United Way Toronto’s Youth Impact Plan: Evidence Review identifies three strong contributors to youth well-being: engagement, educational attainment, and economic security.

Successful programs for youth are characterized by:

1. Strong relationships between youth and non-family adults;
2. Youth agency and engagement in decision-making and program design to influence their communities;
3. Skill building that is physical, emotional, intellectual, psychological, and social; and
4. Clear, high expectations for youth.

This report concludes that the success of youth programs depend more on how the program is conducted than its content. The findings in this report are limited by the lack of rigorous program evaluation. The report is therefore only able to conclude that the success of youth programs depends largely on how the program is conducted but is not able to draw any conclusions about how content influences program success.