At-Risk Youth do not have Adequate Afterschool Programs in the United States As we witness and analyze the complexity and diversity of society today, it is easy to forget and dismiss the relevant and ever-present needs of at-risk youth. It is also easy to forget and dismiss our ability to facilitate engagement and present opportunity. The at-risk youth are facing widespread potential for failure if they do not receive assistance and/or adequate access to intervention programs and services. Julie K. S. Sprouse, Sandra Wolf Klitzing, and Mary Parr, writers for Parks and Recreation estimate that “increasing numbers of youth are considered to be ‘at risk’. The U.S. Census Bureau in 2000 reported the youth population as 71.6 million (qtd. in Lugaila …show more content…
It is hard to see the importance of structuring prevention programs without understanding what an at-risk youth is. The law enforcement community of the City of Mukilteo, Washington summarizes an at-risk youth below: The law defines an at-risk youth as an individual under the age of 18 who is absent from home for more than 72 consecutive hours without parental consent; is beyond the control of his or her parents such that the child’s behavior substantially endangers the health, safety, or welfare of the child or any other person; or has a serious substance abuse problem for which there are no pending charges related to substance abuse (1). There are some signs that are easy to spot while dealing with at-risk youth, while others are harder to …show more content…
Again, it is important to be able to identify an at-risk youth in order to be better equipped for mitigating this population. Here are five signs to look for in an at-risk youth, according to Helping Struggling Teens.com, “The first sign is an abrupt change, the second could be instability, the third may be irresponsibility, the fourth could be divorcing parents, and a fifth sign is refusal/non-compliance” (“Top 5 Warning”). These five negative behaviors signs could manifest without warning. The five warning signs of at-risk youth can vary due to their social and economic environment; therefore; their conditions are overlooked. The at-risk youth population is already functioning at a disadvantage to other youth in more affluent communities and socioeconomic groups. The writers for the Journal of Sport & Social Issues, Brian Wilson and Philip White, state, “Implicit in the more progressive approaches is a recognition that contemporary at-risk youth differ from less vulnerable youth because of their deeply inscribed senses of powerlessness and dislocation from stable social support networks” (4). This causes a serious cost to the stakeholder while having long-term negative effects of on the at-risk youth. Preventative solutions are imperative to overcome this growing