This section of the Harvard Family Research Project site is a forum for evaluators, practitioners, funders and policymakers to share information and discuss issues related to after school programs.

With their demonstrated power to improve school performance, after-school programs are deservedly popular. But some schools are choosing to go beyond the 3-to-6 model, becoming community centers with programs for the whole community. This story was adapted from the September/October 2001 issue of The Children's Advocate.

The Corporation for National Service has compiled tools to help interested adults plan and sustain after-school programs, from starting up and getting funded to evaluating the work.

The association's membership includes more than 7,000 practitioners, policy makers, and administrators representing all public, private, and community-based sectors of after-school and out-of-school time programs, as well as school-age and after-school programs on military bases, both domestic and international.

The Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development published a comprehensive report in 1994 on the challenges facing teenagers and the need for safe places and structured programs. This is still a landmark study of the challenges and some success stories.

Teens with nothing to do and no supervision after school are at greater risk of unsafe behaviors and poorer grades, according to a 2001 YMCA survey. Over half of teens surveyed say they wish there were more after school activities in their communities, and two-thirds say they would be likely to participate in after school programs that would help them get better grades, develop leadership skills and serve their community. The YMCA Teen Action Agenda aims to involve one in five teens in YMCA programs by 2005.

The majority of 3- to- 17-year-olds have family television rules, one-half of school-age children participate in extracurricular activities and just over half of those under 12 have been in non-family child care, according to a 2001 Census report.

The Finance Project has developed resources on financing and sustaining out-of-school time and community school initiatives. This site can be a valuable ongoing reference for parents who want to be program leaders and system-building advocates.

This Chapin Hall guide can help you determine how your out-of-school program is serving young people's healthy development, how you could improve it, and how it measures up to several critical indicators of program quality. Register for free at and then scroll down to find A Self-Study Guide for Managers and Staff of Primary Support Programs for Young People in "downloadable publications."

This Youth in Action Fact Sheet from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention describes two ways to enhance youth civic involvement: youth advisory councils and youth town hall meetings.