The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) has funded the
administration of the Illinois Youth Survey (IYS) biennially since
1990. The IYS is a self-report survey administered in school settings
and is designed to gather information about a variety of health and
social indicators including substance use patterns and attitudes of
Illinois youth.
The administration of the IYS has two
major goals, the first of which is to supply local data to schools and
school districts throughout Illinois. During state-funded survey years
(e.g., 2010, 2012, etc), the survey is available to all eligible public
and private schools in the state at no cost. Each participating school
is eligible to receive a report specific to their own students'
responses. These local reports provide critical information to school
administrators, prevention professionals, and community members as they
work to address substance abuse issues in their communities.
The
second goal of administering the IYS is to provide a scientific
estimate of health and social indicators for the state of Illinois. The
scientific estimate is based on drawing a random sample to represent
the state population of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in Illinois
public schools.