Chris Dodd: “today Senator Ensign and I, along with 42 cosponsors, are submitting a concurrent resolution with the House designating…”

“today Senator Ensign and I, along with 42 cosponsors, are submitting a concurrent resolution with the House designating October 12, 2006 as Lights On Afterschool Day. Lights on Afterschool is a national celebration of afterschool programs, designed to promote the critical importance of afterschool in the lives of America's children, families, and communities. This year alone, we expect over 1 million Americans to participate in this important celebration. Quality afterschool programs keep kids safe, help working families, and improve academic achievement. It has been demonstrated that children in afterschool programs show greater interest in school, learn new skills, exhibit improved behavior and get better grades than their peers. Afterschool programs also build stronger communities by involving our students, parents, business leaders and adult volunteers in the lives of our young people, thereby promoting positive relationships among children and adults. In America today, more than 28 million children have parents who work outside the home. As many as 15 million of these children have no place to go after school and consequently are missing out on important opportunities to learn and grow. Two-thirds of Americans say that it is difficult to find programs in their communities and that not enough programs are available.…”