Family and Neighborhood Risks Affect Involvement in Out-of-School Programs

A new Child Trends fact sheet finds that both family risks and neighborhood risks are related to whether children are involved in out-of-school time programs. An increasing number of studies have found that participation in an out-of-school time program is related to better outcomes for children; however, most of this research examines family and neighborhood risks separately. This fact sheet looks at both types of risks together by analyzing data for children aged 6 to 17 from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health. Among the findings:

• Neighborhood quality is related to whether children from low-risk families are involved in out-of-school time activities. However, the vast majority of children in low-risk families are involved in at least one activity.
• Neighborhood quality does not seem to matter to children from high-risk families. Nearly one-half are not involved in any activities regardless of neighborhood risk level.

These findings suggest that active recruitment of children in high-risk families may be necessary if these children are to become involved in out-of-school time activities. CLICK HERE to read more.

{source: Child Trends}