Evidence of Program Quality and Youth Outcomes in the DYCD Out-of-School Time Initiative: Report on the Initiative's First Three Years
Author: Russell, Christina A.
Date: 2009-09-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: After School Programs,Program Implementation,Youth Programs,Agency Cooperation,Program Evaluation,Program Effectiveness,Educational Quality,Outcomes of Education,Student Participation,Social Development,Academic Achievement,Surveys,Observation,Elementary School Students,Middle School Students,Enrichment Activities,Recreational Activities,Parent Participation,Enrollment Trends,Student Characteristics,Skill Development,Peer Relationship,Teacher Student Relationship,Professional Development,Family School Relationship

In September 2005, the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) launched the Out-of-School Time Programs for Youth (OST) initiative to provide young people throughout New York City with access to high-quality programming after school, on holidays, and during the summer at no cost to their families. Working closely with the nonprofit community and with ten City agencies, including the Department of Education (DOE), DYCD created a comprehensive public system of out-of-school time programming. DYCD contracted with Policy Studies Associates (PSA) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the OST initiative. PSA designed the evaluation to describe the characteristics of OST programs and participants and to assess the initiative's contribution to the growth and development of New York City youth. In addition to providing descriptive information on the initiative and its participants, the third-year report explores the associations among program quality, patterns of youth participation, and youth outcomes, using known features of high-quality programs as identified through previous research. This report explores the associations among OST program quality, youth participation, and youth outcomes, using the identified quality program features as the guiding framework. The report first describes the extent to which these elements of program quality are present in OST programs. It next summarizes evidence regarding youth engagement and social and educational outcomes for participants in the OST initiative. The report then reviews analyses examining the relationships among youth social and educational outcomes, level of youth participation, and program quality. Finally, the report describes the extent to which the OST initiative has helped to build a system for comprehensive out-of-school time services in New York City, including development of the capacity of provider organizations to deliver high-quality services and meet needs of working families. Appended are: (1) Survey and Observational Data Collected in Years 1-3 of the OST Initiative; (2) Program Implementation in Options II and III; (3) Technical Properties of Participant Survey Scales; (4) Technical Properties of Observation Scales; (5) Comparison Groups for DOE Data Analyses; (6) Technical Properties of Correlations Between Program Quality and Youth Outcomes; and (7) Technical Properties of Measures of Program Quality. (Contains 12 footnotes and 83 exhibits.) [This report was prepared for the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and The Wallace Foundation. Funding for this report was provided by DYCD. For the executive summary, &quot;Evidence of Program Quality and Youth Outcomes in the DYCD Out-of-School Time Initiative: Report on the Initiative's First Three Years. Executive Summary,&quot; see ED508148.]