The Youth ARTS Development Project, a national research and demonstration study, attests to the effectiveness of arts programs as a deterrent to violence and delinquent behavior. Data on the youth-at-risk programs in three demonstration sites, Atlanta, Portland and San Antonio, was compared to data from groups of young people not involved in an arts program. Highlights from the evaluation include attitudes, behavior and academic performance improved, delinquent behavior was deterred, new court referrals declined and communication skills improved.

An independent research firm conducted the study under contract with the Justice Department. The project was a three-year collaborative effort of the NEA, the U.S. Department of Justice, Americans for the Arts and the local arts councils of the three demonstration sites.

A second national study, Community Counts: How Youth Organizations Matter for Youth Development, looked at what happens to young people living in low-income neighborhoods who participate in arts programs through local youth organizations during non-school hours. Researchers compared teenagers participating in community-based arts programs with a national sample of teenagers not involved in similar programs.

The comparison found that youth in non-school arts programs are: attending schools where the potential for violence is more than twice as high, more than twice as likely to have parents who divorced recently or lost their jobs and more than five times as likely to live in a family involved with the welfare system in the last two years.