Next Steps

Continue Opportunities Landscape Data Collection

The Opportunities Landscape dataset continues to improve as stakeholders recognize its importance and the value of contributing to it: updates, revisions, and efforts to fill in missing data will only increase its quality and its ability to affect policy and funding decisions. For example, the dataset currently lacks complete data on program length and schedules. More detailed data would pinpoint further gaps in programming for stakeholders interested in supporting youth opportunities throughout the day, week, and year.

Baltimore’s Promise is committed to continuing this effort. Philanthropic funders can support future versions in a variety of ways, including:

  • Hiring data collectors from the community

  • Funding focus groups of young people and parents/caregivers to learn more about youth programming in Baltimore City

  • Supporting the development of the Opportunity Index (below).

Baltimore City Youth Opportunity Index (Opportunity Index)

Access to youth opportunities in Baltimore City differs based on neighborhood, as does the need for youth programming. In the coming year, Baltimore’s Promise plans to release the Opportunity Index to provide a comprehensive measure of access to opportunities that support the well-being of young people in Baltimore ages 0-24 and help them become thriving adults. The Index will consist of programming and opportunities data from the Opportunities Landscape, as well as other neighborhood-level data on transportation, safety, economic well-being, and more. These two data sets together will tell a powerful story, highlighting concerns such as those we heard from focus groups for the Opportunities Landscape 2021 report: that youth are more likely to attend programs close to home, and even subsidized public transportation passes are often not enough to surmount transportation and accessibility barriers. 

Baltimore City Youth Data Hub: Summer Engagement Ecosystem

A key recommendation from the Opportunities Landscape 2021 report was to develop an integrated data system that would allow the city to better understand the current needs and opportunities available for young people. In Spring 2022, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation to establish the Baltimore City Youth Data Hub, an integrated data system developed by Baltimore’s Promise, Baltimore City Public Schools, and the City of Baltimore. 

The Baltimore City Youth Data Hub will help overcome limitations of the Opportunities Landscape dataset, which provides program-level information without revealing who the programs serve, where they live, or their racial and ethnic demographics. With data from multiple sources, the Data Hub will provide a deeper understanding of youth opportunities across the city.

The Summer Engagement Ecosystem, a collaborative effort to highlight gaps in summer opportunities and provide intelligence for planning more equitable programs, will provide a first-use case of the Data Hub. Integrated data from the partners will provide data on the participation of Baltimore City children and youth in summer programs. Updates will be available in 2024.