After-School Programs Offer Public Safety, Economic Benefits
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 28, 2011
Contact: Meghan Moroney, 415-450-1913; mmoroney@calfightcrime.org
After-School Programs Offer Public Safety, Economic Benefits
State Assemblymember, Richmond Chief of Police, Contra Costa County District Attorney
Richmond, Calif. (September 28, 2011) State Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), Richmond Chief of Police Chris Magnus and Contra Costa County District Attorney Mark Peterson visited with students at Highland Elementary School today to see how their participation in the after-school program keeps them engaged in productive educational activities and away from crime.
After-school programs offer adult supervision and productive activities for kids during the prime time for juvenile crime, said Chief Magnus, a long time member of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California, a national anti-crime organization of police chiefs, sheriffs, district attorneys and violence survivors, with 400 members in California. In fact, studies have shown that the single most likely hour for a juvenile to commit a violent crime homicide, rape, robbery or assault is between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Research also links after-school programs to increased school-day attendance and improved graduation rates, according to Californias After-School Commitment: Keeping Kids On Track and Out of Trouble, a recent report by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California.
Highland Elementary School offers high-quality after-school programming for over 70 students every day. Students participate in a variety of activities, which focus on academics, physical fitness and the arts; homework assistance and one-on-one tutorial sessions are streamlined with the school-day curriculum. Guitar and music lessons are also offered via Little Kids Rock, a musical education program that donates all instruments and resources to low-income school districts to restore and revitalize music education for at-risk youth.
Approximately 80 percent of students at Highland Elementary School participate in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program and approximately 40 percent are English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. Highland Elementary School relies on state after-school funding from the After School Education and Safety (ASES) program, which was substantially expanded by Proposition 49, enacted by the voters in 2002. Across Contra Costa County, 67 schools receive approximately $11 million in state after-school funding to serve approximately 7,500 students.
Still, demand remains high for after-school programs. Statewide, in 2010, applicants sought more than twice as much state after-school funding as was available, and the state turned away over 400 schools seeking $54 million in funding. In Contra Costa County, while over 60 percent of low-income elementary and middle schools have state and federally funded programs, 40 low-income schools are lacking state or federal after-school funding.
Although we have come a long way in increasing access to after-school programs throughout California, I remain concerned with the unmet need in my district and across the state, said Assemblymember Skinner. These programs offer safe places for children, can help build a sense of community and help grow our local economy. Thats a win-win-win for our communities and our state.
The ASES program links schools and local community resources in order to provide academic and enrichment activities in a safe, well-supervised environment for students in kindergarten through ninth grade. Given its requirement of a 33 percent match in local contributions for every dollar of state funding received, ASES not only helps generate local funding, it also encourages an integrated partnership between the local community and schools.
Clearly these programs benefit children, their working parents and society as a whole by offering job opportunities and protecting public safety, stated District Attorney Peterson. After-school programs also help cushion the blow from budget cuts to public safety, child care and education all at a very small cost per student. The reality is that we can invest in kids today, or pay to incarcerate and rehabilitate them in the future.
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids members support ongoing investment in the ASES program, which supports after-school programs at thousands of schools in high-need communities across the state; funding for ASES cannot be reduced without another ballot initiative.
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