Child Poverty in America Andrew Oostdyk

Direct Issue: Children Living in Poverty One in Three children in the U.S. live in poverty U.S. ranks 36th out of 41 wealthy countries in poverty rate The United States is the richest country in the world

Effected Issues & Consequences Education Juvenile Crime

The Boys and Girls Club of America 4,000 Boys & Girls Clubs across the country, one-third are located in schools Boys & Girls Clubs comprise one of the largest community-based youth development organizations in the world. Boys & Girls Clubs serve 4.2 million youth Offer youth development programs, determined by local necessity and available resources, to meet the interests and needs of young people ages 6-18

Education among impoverished youth 66% of all U.S. fourth graders scored "below proficient" on the 2013 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) reading test = are NOT reading at grade level 80% of students from incomes below the poverty line are NOT reading at grade level Children that live below the poverty line are 1.3 times more likely to have developmental delays or learning disabilities than those who don’t live in poverty. 1 in 5 kids in America will not graduate from high school

BGCA Impact - Education Two major academic programs: Project Learn, SPARK Early Literacy Initiative Project Learn participants: Increased their overall grade point average by 11% Increased their spelling grade point average by 22% Missed 87% fewer days in school *Compared with non-Boys & Girls Club youth SPARK Early Literacy Initiative (400 students): Those reading at grade level improved from 23 to 84 percent Comprehension levels improved from 19 to 75 percent *400 participants during a full school year

Juvenile Crime In 2010, there were 225 arrests for Violent Crime Index offenses for every 100,000 youth between 10 and 17 years of age. Violent crime committed by juveniles peaks during the after school hours. Nearly one-third (29%) of all violent crime committed by juveniles occurs between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. 11.3 million kids in the U.S. are left unsupervised daily

BGCA Impact – Juvenile Crime Boys & Girls Clubs – provide refuge for youth during the critical out-of-school hours (3 to 7p.m.) All facilities are open during the summer A report from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention suggests that out-of-school time programs have more potential to reduce juvenile crime than curfews for juveniles.

What I Did / BGCA Impact on the Common Good "We face a choice between a society where people accept modest sacrifices for a common good or a more contentious society where group selfishly protect their own benefits." – Robert J. Samuelson (Common Good, 2014) Has consistently provided an effort over the last 100 years to assist under privileged youth. Provides academic and social support through specified programs along with day-to-day attention. Intends to keep kids focused on a future and provides opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable.

Sources/Works Cited 8 Currie, Janet. "Poverty Among Inner-City Children." Princeton Publications. Accessed March 1, 2014. "Children of the Recession: The Impact of the Economic Crisis on Child Well-being in Rich Countries." UNICEF-IRC. Web. 29 Apr. 2016. "Child Poverty in the U.S. Is among the Worst in the Developed World." Washington Post. The Washington Post. Web. 29 Apr. 2016. The Common Good." - Ethical Decision Making. 2 Aug. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. "CrimeSolutions.gov." Topic: Juveniles -. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. "Solutions to the Crisis?" Times of Crisis: What the Financial Crisis Revealed and How to Reinvent Our Lives and Future (n.d.): n. page. 2010. Web. 25 June 2016. "Statistics About Education in America." StudentsFirst.org. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.