Helping youth at risk: 4-H and Cooperative Extension venture into child care

Abstract

An increasing number of children in America are considered at risk because of poverty, homelessness, hunger, family violence or other social ills. As part of its “Youth at Risk” initiative, the national Cooperative Extension System started school-age child care (SACC) programs to promote positive youth development by providing high quality, after-school care. UC Cooperative Extension and 4-H participated in this effort, supporting SACC sites in targeted communities throughout California. This report summarizes the California portion of a national evaluation to determine if the SACC programs are having their desired effects.