The Kids After School program was
founded in 1990 in response to a community needs
assessment, which showed that more than 600 students in
Hutchinson Public Schools in sixth grade and younger
were going home to empty houses. Kids After School
sites, which were located at local elementary schools,
allowed parents an affordable alternative to sending
their children home alone. A site for students with
developmental disabilities at Hutchinson High School was
one of the first services of its kind in the nation.
The Boys and Girls Club of America approached the City
of Hutchinson in 1994 about forming a Club. The outcome
of the city planning meetings was the merger of the Boys
& Girls Club with the Kids After School program. Through
that merger, a respected national program was made
available to the youth of Reno County without
duplicating existing services. Boys and Girls Club
activities are available year round to kids age six to
18. More than 250 students are served through B&GC/KAS
every school day. In the summer, daily attendance at the
Boys and Girls Club is almost 300 members per day. In
2005 a total of 1190 members paid the annual membership
fee to be a Boys and Girls Club member. Our program
reaches many low to moderate income youth with
programming in Character & Leadership; Education,
Technology & Career Development; Health & Life Skills;
The Arts; and Sports, Fitness & Recreation that might
normally seem unaffordable or inaccessible to them. Case
studies show the results can be as simple as a new sense
of self-esteem and higher academic achievement among
participants, to cases as dramatic as youth being
directed away from gang involvement. Our Club offers
programming in the five core areas of: Character &
Leadership Development, Education, Technology & Career
Development, Health & Life Skills, The Arts, and Sports,
Fitness & Recreation.
According to the nationally
acclaimed Communities That Care model, the best way to
reverse the trends of alcohol, tobacco, drug use and
other negative behaviors among youth is to invest in
protective factors that act as a buffer against specific
risk factors. The factors that place youth at risk for
alcohol, tobacco and other drug use in Reno County are
identified through surveys administered by local
schools. Included among the top Reno County risk factors
were academic failure; friends that use drugs and
community norms. At the Boys & Girls Club, nationally
tested prevention programs are being used to
specifically target these local risk factors.
Intervention takes place after the
negative behavior has occurred. Whether it includes
school suspension, court services or family counseling,
intervention services are proven to be more costly and
less effective than prevention services. The key to the
Communities That Care model is to wrap preventive or
protective services around the youth, surrounding them
with a buffer and empowering them to protect themselves
from risks. The Boys & Girls Club has been identified as
one of the most effective protective services available
for youth.
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