Survey: As School Year Begins, Number One Concern of Working Moms is Kids' Safety in After-School Hours

8/25/2003

From: Phil Evans of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 202-776-0027, ext. 109; nights/weekends, 301-949-5630

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 -- On the day most kids in America started a new school year, a new, nationwide survey of the concerns of working mothers showed their number one concern is the safety of their children, especially in the after-school hours. These fears even outranked concerns over the quality of their children's education or education funding.

The survey was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national anti-crime organization of more than 2,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and victims of violence. The poll results were released outside a middle school in suburban Washington as children arrived for the first day of classes.

"We must do everything possible to improve our schools," said Sanford Newman, president of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids. However, he said the poll is further evidence that "to make America safe, we need to be as willing to guarantee our kids space in an after-school program as we are to guarantee a criminal room and board in a prison cell."

Newman called on Congress to increase funding for the two principal federal funding sources for after-school programs: the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC).

He called for Congress to approve a proposed five-year, $5.5 billion increase in CCDBG which helps low and moderate income families afford after-school programs for their children and an increase next year in funding for 21CCLC.

Anna Weselak, president-elect of the six-million member National PTA, said the results of the new poll were consistent with results from a poll of PTA members conducted early this year. Noting that 11 million children are without adult supervision in the after-school hours, Weselak said, "National PTA is committed to after-school programs because they provide children with extended learning opportunities and help keep our children safe."

The new poll of 1,000 working mothers with school-age children was conducted Aug. 7-11, 2003.

The key results of the poll were:

-- When asked to name their top concern as kids head back to school, nearly six out of ten working mothers listed crime, violence, or risky behavior like drugs, alcohol and sex.

-- Despite public focus on school shootings and other violence during the school day, nearly nine out of ten working mothers said they are most concerned about their children's safety during the after-school hours.

-- Nine out of ten also agreed with the statement: "America could greatly reduce youth violence if Congress expanded prevention efforts like after-school programs."

-- When asked which strategy would be more effective in reducing school and youth violence, seven out of ten mothers choose investments in after-school programs over investments in security measures like metal detectors.

-- Crime data shows the after-school hours from 3 to 6 pm are the hours when kids are most likely to commit, and become victims of, crime. They are also the hours when kids are most likely to engage in risky behaviors like drinking, smoking and using drugs.

"The hours from 3 to 6 pm on school days are the prime time for youth crime," said Pat Murphy, former New York City and Detroit police commissioner and Washington, D.C., Public Safety Director. "Will Congress continue to entrust millions of kids to the after-school teachings of Jerry Springer and violent video games? Or will it invest in after-school programs proven to teach kids the values and skills they need to succeed in school and life?"

Forth Worth Police Chief Ralph Mendoza said quality after-school programs are proven to cut youth crime and reduce risky behavior. He cited a study of high school freshman randomly selected from welfare families in four cities to participate in the Quantum Opportunities after-school program. Six years after the program began, similar boys not in the program averaged six times as many criminal convictions as boys who were assigned to participate.

"America has a choice. We can pay now for after-school programs and invest in success. Or, we can spend far more later on prisons for our failures and early funerals for their victims." Mendoza said.

Unfortunately, many working families can't afford after-school programs. Good programs typically cost between $2,500 and $4,000 a year -- about the same as tuition at a public university.

Prince Georges County Police Corporal Diane Salen, a mother of four, talked about her experiences as a community policing officer in a high-risk neighborhood, and about the difficulty of finding affordable after-school programs for her own children.

"As a parent, I have a responsibility to care for my kids," Salen said, "but I also have a responsibility to care for my family. That means I have to work. When my kids are in good after-school programs, I know that they're safe and being looked after by caring adults until I can get home from work."

Support for investment in after-school programs is nearly universal among law enforcement. The more than 2,000 police chiefs, sheriffs and prosecutors of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids have called on Congress to expand after-school programs for at-risk children and teens. So too have dozens of state and national law enforcement organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police, the National District Attorneys Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

The poll released today and Fight Crime: Invest in Kids' work on after-school programs is made possible with support from: AOL Time Warner Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, The After School Corporation, Afterschool Alliance, Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation, Freddie Mac Foundation, Garfield Foundation, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.