The influence of after-school programs on developmental outcomes
(Picower Foundation and United Way of Massachusetts Bay)

Children’s out-of-school time has emerged as a major social concern in the United States, prompting the rapid expansion of after-school programs. Despite this expansion, many questions remain regarding the academic, emotional, health, and behavioral consequences of participating in after-school programs. Also unresolved are basic questions regarding the pathways of influence in after-school programs, including the role of student-staff relationships. A major goal of these studies is to explore the underlying processes by which positive youth development programs influence outcome.

Adversity and Resilience: Effects of Hurricane Katrina on Vulnerable Populations (Mary Waters, co-PI)

We are studying how a group of 200 low-income, community college students from New Orleans are coping with the effects of Hurricane Katrina. In particular, we are looking at how the resources and capacities of these individuals--broadly defined to include their mental and physical health, prior involvement with drugs and risky behaviors, social networks (including mentors), and economic resources--influence coping in the aftermath of the disaster. The study is making use of pre-hurricane data that have already been collected, combined with new quantitative and qualitative data that will be collected in the coming months.

Evaluating the National Guard Youth Challenge Program http://www.ngycp.org (MDRC)

The National Guard ChalleNGe is a comprehensive and innovative program that operates in 26 states and one territory annually serving approximately 9,000, 16- to 18-year-old dropout youth in a five-month, intensive, military academy-style residential program. Enrollees are at high risk of never returning to school, becoming teen parents, having weak links to the job market, and becoming involved with the criminal justice system. Many are wards of the foster care system. ChalleNGe shares all of the elements the positive youth development literature associates with strong programs: community service, leadership development, life skills training, health education, educational and vocational instruction, citizenship, mentoring, and career planning. And unlike any other youth development program we are aware of, this one requires every young person to leave with both a secured “placement” — a job, educational enrollment, or military acceptance — and a mentor of their own choosing who is trained and supported by the program and who agrees to help the young person stay the course for at least the next year. The partnership involves the MacArthur Foundation funded Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood and Public Policy, MDRC, and ChalleNGe.

Understanding the role of gender in mentoring (Edna McConnell Clark Foundation)

Evaluations of volunteer mentoring programs provide ample evidence that mentoring relationships can positively influence adolescent developmental outcomes, including improvements in peer and parent relationships, academic achievement, and self-concept, as well as lower recidivism rates among juvenile delinquents and reductions in substance use. Few studies, however, have focused on the role of gender in shaping the course and effects of the relationships. Consequently, key questions regarding the relative importance of a gender-specific approach to mentor training, supervising, and programming remain unanswered. Through a series of studies in which we focus on gender in the context of single-sex and coed programs, we are seeking to offer a richly detailed understanding of how gender affects mentoring relationships, and provide the field with the necessary evidence and guidance to make appropriate program and administrative decisions where gender is concerned.