Community-based youth-serving organizations are often seen by participants and their families as safe and supportive environments with no stigma attached to participation. Many children attend community-based afterschool programs five days a week. In such an environment, trusted adults can consistently monitor the moods and behaviors of…

Cogent indicated prevention with young children at risk for early onset conduct problems needs to address multiple domains of influence in school and home settings. A multicontextual preventive intervention (MPI) spanning grades one and two was conducted in schools serving economically disadvantaged communities and evaluated separately for boys…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify training gaps for Teacher Aides within an after-school prevention program in north central Florida. The program focuses on prevention of high-risk behavior in at-risk youth and is further restricted by socioeconomic, geographical, and parental support factors. Virtual interviews and…

Unsafe and violent schools are a widespread problem in South Africa. This paper argues that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) contribute to this phenomenon. While various individual and community-level interventions to address ACEs have been reported on, the contribution of safe parks towards preventing school violence has not yet been…

A critical component of resilience for many Native American communities is their ability to sustain their culture and identity through deep connections with homelands, Native language, ceremonial practices, and tribal communities. Native American youth living off of tribal lands, often in urban regions, are faced with unique pressure to negotiate…

Low family socioeconomic status (SES) has been noted to impact children and youths' development, specifically in cognitive skills and risky behaviors (Brieant et al., 2021). Low SES often increases stressors for parents, may hinder monitoring of youth if parents must work multiple jobs, and may impact child-parent quality time and bonding (Conger…

This article explores issues that had to be confronted over a three-year period in terms of two New York State funded grants for which I was the evaluator. Major, critical challenges are presented, described, and discussed. Specifically, the paper addresses issues related to lack of planning at the grant design stage that resulted in challenges…

Students who serve in long-term service-learning experiences have a robust amount of information to share. It is these individuals' personal stories where we might find answers to achieve equity in the educational arena. Through a combination of the qualitative methodologies--autoethnography and portraiture--the authors of this study sought to…

While data for the 2020 edition of America After 3PM were collected pre-pandemic, to accompany the data and determine how the pandemic has affected families' needs during the hours after school, the Afterschool Alliance commissioned a nationally representative follow-up survey of parents in October 2020. The follow-up survey found that nearly half…

Psychiatric disorders, particularly substance use disorders, are an impactful and highly prevalent public health concern in youth from low-income neighborhoods (YLINs). Indeed, prevention and intervention programs for mental health disorders that have evidenced improvements in youth from general population are not well integrated into community…

When youth are placed in detention facilities, their education, ties to society, and lives are disrupted. Yet any involvement with the justice system -- regardless of incarceration -- can have implications for one's future earning potential and career trajectory, limiting access to educational opportunities, career fields, and available supports.…

In the United States, involvement with the juvenile justice system can have a long-lasting negative impact on one's life. Young people who are placed in detention facilities are removed from their homes, their families, and their communities. Their education, their ties to society, and their lives are disrupted. Involvement with the justice system…

National data suggest that children are not consuming enough water. Experimental evidence has linked increased water consumption to obesity prevention, and the National AfterSchool Association has named serving water as ones of its standards for healthy eating and physical activity in out-of-school time settings. From fall 2010 to spring 2011,…

We assessed the effectiveness of a culturally grounded, multimedia, sexual risk reduction intervention called Circle of Life (mCOL), designed to increase knowledge and self-efficacy among preteen American Indians and Alaska Natives. Partnering with Native Boys and Girls Clubs in 15 communities across six Northern Plains reservations, we conducted…

Federal investments in education are crucial to preventing youth from entering the criminal justice system and to reducing youth violence and criminal activity. Promoting access to cradle-to-career education is one of the foremost strategies for preventing youth violence and delinquency. Long-term studies of programs nationwide have found that…