Prevention works .
Police chiefs and the general public alike support preventive programs for reducing youth violence. With almost 7 million school age children home alone after school and a child s risk of being a victim of crime tripling once school lets out, positive after-school programs are necessary to provide children safe environments in which to engage in constructive activities. QOP participants were significantly more likely to graduate from high school, to attend college, and were less than half as likely to get arrested than those who did not participate. The parents attended multiple group sessions that combined parenting and communication skills training, role-playing, and supervised play sessions. After one year, children in the group showed less aggression, hostility, anxiety, and hyperactivity than children in the control group.