Chicago: Mayor Brandon Johnson, DFSS Release 2025 Summer Youth Impact Report Highlighting Vital Role Of Youth Programs
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CHICAGO — The Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) today released its 2025 Summer Youth Impact Report, presenting the measurable impact of the City's youth programming in strengthening communities through expanded youth employment opportunities, engaging youth enrichment programs, and programs centered on prevention and intervention for youth most at risk. The report highlights the importance of investing in youth programs. The Mayor's Protecting Chicago Budget includes sustainable funding for these programs through a Community Safety Surcharge.

The full report is available here.

"Today's report is a testament to what we can accomplish when we provide our city's young people the resources they need to succeed," said Mayor Brandon Johnson. "By coming together to fund programs that ensure young Chicagoans are gaining new skills through first-hand job experience, we're building brighter futures for our youth and the communities they call home."

In total, young Chicagoans gained more than 2.84M hours of work experience and project-based learning and earned over $30.9M, or approximately $1,815 per 16-24-year-old in DFSS-funded programs.

"DFSS is proud to share a snapshot of the successes of its youth programming through the release of the 2025 Summer Youth Impact Report," said DFSS Commissioner Angela Green. "We are touching the lives of youth all across the city, offering them opportunities for personal advancement and enrichment and helping our young people chart new futures full of possibility, thanks to the learning experiences and connections to mentors and professional contacts they are able to establish though our programs."

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Annual funding provided by DFSS's Youth Services Division supports more than 150 community-based organizations citywide that implement and administer DFSS's youth programs which serve over 108,000 residents across Chicago. These programs include One Summer Chicago, the City's youth employment program, which this summer employed 31,122 youth, providing them resume-boosting career experience and new professional connections, in addition to a paycheck.

Among One Summer Chicago program participants, 94% reported viewing themselves as "someone who can be successful for work," and 91% agreed with the statement, "I feel more confident in my work abilities."

"One Summer Chicago would not be possible without the collaboration of DFSS's delegate agencies; its numerous City sister agencies, including the Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools, City Colleges of Chicago, and many others; and its corporate partners within the private sector," said Kathy Cullick, DFSS Deputy Commissioner for Youth Services. "Each of our partners provide fantastic opportunities for youth, and we are deeply grateful for their partnership year after year."

DFSS's violence reduction programs for youth align with Mayor Johnson's People's Plan for Community Safety. These include the Service Coordination and Navigation (SCaN) program and the Community Safety and Engagement Peacekeeping program. SCaN, which provides case management and wraparound supports for youth at highest risk of violence involvement, connected 253 youth to services in 2025, with 880 youth goals achieved by participants in the program.

The program is projected to reach up to 540 youth under Mayor Johnson's proposed 2026 budget. The Community Safety and Engagement Peacekeeping program facilitates community stabilization efforts while also engaging youth in leadership development. DFSS provided 210 youth with Peacekeeping opportunities in 2025, which included 60 hours of classroom learning and 10 hours of field training geared toward restorative justice, collective healing and expanding awareness around non-carceral public safety strategies.

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The Youth Intervention Pathways program, a partnership with the Chicago Police Department and Illinois State Police, is a citywide deflection and diversion model that reduces youth encounters with law enforcement that helps support Chicago's compliance with the federal consent decree. The program provides trauma-informed interventions for youth ages 10 to 17 who have been determined not to require further system involvement following arrests for low-level offenses. In 2025, 74 youth were successfully referred through the program.

Finally, The My CHI. My Future. Safe Spaces program engaged 6,400 youth in safe, fun, affordable events during summer 2025. The 70 kickback events held this summer were spearheaded and executed by over 200 youth employees who come up with creative and entertaining social options for themselves and their peers year-round. These include basketball tournaments, dance classes, tech classes, fashion shows, video game competitions and much more.

"We are excited for the future of our youth programs and the tangible impacts they are having on our City's young people in helping to create new pathways toward brighter futures, which in turn helps prevent violence," Commissioner Green said. "The sustainable revenue stream for youth programming that would be created through the Community Safety Fund would ensure no progress is lost in our efforts to reduce violence and crime through trauma-informed youth engagement. We know these initiatives work—DFSS and its delegate agencies are witnessing transformation firsthand."

The Community Safety Fund in Mayor Johnson's proposed Protecting Chicago Budget would allocate $58,823,347 in sustainable funding for DFSS's youth programs for FY2026. Within that, the Youth Employment program would receive $48,915,715 and the Violence Reduction program would receive $5,201,147. Additional funding would support impactful violence reduction initiatives including the Youth Intervention Pathways program and the My Chi. My Future. Safe Spaces program to help reduce crime and violence throughout Chicago.

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