Partners After School

After-school programs keep kids safe, help working families and improve academic achievement by providing critical opportunities for youth to learn and grow. Students in quality after-school programs have better academic performance, behavior and school attendance and greater expectations for the future. (U.S. Departments of Education and Justice, 2000). Students who spend no time in extracurricular activities are 49% more likely to have used drugs and 37% more likely to have become teen parents than those who spend one to four hours per week in extracurricular activities. (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Adolescent Time Use, Risky Behavior and Outcomes: An Analysis of National Data, 1995).

Locally, enhanced after-school programs were initiated in 1999 to provide opportunities for youth to have safe and productive places to go when the school day ended. Last year 765 youth were served in over a dozen programs funded by the Maryland After-school Opportunity Fund administered locally by the Garrett County Partnership for Children and Families. In addition to offering safe, structured activities with caring adults, a key objective is that youth who participate in after-school programs will maintain or improve their grades, especially reading scores (on the MD Functional Reading Test) during the school year. In 2001, 97% of the students enrolled in after-school programs passed the test.

After-school programs are a collaborative between the Partnership, the Health Department, Community Action and the Board of Education. Most of the programs operate from the end of the school day until 6:00 p.m. In 2000, the collaborative partners added after-school activities buses to support after-school. The buses are available in both the Southern and Northern areas of the county and like the programs are free-of-charge.

For years, Garrett County Partnership for Children and Families, Inc. has been hard at work to make a positive impact in the Garrett County community, particularly in the area of family services. But you may not even know who they are or what they do! The Partnership's VISION it that:

During the planning phase of the project, dozens of community members – key staff from the Board of Education, Child Care Administration, Community Action Committee, Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of Social Services, Health Department, Partnership for Children and Families, State’s Attorney’s Office, and Garrett’s Promise, as well as interested citizen members – were involved in the identification of existing after-school activities/programs, prioritization of populations and areas with minimal or no activities/programs, and the development of a plan to address the gaps and needs for structured activities/programs within the county.

The Garrett County Partnership for Children and Families, Inc. was awarded a two-year Maryland After-School Opportunity Fund Grant for $142,000 (annually) from the Department of Human Resources. The grant was an initiative through the Governor’s Sub cabinet for Children and Families with the purpose of developing and/or enhancing after-school programs in the State. This reapplication proposal for 2002-2004 was approved.

Braided funding and strong partnerships have allowed the community to build a system of after-school resources. A learn and Serve Grant was awarded to the Partnership in 2001 by the Governor's Office For Service & Volunteerism that supports service learning at each of the after-school sites. PCF/LMB Consolidated Educations Funds supports School/Community Recreation Centers throughout the county serving over 1,000 students per year.