It is tremendously exciting to know that you are interested in this vital issue, and that you want to help. I first got involved in school-age child care more than 25 years ago when I needed after school care for my own children, Sally and Jon. I was lucky to connect with other parents and we started a parent co-op center with a small after school program. Foundations and other funders and colleagues have helped us over nearly 20 years conduct our research and apply it. Someone's mother or relative was home but mostly kids entertained themselves.
People remember feeling safe.
Things are different now. Kids don't speak about feeling safe in their neighborhoods, or even at home. Risks to health and even life are now common among young children. According to the National Center on Juvenile Justice, newly reported data from eight states on peak hours for violent juvenile crime show nearly half of crimes taking place between 2 p.m. and 11 p.m. A 1990 University of California study and other studies found unsupervised children are at significantly higher risk of truancy, stress, receiving poor grades, risk-taking behavior, and substance abuse.