On the recordMarch 3, 2010
I rise today, joined by my colleague Senator Ensign, to introduce legislation that will provide children with safe, healthy, and academically focused afterschool programs. The Improving 21st Century Community Learning Centers Act of 2010 is endorsed by the Afterschool Alliance, an organization representing more than 25,000 public, private, and non-profit afterschool providers dedicated to expanding access to high quality afterschool programs, as well as a broad coalition of other local and national organizations. They, and I, have committed to providing quality afterschool care because the record is clear: students who regularly attend afterschool programs have better grades and behavior in school, better peer relations and emotional adjustment, and lower incidences of drug use, violence, and pregnancy. When kids have something productive to do in the hours between when they are let out of school and when their parents get home from work, they are more likely to avoid the traps of risky behavior, more likely to be physically healthy and academically successful, and more likely to fulfill their potential.
