Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today about the important decision you must make in determining the Fiscal Year 2004 Appropriations level for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers after-school program.
My name is Harvey Sprafka. I've been in law enforcement since 1975, and I’ve spent the past 8 years as the chief of police in Knoxville, Iowa. I am also a member of the anti-crime group FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS, which is made up of more than 2,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and victims of violence from across the country who have come together to take a hard-nosed look at the research about what really works to keep kids from becoming criminals.
There is no substitute for tough law enforcement. But once a crime has been committed, we can’t undo the agony felt by the crime victim or repair that victim's shattered life. Those of us on the front line in the fight against crime understand that we’ll never be able to just arrest, try and imprison our way out of the crime problem. We can save lives, hardship – and money – by investing in programs that give kids the right start in life.
The members of FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS have come together to issue a “School and Youth Violence Prevention Plan” that lays out four types of programs that research proves – and law enforcement knows – can greatly reduce crime. The plan calls for more investments in quality after-school programs, quality preschool and child care programs, services that effectively treat and prevent child abuse and neglect, and activities that get troubled kids back on track before it’s too late.
I am here today to talk about the first of those points – after-school programs.
In the hour after the school bell rings, violent juvenile crime soars and the prime time for juvenile crime begins. The peak hours for such crime are from 3:00 to 6:00 PM. These are also the weekday hours during which children are most likely to become victims of crime, be in an automobile accident, have sex, smoke, drink alcohol, or use drugs.
After-school programs can cut crime immediately by keeping kids safe and out of trouble during these dangerous hours. They can also cut later crime by helping participants develop the values and skills they need to become good, contributing citizens. For example, in one study, students whose families were on welfare were randomly divided into two groups when they started high school. One group was enrolled in the Quantum Opportunities after-school program, which provided tutoring, mentoring, recreation, and community service programs and some monetary incentives to keep attendance up. The second group was left out of the program. When studied two years after the four-year program ended, the group of boys left out of the program had six times more convictions for crimes than those boys provided with the program.
In addition to saving lives, after-school programs save money. The Quantum Opportunities Program produced benefits to the public of more than $3 for every dollar spent on it, without even counting the savings from reductions in crime. Numerous other studies show similar reductions in delinquency and cost-savings, as well as improved academic achievement.
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program is critical to helping communities across the country offer after-school activities to young people. As you know, there is a proposal to cut funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program by 40% next year. The reason for this cut was a recent study of the program’s first few years showing it is in need of some improvement. But it doesn’t make sense to cut funding for after-school programs after the findings of just one preliminary study. We know that quality after-school programs can significantly reduce the chances that a child will commit a crime now or in the future. The new 21st Century Community Learning Centers study, which did show academic improvement for African-American and Hispanic students, should be used as a tool to help improve the quality and accountability of after-school programs.
One area for improvement highlighted by the study is the ability of programs to attract and retain students for regular participation. It seems that many of the programs were spending a large portion of the afternoon in what is basically a study hall. Kids don’t want to go to more school at the end of the regular school day. Fun activities – not study halls – can lure kids into a program and enable them to participate in activities that will make them safer, healthier, more academically successful, and less likely to become criminals.
So, what we need to do is look at the after-school models that have had very positive research results (like Quantum Opportunities) and work to replicate those models through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids stands ready to work with this Subcommittee on any appropriations bill or report language for Fiscal Year 2004 needed to make that happen.
As mentioned earlier, I have been in law enforcement for 28 years. Sixteen of those years I served as Knoxville’s School Liaison Officer, now commonly known as School Resource Officer. In that position I worked with school children in grades K-12. Also during that time I investigated all reported cases of child sex abuse and child abuse for the Knoxville Police Department.
Since 1993 the Knoxville VA Child Care Center and the Knoxville Community School District have jointly operated a Before and After School Program. Two of my three grandchildren participate in the after-school program and a third grandchild attends the VA Child Care Center’s day care program.
It has been my experience that most children who commit delinquent acts are left unsupervised during after-school hours. That is frequently when we receive reports of vandalism, thefts, and disorderly conduct.
This is not just my view: Law enforcement understands that investments in after-school programs really do make a difference. Dozens of state and national law enforcement associations have adopted resolutions highlighting the crime-fighting importance of after-school programs, including the National Sheriffs Association, the Major Cities Chiefs, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Attorneys General and the National District Attorneys Association, as well as the Iowa Police Executive Forum, the Iowa State Sheriffs’ and Deputies’ Association, and the Iowa County Attorneys Association.
This overwhelming support is demonstrated in polls of law enforcement officials. A nationwide poll of police chiefs, sheriffs and prosecutors conducted by George Mason University professors last year showed that 85 percent of those polled believed that expanding after-school programs and educational child care would greatly reduce youth crime and violence.
The law enforcement leaders were also asked which of the following strategies they thought was most effective in reducing youth violence: (1) providing more after-school programs and educational child care; (2) prosecuting more juveniles as adults; (3) hiring more police officers to investigate juvenile crime; or (4) installing more metal detectors and surveillance cameras in schools.
Expanding after-school and educational child care was picked as the top choice by more than four to one over any other option. In fact, more law enforcement leaders chose “expanding after-school programs and educational child care” as “most effective” in reducing crime than chose the other three strategies combined.
In recent years Congress has also realized the need for after-school programs, increasing funding significantly. For that I thank you. But it isn’t enough. On a regular basis, more than 10 million children and teens are unsupervised after school. Last year, 75% of the funds requested for 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants had to be turned down due to a lack of funds.
Instead of cutting funding for after-school programs, Congress should be finding a way to bring the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program closer to the level of $1.75 billion promised just last year in the No Child Left Behind Act. Every day that we fail to invest adequately in quality after-school programs, we increase the risk that you or someone you love will fall victim to violence.
Our choice is simple: we can either send our children to after-school programs that will teach them good values and skills, or we can entrust them to the after-school teachings of Jerry Springer, violent video games, or worse yet, the streets.
Thank you for this opportunity to testify today about the crime-prevention benefits of after-school programs. I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
