Service corps, like AmeriCorps programs, are organizations that connect youth members with service and team-building experiences. In addition to giving their members meaningful life experiences, they provide work experience and occupational skills and connect young people to new infrastructure careers. Though not all focus on workforce development, many of the more than 150 programs in The Corps Network (TCN) blend their service components with career preparation.
Substantial evidence shows corps programs have a high return on investment (ROI). Their funding generates not only positive financial returns to corps members themselves but also society at large. For example, research shows the Montana Conservation Corps may have generated a $27.37 medium-term ROI and up to a $144.32 long-term ROI (PDF) for each federal dollar invested.
But one subset of corps’ ROI hasn’t been directly measured and shows great promise: Corps focusing on connecting the more-targeted population of “opportunity youth” to infrastructure jobs (construction, energy, water, forest, and hazmat related). Infrastructure jobs employ 8 percent of US workers, pay well, and have relatively low barriers to entry. While most corps focus on youth, “opportunity youth” are ages 16 to 24 who are disconnected from steady work and school.
Our new analysis finds workforce corps serving opportunity youth likely also have high ROIs. At a time of corps funding cuts and when policymakers must determine how to wisely invest taxpayer dollars, these new data could help inform funding decisions.
Corps programs for opportunity youth offer untapped potential
Corps focusing on connecting opportunity youth to infrastructure jobs can generate positive ROI for many reasons:
- Connecting opportunity youth benefits society. Opportunity youth struggle with maintaining steady school and work. Intermittent and often entry-level work make it difficult to meet today’s high costs of living. This further contributes to cycles of economic instability and is associated with lower earnings and higher benefit use later in life and substantial societal costs (PDF).
- Adding infrastructure workers benefits society and closes skills gaps. The infrastructure workforce is aging, in need of stronger talent pipelines, and crucial for the economy and quality of life. State and local infrastructure spending is increasingly important.
- Conserving the environment and mitigating climate change has real benefits. The monetary returns of conservation and climate mitigation work are difficult to quantify. However, attempts have shown that wildfire mitigation has a high societal value (PDF), and habitat improvements and trail work have quantifiable health and wellness benefits.
Data show workforce corps for opportunity youth likely generate significant ROI
We examined seven recent ICF Incorporated studies of corps and TCN members’ ROI from 2019 to 2023: Montana Conservation Corps (PDF), Nevada Conservation Corps (PDF), Green City Force (PDF), Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps (PDF), National Civilian Community Corps Weatherization Projects (PDF), Washington Conservation Corps (PDF), and SBP. Each study estimated direct benefits to corps members; low, medium, and high estimates of environmental stewardship benefits; and benefits to the government. The studies also estimated direct program costs, TCN member costs, forgone tax revenue, and forgone investment interests.
On average, each corps provides $580,647 in returns to $74,963 in costs, for an ROI of $7.04. For every $1 invested, $7 are returned to the corps member, society, and the government.
The studies had a wide range of environmental stewardship returns, which reflects uncertainty in monetizing impacts such as damage from wildfires or their effect on atmospheric carbon. While most of the returns accrue through environmental stewardship, the return for corps members and governments alone still substantially outweighs the costs.
The ROI for corps programs serving opportunity youth could be even higher
Our average ROI estimate applies to a subset of corps not necessarily focused on opportunity youth or infrastructure workforce development. We hypothesized that nonenvironmental benefits are higher at corps that focus on infrastructure employment and opportunity youth.
To test that, we started by using survey and budget data from TCN to identify 46 corps workforce development programs serving approximately 10,270 members per year, with 6,411 (62 percent) being opportunity youth. Then, using our Brookings Institution research partners’ analyses, we found that the 25th percentile of infrastructure jobs pay $49,765 annually, which is 26 percent more than the studies’ estimated annual corps’ member pay of $39,503 after completion.
Applying that 26 percent increase to nonenvironmental returns, we find a $7.75 ROI when corps connect young people to infrastructure jobs. Even when considering only the 6,411 opportunity youth, those 46 corps (of 150+ TCN corps) produce an estimated $3.6 billion in 15-year returns from $460 million in costs.
Reasonable alternative assumptions—such as lower opportunity costs and bigger unemployment reductions—could raise the value. But how much of a difference could those factors make? We do not adjust the ROI for the reduced member costs of serving opportunity youth, but if corps member costs and forgone tax revenue were $0, the ROI would be $10.85. That estimate assumes opportunity youth would not have worked at all had they not participated in the corps program, which is unlikely, but it provides an upper bound.
Also, the ICF Incorporated studies typically used a 5 percent reduction in unemployment, suggesting a small benefit to members. The unemployment reduction for opportunity youth is likely higher. For example, Green City Force (PDF) reported a 40 percent unemployment reduction. Because opportunity youth are already out of work by definition, they will not forgo substantial earnings by participating in the corps. Forgone earnings are an important cost for participants in many education and training programs, but they are negligible for a population of opportunity youth.
Conversely, programs may spend more to support opportunity youth, who often have more personal and logistical barriers than connected youth. It is difficult to estimate how much more corps might spend, as programming and available supports are usually similar for all members. However, corps’ direct spending would need to be 10 times higher to result in a ROI below $1.
Corps programs offer untapped potential and social benefits
The data show that corps can serve as a promising alternative or complement to traditional postsecondary education pathways, can reach young people who most need such opportunities, and can benefit our shared infrastructure and climate resilience. While ROIs vary by corps program, our analysis suggests corps that connect opportunity youth to infrastructure jobs have a 15-year ROI of at least $4.00, and $7.75 with medium environmental returns. Our findings can inform policymakers and funders alike when they are determining whether to fund certain programs.
More research is needed to add nuance to the trends we observe. For example, understanding which corps program components are most associated with higher ROIs, which corps curricula elements (PDF) foster member success and higher ROI, and which infrastructure jobs lead to higher youth ROI could help policymakers and program managers further improve corps designs and ensure an already a positive ROI is maximized.
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