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Boys & Girls Club Makes a Difference!

Targeted Outreach: An Outcome Study of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Approach to Gang Prevention and Intervention

  • Clubs kept a majority of youth engaged for 12 months, with 72% of prevention youth and 68% of intervention youth still attending Club/projects one year after being recruited. Attendance rates were high, with 52% of prevention youth and 24% of intervention youth attendance at Club/projects several times a week.
  • A majority of youth (64 percent of prevention youth and 56 percent of intervention youth) agreed or strongly agreed that they felt a sense of belonging to the Club, and 59 percent of prevention youth and 35 percent of intervention youth reported that Club activities were interesting and challenging. Most remarkably, a large majority of participating youth reported feeling safe at the Club. On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being safest, 86 percent of prevention youth and 70 percent of intervention youth rated the Club at eight or higher.

Evaluation of the B&GCA's Career Pilot Program:

  • Career Prep was designed to provide comprehensive career preparation services to youth ages 13-18, emphasizing job preparedness, placement and follow-up for 16 - 18 year olds
  • The Career Prep program placed 1,433 youth in jobs, averaging 36 placements per Club.

Thirty-Month Data and Process Findings: Evaluation of Educational Enhancement Program of B&GCA

The Educational Enhancement Program, since renamed Project Learn, is a comprehensive program strategy that strives to provide youth with opportunities to bolster their school learning through their activities in the Club and at home. Project Learn features five important components:

  • Homework help and tutoring
  • High-yield learning activities
  • Parent involvement
  • Collaboration with schools
  • Incentive

By the final data collection period, Project Learn participants had increased their:

  • Overall grade point average by 11 percent
  • Mathematics grade point average by 13 percent
  • History grade point average by 13 percent
  • Science grade point average by 10 percent
  • Spelling grade point average by 22 percent
  • Reading grade point average by 5 percent

Compared to non-Club youth, Project Learn participants had a:

  • 15 percent higher overall grade point average
  • 16 percent higher grade point average in mathematics
  • 20 percent higher grade point average in history
  • 14 percent higher grade point average in science
  • 20 percent higher grade point average in spelling
  • 9 percent higher grade point average in reading

Additionally, Project Learn participants decreased the number of days they were absent by 66 percent. Compared to non-Club youth, Project Learn youth missed 87 percent fewer days from school.

The Effects of B&GCA on Alcohol and other Drug Use and Related Problems in Public Housing:

  • For adults and youth alike, Boys & Girls Clubs appear to be associated with an overall reduction in alcohol and other drug use, drug trafficking, and other drug-related criminal activity.
  • Public housing sites with Boys & Girls Clubs, when compared to public housing sites without Boys & Girls Clubs, experienced 13 percent fewer juvenile crimes, 22 percent less drug activity and 25 percent less crack presence.