Facts About "Out of School" Activities

"Young people need the influence of caring adults and positive role models in their lives. Good afterschool programs can accomplish this by helping youngsters develop the knowledge, skills, and healthy habits to achieve their greatest potential."

-US Secretary of Education Rod Paige, at the 2003 Afterschool Summit hosted by the US Department of Education and Afterschool Advocate Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In America today, millions of young people are alone and unsupervised in the hours after school, before parents return home from work. This situation places children and teens at grave risk for juvenile crime, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and other problems. It means students are wasting precious time when they could be learning. And it leaves millions of working parents worried about their children when they should be focused on their jobs. This unproductive, untenable and unacceptable situation would be remedied if our nation invested more fully in the afterschool programs that keep kids safe, support working families, and help young people succeed in school and in life.

Afterschool Programs Help Encourage Healthier Lifestyles:

Within the past three decades the number of overweight children between the ages of 6 and 12 has doubled. Only two percent of children within this age group meet the recommended minimum number of daily servings from all five food groups. The number of overweight teens (12-19years) has tripled in the past 30 years. As a result of being overweight, these children and youth are at an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, elevated blood pressure and low self esteem.

Rates of participation in physical activity have declined in the past 30 years for both children and youth. Baker et al reported that between the ages of 6 and 18 boys decrease participation in physical activities by 24% while girls decrease participation by 36% between these same ages.

Opportunities for recess and physical education are disappearing from urban schools and fewer than 1 in 3 teens get an adequate amount of regular physical activity.

Lack of adult supervision and participation in self-care for both children and adolescents have been linked to: increased likelihood of accidents, injuries, and greater likelihood of participation in delinquent or other high risk activities such as experimentation with alcohol, tobacco, drugs and sex. Teens who are unsupervised during after school hours are 37% more likely to become teen parents.

About one third of 8th graders, one fourth of 10th graders and one-fifth of 12th graders watched four or more hours of television on weekdays in 2000. Researchers have associate watching TV to an increased likelihood that children and teens will display physically aggressive behaviors and exhibit relational aggression behaviors.

Young people with nothing to do during out-of-school hours miss valuable chances for growth and development.

Afterschool Programs Help Develop Successful Students and Engaged Citizens:

"Americans value afte school programs and recognize the many benefits they provide. The public recognizes that afterschool programs...give kids needed help with their schoolwork." - Mayor John De Stefano, President of the National League of Cities and Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut

Afterschool programs help young people succeed by providing academic support and the chance to form meaningful relationships with adults from their community, and by encouraging them to get involved in their neighborhood through service projects. This support, these relationships and the benefits to the community create a mutually beneficial relationship of immeasurable value.

Students in a statewide program in California improved their standardized test scores (SAT-9) in both reading and math by percentages almost twice that of other students and also had better school attendance. (University of California Irvine, May 2001)

Children in the "Quantum Opportunities" afterschool program were half as likely to drop out of high school, and 2 1/2 times more likely to pursue higher education, than students not selected to participate. (Fight Crime: Invest in Kids 2000)

After school programs can offer intangibles such as - the opportunity to engage in activities that help young people realize they have something to contribute to the group; the opportunity to work with diverse peers and adults to create projects, performances, and presentations that receive accolades from their families and the larger community; and the opportunity to develop a vision of life's possibilities that with commitment and persistence, are attainable

Links have consistently been found between teen well-being and environments that are emotionally positive, warm, and that provide support for developing adolescent autonomy. Some research suggests that positive experiences in one area (for example, in the family, among peers, at school, through community service) may lessen the effect of negative experiences in other areas. Adolescents who spend time in communities that are rich in developmental opportunities for them experience less risk and show evidence of higher rates of positive development.

Children who participate in afterschool programs show increased interest in school, earn higher grades, have improved attendance, behave better in school and are more apt to graduate

Children in afterschool programs express greater hope for the future

Afterschool Programs Help Create Safer Communities:

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. 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, 2000)

Teens who do not participate in afterschool 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)

A disconnected community is in jeopardy of becoming an unsafe community. Criminologist Robert J. Sampson asserts, "communities characterized by (a) anonymity and sparse acquaintanceship networks among residents, (b) unsupervised teenage peer groups and attenuated control of public space, and (c) a weak organizational base and low social participation in local activities face an increased risk of crime and violence."

Juvenile crime rates for females have been steadily rising. On a national level delinquency cases involving girls increased by 83% between 1988 and 1997.

The Children's Defense Fund reported that an American child or teen is killed by gunfire every two hours and 40 minutes; that results in 9 America children dying from gunfire every day.

3.3 million children between the ages of 6 and 12 regularly spend time without adult supervision. Ten percent of all children between the ages of 6 and 12 use self-care as the primary child care arrangement.

After the implementation of the city-wide San Diego 6 to 6 program, the San Diego Police Department's 2001 report indicated that…juvenile arrests during after school hours were down 13.1%. The police chief specifically cited the 6 to 6 program as one of the primary factors responsible for this decrease. Additionally the rates of juveniles as victims of violent crime during after school hours decreased 11.7% from the previous year. - Ferrin & Amick, 2002

Evaluations of the first two years of The After-School Corporation (TASC) programming found that students felt that participating in after school improved their ability to maintain self-control and avoid fights. (Friedman & Bleiberg, 2002)

In communities where at least 50 percent of the kids are participating in after-school programs, that community is five times more likely to be a healthy community because they are putting resources behind

After-school programs alleviate childcare worries for working parents.