THE
WHITE HOUSE
Office
of the Vice President
For
Immediate Release:
Monday, September 13, 1999 |
Contact:
(202) 456-7035 |
Vice President Gore
Announces Initiative to Support Safe, High-Quality Afterschool Programs
to Aid Working Families
Washington,
DCVice President Al Gore announced today Afterschool Resource
Fairs in 16 cities and a new Web
site
that will help working families and thousands of children across
the nation with safe, high quality after school programs. Both the
Fairs and the Web site will connect schools, community groups, parents
and afterschool programs with existing federal resourcesexpanding
afterschool opportunities around the country.
"For
working parents worried about what their children are doing after
school and for children who too often get in trouble in the after-school
hours, these activities are critical. And its not just for
the peace of mind of a worried and overworked parent. Its
also for the learning opportunities available to our children,"
said Vice President Al Gore. "This initiative will help communities
expand high-quality afterschool programs so that young people can
expand their horizons of creativity, receive one-on-one mentoring
and tutoring, use computers, and learn skills they will need to
compete and win in the 21st Century. This initiative
will get existing resources to communities and kids that need them."
Under
the initiative, 15 cities and one state are holding Afterschool
Resource Fairs. At the Fairs, parents, care providers, teachers
and interested community members will meet representatives from
many federal agencies and non-profit organizations to learn more
about programs and offerings that can assist children and youth.
The Fairs are designed to involve communities in using existing
resourcesranging from funding for afterschool snacks or transportation
to math and science curriculum. The fairs are being held in Atlanta,
Boston, Chattanooga, Dallas, Des Moines, Fort Worth, Kansas City,
Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco,
Seattle, St. Louis, Washington, D.C. and in the state of Vermont.
At
least 5 million childrenand as many as 15 millionare
left at home after school unsupervised each week. Experts agree
that school-age children who are unsupervised after school are far
more likely to use alcohol, drugs and tobacco, commit crimes, receive
poor grades, and drop out of school than those who are involved
in supervised, constructive after-school activities. Studies by
the FBI and youth-advocacy groups have found that most juvenile
crime and victimization occur from 2 to 8 p.m. after traditional
education programs end for the day.
In
addition, the new Web site gives information about more than 100
federal grant programs and resources, as well as one-stop access
to federal publications. It also connects kids and teens to many
safe, fun and enriching government websites that let them do everything
from building their own Galileo spacecraft to learning about Jake,
a Labrador Retriever that works for the FBI.
The
Fairs and the Web site were developed by the Federal Support for
Communities Initiative with support from 17 federal departments
and agencies, Vice President Gores National Partnership for
Reinventing Government, and the Federal Executive Boards. The Web
site is supported by the General Services Administration, with assistance
from The Finance Project, a non-profit organization.
Additional
information, including announcements of future federal
funding
opportunities for after school programs, can be obtained on the
Web site.
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