Newswise — Afterschool programs can boost students' grades; supplement education in the arts, music, and culture; provide essential childcare for younger students; and help prevent juvenile crime, teen pregnancies, and smoking, drinking, and drug use among adolescents. Yet these programs encounter a number of obstacles in disadvantaged neighborhoods, said Alfred Ho, a professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. He recently co-authored, with graduate students Tiffany Murray and Rina Patel, a study on afterschool programs in Indianapolis in conjunction with the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment at IUPUI. The study found that schools in poorer neighborhoods and those in which students scored lower on standardized tests were more likely to lack afterschool programming. "These neighborhoods stand to benefit the most from these programs, but they are the least likely to have them," he said.
Ho suggested a number of barriers to afterschool programming in disadvantaged neighborhoods:
*Missing the bus. "Students who ride the bus have no way of getting home if they stay after the end of the school day," he said.
*Fees beyond family budgets. Among single-parent households, which were most prevalent in poorer neighborhoods, 35 percent of female-headed households had an annual household income under $15,000. "Many of the existing programs cost several hundred dollars a month, clearly more than these families could afford," Ho said. *Finding space. Utilizing the school building after hours requires rearranging janitorial and security services, often at greater cost, Ho said. Poorer neighborhoods may be less likely to have alternative sites available, such as recreational facilities or community centers.
Overcoming these barriers will require finding new sources of funding to supplement enrollment fees, schedule later busses and pay for costs associated with space, Ho said. "I think the answer will be partnering with philanthropy to target these specific areas," he said.
An issue brief based on the study is available online at http://www.urbancenter.iupui.edu/PubResources/pdf/227_Afterschool.pdf.
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