1

Program Description

Founded on a unique crime reduction model, the AmeriCorps Urban Safety 

Program (AMUS) aims to improve public health and safety in Detroit and 

Wayne County, Michigan. AmeriCorps members work to increase public 

safety by: 1) partnering with the local police to facilitate a crime mapping and 

analysis (CompStat) program to identify crime “hot spots”; 2) organizing 

neighborhood community patrols; 3) providing support to survivors of 

intimate partner violence; 4) implementing safe routes to neighborhood 

schools for youth; 5) securing vacant and open structures; and, 6) providing 

resources to help reduce property crime, such as home safety assessments 

and anti-theft auto devices. Recently, AMUS members have expanded their 

efforts to include public health activities, such as installing water filtration 

resources and sharing information with residents to increase the use of 

filtered water to reduce lead exposure, and distributing air purifiers filters to 

help residents improve home indoor air quality. 

AmeriCorps, the federal agency 

for national service and 

volunteerism, provides 

opportunities for Americans to 

serve their country domestically, 

address the nation's most pressing 

challenges, improve lives and 

communities, and strengthen civic 

engagement. Each year, the 

agency places more than 200,000 

AmeriCorps members and 

AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in 

intensive service roles; and

empowers millions more to serve 

as long-term, short-term, or onetime volunteers. Learn more at 

AmeriCorps.gov. 

RESEARCH BRIEF − ROI PROJECT

AmeriCorps Urban Safety Program Detroit

AmeriCorps.gov 
2

Return on Investment Analysis

To better understand the impact of the program in relation to costs, AmeriCorps commissioned a return on 

investment (ROI) analysis by ICF, an independent research firm. ROI analyses of national service programs 

estimate the monetary value of benefits that a program generates per dollar invested. The ROI analysis of 

total benefits per funder dollar estimated the AMUS Programs’s ROI to be between $1.63 and $3.07, 

depending on how long AmeriCorps members experience increased earnings as a result of the program. 

Total benefits per federal dollar are higher, between $3.86 and $7.28. These results are driven by societal 

gains, AmeriCorps members’ benefits, and federal and state government expected cost reductions.

Overview of Benefits and Costs

To calculate the ROI, the program benefits were identified, quantified, and compared to the program’s costs. 

Benefits of AMUS include: 

• Reduced costs and increased economic benefits to society from reduced criminal activity in 

neighborhoods served by AMUS. Because of reduced criminal activity in the neighborhoods served 

by AMUS and by youth members, society avoids related costs. For example, potential victims of crime 

avoid property loss and medical costs. In addition, society benefits from increased employment as a 

result of reduced incarceration. 

• Reduced lifetime spending on the criminal justice system due to AMUS’s summer employment 

program. AmeriCorps youth members are less likely to commit violent or property crime than their 

peers due to their participation in the summer employment program. This results in less government 

expenditures on policing, legal services, and corrections.

• Additional societal benefits from increased employment by participants in AMUS’s summer 

employment program. AmeriCorps youth members benefit from increased employment as a result 

of reduced incarceration. This benefit is post-program, based on research that establishes that similar 

summer programs reduce criminal activity by participants after the program has ended.

• Additional lifetime earnings resulting from decreased lead exposure. Because of the program, 

households with children under six that received water filters will have reduced lead exposure, which 

leads to higher IQ, and as a result those children will have higher lifetime earnings.

• Additional earnings by AmeriCorps members. Serving in AmeriCorps leads to increased wages 

and reduced unemployment post-national service through skill acquisition, as well as increased 

educational attainment post-service.

• Living allowances, stipends, and education awards. AmeriCorps members receive living 

allowances and stipends during their national service and receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education 

Award after successful completion. 

• Additional lifetime earnings for youth members. AmeriCorps youth members are more likely to 

enroll in bachelor’s programs than their peers due to their participation in the summer employment 

program, and as a result will have higher lifetime earnings. 

• Increased tax revenue for government. Federal, state, and local governments receive more income 

tax revenue from increased AmeriCorps member earnings post-service and from water filter 

recipients once they enter the workforce. State and local governments also realize additional sales tax 

revenue related to those earnings. Federal and state governments also realize tax revenue from the 

taxable living allowances, stipends, and education awards provided to AmeriCorps members. 
3

• Reduced lifetime spending on corrections, public assistance, and social insurance. Because of 

the increase in postsecondary educational attainment for AmeriCorps members, federal and state 

governments spend less on these items. 

The estimated annual cost for the AMUS program for the 2021-2022 program year is $3,699,768, of which 

$1,559,497 is estimated to be funded by the federal government, or roughly 42 percent.

ROI Results

The table below shows the ROI results. Each row represents a different ROI calculation depending on which 

benefits are considered (all benefits or only benefits to the federal government) and which funding is 

considered (federal funding only or all funding). The ROI estimates are presented as dollars returned for 

every $1.00 of investment. The analysis used three different scenarios to estimate benefits under different 

assumptions. Specifically, the study assumed that increased earnings attributable to the programs last for 

one year (short-term scenario), 15 years (medium-term), or 30 years (long-term). 

ROI Calculation

ROI Scenario

Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term

Total benefits per federal dollar $3.86 $6.00 $7.28 

Total benefits per funder dollar $1.63 $2.53 $3.07 

Federal government benefits per federal dollar $0.41 $0.89 $1.16 

The program produces strong returns in the short-, medium-, and long-term for total benefits per federal 

dollar and total benefits per funder dollar. The federal government benefits per federal dollar calculations 

estimate losses for the short- and medium-term scenarios and modest returns in the long-term scenario. 

Most criminal justice expenditures are at the state and local level, so these results are consistent with the 

design of AMUS.

The magnitude of the positive ROI estimates in the long-term scenarios are driven by the following factors:

• Increased economic benefits and reduced costs due to reduced criminal activity. AMUS’s work 

to reduce criminal activity leads to less property damage, additional community member earnings 

from reduced incarceration, and less spending on the criminal justice system. 

• Additional earnings by AmeriCorps members. Serving in AmeriCorps leads to increased wages 

and reduced unemployment post-national service through skill acquisition, as well as increased 

educational attainment post-service.

• Reduced lifetime spending on corrections, public assistance, and social insurance. Because of 

the increase in postsecondary educational attainment for AmeriCorps members, federal and state 

governments spend less on these items. 

About the Office of Research and Evaluation 

The AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation assists AmeriCorps and its partners in collecting, 

analyzing, and disseminating data and insights about AmeriCorps programs and civic life in America. 

For more information, please contact evaluation@cns.gov. 
4

Produced and published at US taxpayer expense.

About this Brief

The report summarized in this research brief was commissioned by AmeriCorps’ Office of Research and Evaluation under Contract # 

GS00Q14OADU209 and Order # 95332A20F0068. Information in this report is in the public domain. Please, direct communications 

related to this report to Lily Zandniapour at lzandniapour@cns.gov and Emily McDonald at emcdonald@cns.gov. Cite the report as 

follows: Clark, D., Borgida, J., Miller, B., Modicamore, D., Pershing, J., Thompson, P., & Voigt, G. (2023). Return on Investment Study: 

AmeriCorps Urban Safety Program Detroit. ICF.