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Bush cuts after school programs Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/6728042.htm http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/6728042.htm Posted on Tue, Sep. 09, 2003 Parents struggle with after-school gap BY KAREN M. THOMAS The Dallas Morning News DALLAS - (KRT) - For most working parents of school-age children, it's an annual dilemma. The school doors close several hours before the workday ends, creating a gap for millions of families. What could happen in that time is enough to make most parents gasp. Studies show a sharp peak in the number of serious violent crimes committed by or against youngsters just when the school day ends. There are safety concerns for young children left home alone. There's the constant threat that older, unsupervised children may experiment with drugs, sex or booze. "The gap that scares me the most is junior high and high school," says Lynette Patton, a Plano single mother of a third-grader. "They're old enough to be on their own, but it's just so dicey." More than 28 million American children have parents who work outside the family home, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. More than half of those youngsters have nowhere to go at the end of the school day, according to the YMCA in a 2001 report. Parents such as Patton cover the gap by piecing together solutions that vary according to their comfort levels, community resources and income. Some turn to school-based programs; some have their children bused from school to more costly child-care facilities. Others enroll their youngsters in activities; some rely on baby sitters, older siblings, neighbors and relatives. Parents with job flexibility rearrange their schedules or pare back working hours to be home when their kids are. Some - and it's hard to say how many, since some parents are reluctant to admit to it - opt for leaving children as young as 6 at home alone. And while elementary school-age children have the greatest number of options for after-school care, those in middle school and high school have far fewer and traditionally balk at needing such care. No matter what option parents choose, there's a lot at stake, experts say. "When kids are in stable arrangements that enrich them and help them grow and mature, it helps parents at work since they are not worrying," says Jeff Capizzano at the Urban Institute. But experts have had a hard time agreeing how to measure the effectiveness of after-school programs. Under the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, a federally funded after-school program aimed at the nation's most vulnerable youngsters, more than 6,800 public schools have been able to offer parents after-school care. A recent evaluation of the program, though, has raised controversy. The study found that the program changed how some students spent time after school and that it did increase parents' involvement. But the study showed little academic improvement and that parents still worried about their children's safety. The study also found little reduction in the number of latchkey kids and low levels of student participation. Jen Rinehart, associate director of The Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit advocacy group, says that the study was flawed because it was conducted after the first year of funding and many programs were still experiencing implementation problems. She and other experts also say that comparisons of students in the programs to others were flawed. Since the study's release, President George W. Bush had proposed cutting the program's $1 billion budget to $600 million. After-school advocates say that nearly 550,000 children would lose after-school programs, including 45,768 in Texas. But Congress is now considering a bill to restore the program's $1 billion level. "It's great news, but it is still not enough," Rinehart says. "At the $1 billion level, we are able to provide programs for 1.2 million kids, but that is nowhere near the 15 million that we know are latchkey kids. And that is why we are pushing for the increased funding. There is a huge demand and unmet needs there." --- © 2003, The Dallas Morning News. Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

2005 college tuition moving up { May 19 2004 } Anti voucher essay { May 1 2003 } Blair seeks to calm tuition fee fears { December 4 2002 } Blair stands firm on tuition fees { June 24 1998 } Bush cuts after school programs Bush deficit reduction act hurts education funds { February 2 2006 } College costs up with less state aid College fair aids students facing rising tuition { November 13 2003 } College tuition fees up 7perc this year { October 22 2007 } College tuition outstrip aid Columnist says low tuition is welfare { March 19 2001 } Contracters profit off failing students { February 4 2006 } Dc mayor now endorses vouchers { May 2 2003 } Diane feinstein suports dc vouchers { September 27 2003 } Edison company narrows losses { May 15 2003 } Education secretary to close nclb loophole { April 21 2006 } Ehrlich links slot machines to education money Failed schools to be privitized { March 29 2006 } Federal program turns troops into teachers Free europe tuition receiving battering { October 13 2003 } Higher education flunks affordability House passes dc voucher plan { September 5 2003 } Maryland 2m grant helps troops to public school teachers Maryland university tuition going up 6perc 2005 { January 27 2005 } More relying on college loans as tuition rises { June 2 2004 } Neil bush makes money with privitizing education Opinion fewer students can afford college { November 6 2003 } Parents too poor to save for children Philly district head wants cut price { May 22 2003 } Philly nations largest privatization experiment { May 23 2003 } Religious voucher { June 28 2002 } Royal battle over tuition fees { January 17 2003 } School vouchers { July 2 2002 } Schools cut back all subjects except reading and math { March 26 2006 } Schools dont teach american culture or history { February 26 2008 } Student protests Ehrlich veto over tuition veto { June 16 2004 } Texas university tuition incease Textbook sell off { October 30 2002 } Tuition rises 10 percent at colleges { October 20 2004 } Tuition rises maryland put mission at risk University education costs are rising Voucher measure bogged down in senate { September 25 2003 } Vouchers hurt those most in need { October 6 2003 } Vouchers urged dc schools { April 16 2003 } Why fees rise while services stagnate { October 27 2003 } Files Listed: 45

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