Advocate for Afterschool

• Why afterschool matters
• Afterschool in New Jersey
• Communicating with policymakers
• Working with the media
• New Jersey Afterschool Network
• NJ celebrates afterschool outdooors
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Afterschool in New Jersey and in the United States

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High quality afterschool programs improve learning

Economically disadvantaged children who participate from 20 to 35 hours per week in constructive learning activities during their free time get better grades in school than their more passive peers. A healthy discussion with knowledgeable adults or peers, strategy games, writing, homework, hobbies, chores, museum visits, theatre, movies and sports all contributed to their success.((i))

Researchers from Harvard Family Research Project's ten-year study revealed that participation in afterschool programs is associated with higher educational aspirations, lower drop-out rates, better academic performance in school and improved engagement in learning. They noted social and developmental gains as well and concluded that afterschool programs are linked to increased self-esteem, lower levels of depression and anxiety and decreased behavior problems.((ii))

Americans overwhelmingly support publicly funded afterschool programs

In a nationwide survey, an overwhelming 92% of voters said that there should be some type of organized activity or place for children and teens to go after school every day.

Two-thirds of voters expressed their belief that federal or state tax dollars should be used to expand daily afterschool programs and to make them accessible to all children.((iii))

In a 2003 survey, leaders in 65% of America's large cities said that their municipalities were providing direct afterschool services, as compared to 49% seven years ago.((iv))

New Jersey is a leader in state funding for afterschool programs...

The State of New Jersey funds afterschool programs through two programs: New Jersey After 3 and Family Friendly Learning Centers. New Jersey After 3 receives $15 million annually to support programs that reach 15,000 children. Family Friendly Centers are funded at $2.5 million annually to fund 66 afterschool programs

But more is needed. New Jersey students are still underserved when it comes to high quality afterschool programs((v))

• There are 1,523,773 school-age children in New Jersey. 23% or 350,468 K-12 youth are unsupervised after school.
• Only 12% or 182,853 of New Jersey's K-12 youth are able to participate in afterschool programs.
• 28% of all children not in afterschool would be likely to participate if an afterschool program were available.
• Nearly 20,170 of New Jersey children are counting on the programs supported by the U.S. Department of Education's 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative, the only federal program dedicated to afterschool.
• If the No Child Left Behind Act was fully funded by the federal government, New Jersey communities could have double the number of afterschool programs, giving nearly 50,060 children a safe place to go after school.

A capsule view of a New Jersey state-funded afterschool initiative

NJ After 3 is a public-private partnership that funds afterschool opportunities for New Jersey children. Funded at $15 million, NJ After 3 reaches 14,000 students. It offers a case study in the impact and potential of afterschool.

An evaluation by Policy Studies Associates reports the results after two years. Findings include:

Enrollment and attendance

• The NJ After 3 initiative succeeded in expanding the availability of afterschool services throughout the state and increasing youth participation in its programs. Enrollment grew by 3,270 students, from 11,108 the first year of the study to 14,378 in the second year.
• Minority enrollment remained high (87%) for a second year demonstrating that NJ After 3 is successfully engaging the minority community and validating NJ After 3's commitment to ALL NJ youth and families. (Year two participants were 38% Hispanic and 47% African American.)
• High attendance rates are being achieved, consistent with other nationally known, high-quality afterschool programs. Attendance jumped from an already high 73% in year one to 77% in year two.

Academic improvements

• The report notes statistically significant gains in the language arts skills of NJ After 3 participants who have been in the program for two years. The effect size of this impact (.47) is significant when compared with other interventions such as: Aspirin on heart disease (.03); class size reductions on math achievement (.23); and school-based substance abuse prevention programs on drug and alcohol use (.09).
• Most participants attributed important academic, social, and personal outcomes to their involvement in the program. 82% of students felt that NJ After 3 helped them complete their homework more often while over 70% felt that NJ After 3 helped them in math, reading and getting better grades.

The challenges at stake for students today

• Non-school hours represent the single largest block of time in the lives of American children and youth. About 40% of waking hours are discretionary - not committed to other activities such as school, homework, meals, chores or working for pay. ((vi))
• Afterschool programs are not equitably distributed. According to a study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, 40% of low-income eighth graders, compared with 17% of high-income respondents, do not participate in any organized afterschool activities.((vii)) Access, not interest, seems to account for the difference since virtually every survey of American youth suggests that they want to participate in well-designed, organized afterschool programs.
• Violent juvenile crime triples between the hours of 3:00 and 8:00 pm and it is during these hours that children face the most serious danger of becoming victims of crime. Unsupervised children at this time are also in danger of increased risk of substance abuse and early sexual activity. ((viii))
• Over the past three decades, the rate of obesity in the U.S. among children has doubled from 15 percent to nearly 30 percent today, according to the 2006 Forum on Childhood Obesity. A number of studies indicate that child obesity can be improved by school interventions that engage children and their families in healthy activity and proper nutrition.((ix))
• Educators and parents are concerned over "nature deficit disorder," the current phenomenon dubbed by Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods" and Chairman of the Child and Nature Network. He claims that as children remain distant from nature, their overall health suffers - psychologically, physically and spiritually.

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