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RESEARCH BRIEF − ROI PROJECT

Birth & Beyond Home Visitation Program

AmeriCorps.gov

Program Description

Birth & Beyond is a parenting education and support intervention program 

designed to reduce child abuse and neglect. It is implemented across nine 

local Family Resource Centers in Sacramento County, California. B&B’s Home 

Visitation program uses professionals and AmeriCorps State and National 

members to provide weekly in-home case management and parenting 

lessons to program participants. The program is designed to improve 

bonding, parent-child relationships, and child behavior in order for children 

to reach their full potential while parents receive the support they need in the 

comfort of their own homes. 

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 for per 

dollar invested.

AmeriCorps, the federal agency 

for volunteerism and national 

service, 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 invests 

more than $800 million in grants 

for local nonprofit, community, 

tribal, and state organizations; 

places more than 250,000 

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.
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The ROI analysis estimated the Home Visitation program’s ROI to be between $0.50 and $2.11 per funder 

dollar, depending on how long program participants and AmeriCorps members experience increased 

earnings as a result of the program. The return on each dollar of federal support for the program is higher, 

between $1.10 and $4.58. These results are driven by favorable employment and education outcomes for 

AmeriCorps members following their service as well as by favorable child welfare outcomes due to program 

participation. 

Overview of Benefits and Costs

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

Benefits of B&B HV include:

• Additional lifetime earnings resulting from reduced child maltreatment. Because of the program, 

participants’ children experience less abuse and neglect, acquire more secondary school education, 

and as a result have higher lifetime earnings. In addition, government benefits from increased lifetime 

taxes paid due to the increased earnings of children.

• Lifetime cost savings in healthcare, child welfare, criminal justice, and special education from 

reduced child maltreatment. 

• 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.

• Increased tax revenue for government. The government receives more income tax revenue from 

increased AmeriCorps member earnings post-service, as well as additional sales tax revenue related 

to those earnings. Government also realizes tax revenue from the taxable living allowances, stipends,

and education awards provided to AmeriCorps members. 

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

the increase in secondary and post-secondary educational attainment for AmeriCorps members, 

government spends less on these items. 

Funding for the B&B program totaled $1,337,219 and came from the following sources:

• Federal Government (AmeriCorps) - $614,444

• State and Local Government - $722,775
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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 including contributions and non-federal grant, other 

contributions, and program fees ). The ROIs 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 $1.10 $3.13 $4.58

Total Benefits per Funder Dollar $0.50 $1.44 $2.11

Federal Government Benefits per Federal Dollar $0.10 $0.62 $0.99 

The program produces strong returns for the medium- and long-term scenarios when benefits to 

AmeriCorps members, children of program participants, and state/local governments are included. This is 

indicated by the results of the total benefits per federal dollar and the total benefits per funder dollar ROI 

calculations for these two scenarios. 

In the short-term scenario—where benefits for only one-year post-program are included—the ROI results 

indicate that there is a short-term loss to investing given the results of the total benefits per funder dollar and 

the federal government benefits per federal dollar ROI calculations. An ROI that is below $1 in the first year 

post-program is common in programs where there is an initial one-time investment made and benefits 

accrue in the following years. This is because it often requires several years of benefits to recoup the initial 

investment and generate positive returns. 

The magnitude of the positive ROI estimates in the medium- and long-term scenarios are driven by the 

following factors:

• Reduction in the number of children abused or neglected. Because of parents’ participation in the 

program, 11 fewer children were victims of child abuse or neglect post-program. That reduction in 

child maltreatment results in a variety of benefits from increased lifetime earnings of those children to 

reduced government spending on healthcare, child welfare, criminal justice, and special education.

• The educational attainment outcomes of AmeriCorps members. AmeriCorps members receive an 

education award after serving in the AmeriCorps program, which is used by a portion of members to 

help pay for postsecondary degrees post-service. The additional educational attainment resulting 

from the use of the education award generates additional earnings for AmeriCorps members. 

• The employment outcomes of AmeriCorps members. Past studies establish that AmeriCorps 

members experience increased employment and increased earnings post-service.

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