2026 National YSO Benchmarking Report
A national analysis of how youth-serving organizations are strengthening abuse prevention expectations.
Why This Benchmark Matters
Raising the Standard for Youth Protection
Across the youth-serving sector, organizations are facing increasing expectations from families, regulators, insurers, and funders to demonstrate strong abuse-prevention systems.
National organizations play a critical role in shaping these expectations. Through membership requirements, operational standards, and oversight structures, they influence how thousands of local entities approach safety and risk management.
This benchmarking analysis examines how national federated youth-serving organizations (YSOs) are strengthening youth protection requirements and how those expectations have evolved in recent years.
Collectively, the eleven national organizations included in this review oversee more than 15,000 local entities and serve over 20 million children and youth each year, making their standards a powerful influence on prevention practices nationwide.
Read the full report for more insight!
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Download our 2026 National YSO Benchmarking Report
How National Organizations Shape Prevention Standards
Many youth-serving organizations use a federated model, in which a national office sets standards and oversees independent local affiliates. These standards now go beyond guidance and are required in areas like governance, risk management, policies, screening, training, supervision, and abuse prevention, with youth protection expectations becoming stricter across national networks.
Grounded in Research and the Praesidium Safety Equation®
This benchmarking review uses Praesidium’s research-based Safety Equation to evaluate how well national organizations require their affiliates to implement key abuse-prevention measures, including clear behavioral standards, screening, training, monitoring, parent and youth engagement, reporting systems, consistent responses to concerns, and strong governance practices.
Abuse Prevention Starts Here
Whether you're just starting to address safety concerns or looking to enhance your current practices, Praesidium is here to guide you. Our commitment is to empower you to create an environment where every individual feels safe, valued, and protected.
Ready to Strengthen Your Prevention Systems?
Praesidium works with youth-serving organizations across the country to translate prevention standards into practical, effective safety systems. If you're evaluating your current approach or planning improvements, our team can help.
