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After-school Programs
A Creative, Safe Outlet for Our Youth
By Teri Brown
How important are after-school programs? Consider these statistics:
- The after school hours are the peak time for juvenile crime, and experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and sex. (Source: Bureau, Urban Institute Estimate, 2000, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2002.)
- The parents of more than 28 million school-age children work outside the home and as many as 15 million "latchkey children" go to an empty house on any given afternoon. (Source: U.S. Department of Labor; U.S. Census Bureau, Urban Institute Estimate.)
- Teens who do not participate in after school programs are nearly three times more likely to skip classes or use marijuana or other drugs. They are also more likely to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and engage in sexual activity. (YMCA of the USA, March 2001.)
Cynthia Gessling, a senior director with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, says the hours between 3 and 7 on school days are often referred by law enforcement officers as the "danger zone" and are the prime time for violent juvenile crime, the period during which kids are most likely to become the victims of violent crime or be involved in accidents. She believes good after school programs can help alleviate this problem.
"They have the power to reduce crime, increase safety, bring neighbors together, and youth who participate in after school programs show an increased interest in school, have higher GPAs and express greater hope for the future," Gessling says.
Bela P. Shah is the senior program associate for the After-school Initiatives, Institute for Youth, Education and Families, for the National League of Cities. It is her job to work exclusively on promoting after-school programs within cities and towns throughout the United States. It is work she deems vitally important.
"Most of the violence and crime to and by youth occur during this time period after school because a high percentage of children and youth are unsupervised during this time," Shah says. "Young people are subject to peer pressure to perform risky behaviors when they are not in a supervised engaging experience. More than 14 million school-age children (25 percent) across the country are on their own after school. Among them are more than 40,000 kindergarteners. With parents of more than 28 million school-age children working outside the home, children today do not have the luxury of going home at 3 p.m. to a parent or caregiver."
