September 16, 2010
The National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC), founded in 1946 and chartered by Congress in 1953, is charged with the mission of advancing our nation’s civic life. In accordance with this mission, NCoC has produced America’s Civic Health Index for the last four years to measure the level of civic engagement and health of our nation’s democracy. As a result of the passage of the bipartisan Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, this work is expanding through an annual Civic Health Assessment. The Civic Health Assessment will measure America’s civic habits across a wide range of indicators in an effort to strengthen citizen participation in their communities, states, and nation. Below is NCoC’s executive summary of the leading findings from the 2010 Civic Health Assessment, based on research conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2008 and 2009. This document supplements an issue brief we are jointly releasing with the Corporation for National and Community Service. The joint brief is titled “Civic Life in America: Key Findings on the Civic Health of the Nation.”
