The Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development mission is to provide a comprehensive registry of scientifically proven and scalable interventions that prevent or reduce the likelihood of antisocial behavior and promote a healthy course of youth development and adult maturity. We also advocate for evidence-based interventions locally and nationally and produce publications on the importance of adopting high-scientific standards when evaluating what works in social and crime prevention interventions.

Most programs implemented in communities to improve youths’ lives, unfortunately, do not produce the hoped-for effects when rigorously evaluated, or cost more to implement than they produce in benefits. Blueprints promotes only those interventions with the strongest scientific support.

Interventions certified by Blueprints are family, school, and community-based and target all levels of need—from broad prevention programs that promote positive behaviors while decreasing negative behaviors to highly-targeted programs for at-risk children, troubled teens or formerly incarcerated adults that get them back on track. At Blueprints, we identify, recommend, and disseminate programs for youth, families and communities that, based on scientific evaluations, have strong evidence of effectiveness. Those programs are rated as either Promising, Model or Model Plus. When searching our registry of programs, each result will indicate the program rating.

Note: External funding for Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development concluded in July 2024. With input from our scientific advisory board and staff, Blueprints will be put into dormancy until it is possible to secure a sustainable, high-impact path forward. The dormancy process entails updating information on the existing programs listed on our website and ensuring that Blueprints will remain freely available and searchable while in dormancy. This process will be completed by June 2025. Read more about the future of Blueprints here.