Page 52 - Illinois Association of Park Districts Benefits of Membership 2017 - 2018

POSITION OF THE ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION OF PARK DISTRICTS
Beyond school programs – the role of park districts, forest preserves, conservation, recreation and special recreation agencies
The issue
The demand for beyond-school programming is overwhelming. Twenty-five percent of the country’s kindergarten through twelfth-grade youth is responsible for taking care of themselves. These children spend an average of nearly seven hours per week unsupervised after school.1 The Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD) recognizes that children and adolescents who are unsupervised need recreation programs to keep them physically, socially and mentally healthy.
Background
Nearly two-thirds of school-aged children and adolescents are living with a single employed parent or two parents who are both employed.2 These families are more likely to have unsupervised care after school. When asked, 30 percent of the children who were not in a beyond school program said that they would like to participate if a program were available in the community. Research shows that participation in beyond school programs is positively associated with better school attendance, a more positive attitude toward school work, higher aspirations for college, finer work habits, better interpersonal skills, reduced dropout rates, higher quality homework, less time spent in unhealthy behaviors and improved grades.3 Children and adolescents need this type of programming so that they don’t fall victim to crime, gangs, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, obesity and other problems that can affect them for a lifetime.4
1 Afterschool Alliance, America After 3pm Executive Summary, 2005.
2 National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, After-School Care Programs, 2000.
3 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics. (1998). National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988: A profile of the American eighth grader. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
4 Afterschool Alliance, Working Families and Afterschool, 2001.
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