

Only 1 in 10 youth from low-income families go on to graduate from a four-year college, compared with 28% of youth from middle-income families and 50% of youth from high-income families.

Students who live in communities with high levels of poverty are 4x more likely to be chronically absent. Reasons for this include unstable housing, unreliable transportation, and a lack of access to health care. By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school.

More At-Risk Youth Statistics

Children raised in poverty are more likely to lack the basics of food, clothing, adequate housing, and health care.

Nearly 45% of children living in poverty are overweight or obese compared with 22% of children living in households with incomes 4x the poverty level.

7% of young women from low-income families have a child by age 18, compared to only 1% from high-income families.

Each year, approximately 20,000 youth will age out of the foster care system in the US.

The Power of Youth Development

The positive outcomes of youth empowerment programs are improved social skills, improved behavior, increased academic achievement, increased self-esteem, and increased self-efficacy.

“Never Be Limited by Other People’s Imaginations” – Dr. King