-
Compulsory Education Laws Begin
Compulsory education laws made it so that children had to attend school and the participation reduced the amount of paid child labor. Thus, after school programs were emerging because the students needed somewhere to go after school. -
The Great Depression
There was a cut in much of the school enrichment programs like art, music, manual training, physical education, etc.. Many children had to work to help their families and were forced to quit school. After-school programs wanted to help these stressed children, but funding was limited. -
The New Deal
The program focused on relief, recovery, and reform and it allowed funding for after-school programs. This was important because after-school programs were seen as a refuge and sanctuary for kids of this time. -
Child Labor Laws
These laws placed limits on child labor, which created more free time for children. There was a concern for negative influences in the streets and that encouraged more after-school programs to be implemented. -
WWII
Since the US needed a workforce, women had to step up and in a sense had to neglect their children. In need of childcare, after-school programs stepped in and also helped them cope with the war. -
Post-War Years (late 1940's-early 1950's)
After the war ended, a new child that felt like they didn’t belong emerged. These kids felt like failures and worries of these low-income children emerged. The after-school programs shifted their focus on making them feel valued and prided themselves on turning them away from delinquency. -
ESEA
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act's mission statement was that full educational opportunity should be the nation's first goal. This provided more resources for after-school programs with the focus on low-income schools. The law emphasized equal opportunity to education and targeted at-risk youth. -
Comprehensive Child Care Policy
Congress passed the bill, but was vetoed by Nixon, that would have created a national day care system. This would have created a lot of after-school programs since the purpose was to make it easier for single parents to work. Nixon believed it would have hurt the family dynamic. -
Child Care and Development Block Grant Act
This act was the first substantial federal funding for child care and school-age care. The government realized that low-income parents, especially mothers, have to work and that child care is very expensive, so they wanted to promote their employment. States spent millions funding after school programs thanks to this act. -
1990's research findings
The findings were that juveniles commit the most violent crime between 3-8 pm. This time frame is after-school hours and the research shows that we need to be concerned with programs and activities that can positively influence these kids. -
New Research Agenda
There was a study done on after-school programs that found that 1.7 million children participated in organized after-school activities. A substantial part of these activities were located in school buildings, which is important for future uses of school facilities. Since the goal is positive development in children, it is interesting that other research found a correlation with participation and academic performance and improved social-emotional development. -
Impact of Welfare Reform
The 1996 reforms has the intended effect of reducing welfare dependency, which sent millions of women into the workforce. This affected child care because there was a shortage of daycare spaces available and more programs were in need. States knew a lot of resources had to go to child care, -
21st Century Community Learning Centers
It is the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to afterschool programs. The program aims to provide services to students attending high-poverty, low-performing schools. The services they provide include academic enrichment activities, art, music, etc.. -
2000's Shift in Goals
There was a shift from safety and supervision to academic enrichment, which kicked off with Bush's "No Child Left Behind Act." The focus was on spending money on programs that supported k-12 schooling. After school programs had to prove that they were performing in order to receive some of the funding. The focus was not on sports or arts at this time so this put pressure on after school programs to focus on just education. -
After-School Education and Safety Program Act
ASES Program funds the establishment of local after school education and enrichment programs. Schools and local community resources work together to provide literacy, academic enrichment and safe constructive alternatives for students in K-9. The goal is to create a safe environment where children can have positive development socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively. It is important to note that after school programs are a great investment because they are a lot cheaper than prisons.
