GA Afterschool Report: Broaden Access to Afterschool Programs
12/11/2006
Nearly a quarter of Georgia’s school-aged children – more than 350,000 – are unsupervised during afterschool hours and vacation periods. A new report by the Georgia Afterschool Investment Council finds that although excellent afterschool and summer programs exist across the state, too few programs exist.
The recently published report, entitled The Current State of Afterschool in Georgia: Building a Strong Foundation, calls for increased attention and action to afterschool issues and outlines a strategy to create a collaborative effort, coordinated funding, and consistent standards for all Georgia afterschool and summer programs.
The Current State of Afterschool in Georgia, the first comprehensive exploration of Georgia’s afterschool landscape, is the result of extensive analysis by a task force of 40 youth development and educational leaders across the state including Voices for Georgia’s Children, Georgia PTA, the Georgia Department of Education, and the Georgia Department of Human Resources, to name a few.
Most afterschool programs in Georgia serve only younger children. As a result, the task force found, too many adolescents and older youth are typically left to their own devices when the school day ends. Of the 250 Georgia 21st Century Learning Centers – the largest federally funded afterschool grant program – 95 percent serve primarily elementary and middle-school students. The GAIC report calls on the afterschool field to build on existing community-based programs, in rural and urban areas, to address the needs of Georgia’s older youth.
According to the GAIC report, Georgia parents cite easy accessibility along with affordability and safety in afterschool and summer programs as their highest priorities. In order to develop quality programs that address these needs, the report says, Georgia will require the support of leaders in the public and private sectors throughout the state.
GAIC intends for the report to serve as a launching point for policymakers, legislators, business executives, educators, afterschool providers, parents, and students to improve out-of-school time throughout the state. The task force identified a number of excellent models of afterschool programs in Georgia – as well as quality standards and comprehensive funding mechanisms from other states – that focus on afterschool strategies which Georgia could implement.
Copies of The Current State of Afterschool in Georgia: Building a Strong Foundation, are available from GAIC on request at info@afterschoolga.org. The document also can be downloaded from the GAIC website at www.afterschoolga.org.
Direct link to report: http://afterschoolga.org/OurWork/TheGeorgiaAfterschoolReport.aspx.