The YouthScan Project

Youth sharing their point of view on critical issues and facilitating youth-driven solutions.

The Program

Welcome to The YouthScan Project!

At YouthRoots, we believe youth should be centered in decision-making that impacts young people’s lives. Nobody has more insight on what it is like to be a youth today than young people themselves.  In fact, research suggests that youth know the issues in their schools and communities three years before adults. 

This project seeks to tap into this insightful perspective on a meaningful scale to help inform decision-making.

The YouthScan Project was designed to serve youth. It empowers youth aged 14 to 24 to share their point of view and impact decision-making that directly affects their lives. For too long, decisions have not included impacted communities, in turn fueling systemic racism and exacerbating racial injustice. Youth are one of the groups most often excluded from decisions that impact their lives, particularly youth of color and youth that hold other marginalized identities. This project elevates youth voice, recognizing this is particularly important for historically marginalized populations. Prioritizing young people who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, living with a disability, and low socioeconomic status is a critical focus in our outreach, dashboard, and youth leadership. The interactive dashboard connects people working on youth issues to insight from their own youth constituents.

The YouthScan Project benefits all types of organizations that are invested in learning from youth they exist to serve, including health systems; schools or districts; youth program providers; governments; and foundations. The insights generated from youth’s point of view on issues and solutions can improve timely and effective strategies for greatest impact.

Why YouthRoots?

YouthRoots has been guiding high school students through community needs assessments since 2010. We are curriculum specialists in the areas of community change and philanthropic leadership. The YouthScan Project curriculum expands upon the first portion of our core programming – Conduct a community needs assessment.

We are committed to youth leadership, providing data back to our community partners, sharing impact with participants, and using a trauma-informed framework grounded in positive youth development.

Visit: youthscanproject.org

Learn More: Project Overview

Contact: Susie (at) youthroots (dot) org

The YouthScan Project 

Solving the problem of youth voice at scale and in real time.