U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

◆ The availability of community- or neighborhood-based afterschool programs and teens’ awareness of existing programs.

Key findings from the survey are summarized below:

Teens lack supervision in the hours after school. The average

teen in the United States is unsupervised after school 2 days per

week for up to 5 hours. Nearly 6 in 10 teens (59 percent) are left

without supervision by a parent or other adult at least 1 day per

week after school, and nearly 4 in 10 (39 percent) are left unsupervised 3 or more days. Older teens (17 and 18 years old) are

more likely than younger teens (14 to 16 years old) to lack adult

supervision after school at least 1 day per week (67 percent versus 52 percent). Teens from single-parent households are left

unsupervised for more days per week than teens from two-parent

homes (an average of 2.2 days versus 1.7 days).

Lack of supervision leads to at-risk behavior in teens. Teens

who are unsupervised after school are much more likely than

teens who are supervised to engage in activities that put them at

risk. Compared with teens supervised every day of the school

week, those unsupervised 1 or more days are more likely to drink

alcohol (34 percent versus 22 percent), smoke cigarettes (16 percent versus 11 percent), and engage in sex (17 percent versus 11

percent). Unsupervised teens are three times as likely to use marijuana or other drugs (14 percent versus 4 percent). Compared

with teens who are supervised every day of the school week,

those who are left unsupervised 1 or more days of the week are

nearly twice as likely to skip a day of school (27 percent versus

14 percent) and nearly three times as likely to skip classes at

school (30 percent versus 11 percent).

Participation in afterschool activities leads to better grades

and better behavior in teens. Nearly 8 in 10 teens (79 percent)

who engage in afterschool activities are “A” or “B” students, but

only half (52 percent) of teens who do not participate in afterschool activities earn these high marks. Teens who do not engage

in afterschool activities are five times as likely to be “D” students

as those who participate in afterschool activities (15 percent versus 3 percent). More than one-third of teens who do not

The YMCA’s Teen Action Agenda

by Nels Ericson

In January 2001, the YMCA of the USA commissioned the After

School for America’s Teens survey. The survey found that teens

who are unsupervised during the afterschool hours of 3 to 6 p.m.

are more likely to engage in risky behaviors—drug and alcohol

abuse, sexual activity, cigarette smoking, and carrying and using

weapons—than youth who are supervised by a parent or another

adult or who are involved in structured activities during those

hours. In response to these findings, the YMCA has launched its

Teen Action Agenda, a nationwide campaign to double the number of teens it serves through its afterschool and other programs,

to 5 million by 2005.

The Teen Action Agenda’s goals are to build skills and values;

improve teens’ health practices, educational development, and

character; help teens become contributing members of their communities; and place committed, caring adults in long-term relationships with the youth. Participating local YMCAs will offer

programs that focus on three key areas: (1) education, career, and

life skills; (2) health, safety, and well-being; and (3) leadership

and service learning. Each local YMCA chapter must offer at

least one program in each of the key areas, dedicate a full-time

program staff member to every 1,000 youth served, and issue a

membership card to every teen served in the community. Each

chapter will measure the success of its efforts and report the findings to the YMCA of the USA.

Survey Findings

In the survey, 500 U.S. teens between the ages of 14 and 17 were

interviewed by telephone. The poll was designed to determine

their attitudes and behaviors in the afterschool hours. Specifically, the survey sought to determine:

◆ The nature of teens’ relationships with their parents.

◆ The amount of supervision teens receive after school.

◆ The effects of insufficient supervision and participation in

afterschool activities on teens’ school performance and

at-risk behaviors.

May 2001 #14
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Washington, DC 20531

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participate in afterschool activities drink alcohol (36 percent) and

get into trouble at school (36 percent), compared with about onefourth of teens who engage in afterschool activities (26 percent

drink alcohol and 24 percent get into trouble at school).

Not enough afterschool programs are available for teens. More

than half of the surveyed teens (52 percent) said they wish more

afterschool activities were available in their neighborhood or community. Six in 10 teens (62 percent) left unsupervised during the

week said they would be likely to participate in afterschool programs if they were available. More than one-half of the teens (54

percent) said they would watch less television or play fewer video

games if they had other things to do after school.

YMCA Programs

YMCA’s Teen Action Agenda is working to improve afterschool

options for all teens, but specifically for those who lack adult

supervision. To reach teens during the afterschool hours, local

YMCAs sponsor a wide range of resources: mentoring programs,

computer literacy classes, basketball leagues, drug prevention programs, culturally specific curriculums, writing and literary arts

centers, teen leadership clubs, and recycling and environmental

projects. YMCAs also partner with juvenile courts, housing authorities, police departments, and schools to provide delinquency

intervention and prevention programs.

For Further Information

For more information on YMCA’s Teen Action Agenda and other

programs contact:

Jon Terry

Policy Associate

YMCA of the USA

1701 K Street NW., Suite 903

Washington, DC 20006

202–835–9043

800–932–9622

202–835–9030 (fax)

jon.terry@ymca.net (e-mail)

Andy Sullivan

Director of Teen Leadership

YMCA of the USA

101 North Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

800–872–9622, Ext. 8389

For more information on the After School for America’s Teens

survey, visit YMCA’s Web site at www.ymca.net. Click on “Press

Room” and select “Press Releases.”

Nels Ericson is a Senior Writer-Editor with the Office of Juvenile Justice

and Delinquency Prevention.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component 

of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice

Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice,

and the Office for Victims of Crime.

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