A Place To Call Home: After-School Programs For Urban Youth

''Hirsch provides a uniquely authoritative and singularly insightful analysis of the present power and future potential of after-school programs to enhance the lives of millions of American youth. This book is an invaluable resource for policymakers and practitioners.'' -- Richard M. Lerner, Director, Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University, Medford, MA

''Hirsch demonstrates convincingly that recreation and relationships are at the heart of after-school programs. Policymakers and practitioners must heed his conclusion that mentoring is what truly fosters youth development and academic achievement.'' -- Stephen F. Hamilton, Professor of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

''A Place to Call Home takes us into six Boys & Girls Clubs and helps us understand why and how they work for young people. Hirsch focuses on the worlds of the young people both inside and outside of the club, giving a deeper understanding of why these sites really are a 'second home' to many youth.'' -- Merita Irby, Managing Director, The Forum for Youth Investment, Washington, DC

Across the political spectrum, there is enormous interest in how local community organizations can help raise children who are growing up in poverty. This timely book examines the processes and outcomes at six inner-city Boys & Girls Clubs one of the leading youth development organizations in the country. Featuring critical analysis and practical guidelines from a well-known authority on early adolescence, this information-packed volume demonstrates how after-school programs emphasizing staff mentoring can provide critical resources for helping urban youth navigate the tumult of early adolescence, includes engaging stories, the voices of adolescents, examinations of their interaction with staff, and analysis of the linkage between these relationships and youth well-being, examines how savvy staff embrace positive dimensions of youth culture to enhance program effectiveness, includes specific guidelines for how these types of after-school programs can build on what they do best, including how to incorporate selected aspects of more structured approaches, investigates how gender shapes after-school programs, and much, much more!