Behavior Supports in OST

Effective group management skills, especially those related to behavior, are consistently seen as critical in promoting regular participation, engagement and learning in out-of-school time activities. Unfortunately, most programs do not have integrated behavior management systems in place, and even when they do, these systems are often ineffective. This is due to a variety of challenges programs face every day: high staff turnover rates and insufficient training; children who are both physically and emotionally tired after their school day; and constantly changing conditions, including the number and mix of kids or limitations of space. OST workers need proper training and referral information to work with families when a child needs to be assessed for mental health supports. Developing staff competencies in addressing these problems has a lasting effect on children and has real benefits on the quality and sustainability of out-of-school time providers. Moreover, research-based models for inclusion and promoting positive behavior have a community value that must be recognized by policymakers and funders who decide on whether or not to invest in afterschool programs.

There is a very real social cost when afterschool programs struggle with behavior management. Often, youth are expelled, voluntarily withdrawn or referred to another program if available. In our experience, many programs view behavior management as intervention for youth who are “at-risk” rather than a program-wide approach. “Get tough” strategies, including punishment, exclusion and containment, are ineffective and reduce the ability of a child to benefit from positive social interaction with staff and other children. These outcomes are not only destructive they are unnecessary. Research suggests that children and youth, including those who need mental health services, will show measurable improvement in areas of behavioral adjustment when they are in supportive environments that promote positive social behavior.

Looking forward, it is clear that there are very real challenges. We need strong policies that support consistent funding to provide opportunities for staff development in behavioral training, more appropriate staff-to-child ratios and better systems for addressing children’s mental health issues. Sustained technical assistance is critical to foster long-term benefits for all children in out-of-school time programs. We need to support efforts to define and nurture a statewide professional workforce development system that identifies core competencies every youth worker needs to succeed and establishes well-defined pathways for career advancement. We need to continue to promote accreditation as a viable and sustainable path for organizations seeking to enhance the quality of their programs. Developing strong networks enables individual programs to leverage resources through collective power. We need to create capacity within the field to promote mentoring and support structures between programs so that the knowledge being generated in the field is shared. When we truly utilize the power of our community and networks to address these common issues, we will be better able to create lasting change.

Lastly, we need to think of all out-of-school time quality initiatives as an integrated system of program and staff development. We cannot separate a program’s ability to engage families from its skill in including children with disabilities, its use of space, or its efforts to promote positive behavior. All of these competencies are linked to broader systemic issues that need to be continually reinforced so that quality programming can be sustained for all children.

A Good System for Children and Youth

Too often the discussions around what constitutes a comprehensive system of out-of-school time supports for children and youth revolves around data collection, accountability measures, and quality rating systems. It is important that we shift this dialogue to focus more squarely on the needs of youth, the needs of families and the needs of communities. Data and outcome measures should be a part of a system, but they should be secondary to what are really at the core of a good system for children and youth--quality youth programs and quality youth workers.

Recently, the deep structural problems with the Massachusetts state budget have become more clear. These problems, moreover, transcend the immediate and growing budget deficit that is necessitating deep and lasting cuts to critical state services. At a recent forum at The Boston Foundation, Barry Bluestone of Northeastern University and Michael Goodman of the University of Massachusetts illuminated a variety of issues that will continue to impact the state budget process in the coming years.

Between January 2008 and January 2009, Massachusetts lost about 72,000 jobs, 68,000 in the last quarter alone. The projections of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy are anticipating a total of about 150,000 job loses for the state before the environment improves. Driven by an increasingly tight job market and high housing prices, Massachusetts lost over 300,000 people since 2000, further reducing revenues coming into the state. Most people leaving are between 24 and 54 years old, meaning that we are a rapidly aging population that will require more expensive services in the near future. Currently, over 40% of the state budget goes to debt service and pensions, and this could rise to nearly 70% by 2018 if we do not address these problems. Moreover, the cost of state services is rapidly rising while the ability of the public to access those services and recieve value is shrinking.

As Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo has recent stated, the federal stimulus bill will not address these problems. They are too deep for the flow of stimulus money to do anything more than fill some of the gaps until that money runs out in the next two years. What does all this mean for the children and youth of the Commonwealth?

The economists and others at the forum advocated for investments in two key areas: people and place. In the view of the group we need to invest aggressively in the skills and health of the people who stay in Massachusetts and in the quality of life here. Quality environments for children and youth to learn, have fun, and develop into productive, engaged citizens are critical to the future viability of the state. Investments in youth programs stimulate economic growth in communities in a way that investing in large education systems do not. Community-based youth programs are small businesses that are traditionally the key drivers of economic growth in our country. These programs not only provide children and families valuable supports, but also provide employment opportunities for local youth and adults and a pathway not only to future employement opportunities but also higher education. They also improve the quality of life for so many residents who both need child care options and want to provide their children with enriching informal learning and positive socialization.

A good system for children and youth adds value to our communities and to our state. In includes innovative schools and innovative youth programs that are not necessarily aligned or seamless, but complimentary. A good system for children and youth would drive more resources into improving program quality and developing an effective workforce than into data systems and processes that do not address needs. A good system for children and youth recognize that outcomes are a shared responsiblity and cumulative over time. If we invest in education and healthy youth development in a way that values the diversity of supports children and youth need we will begin to see results. And these results will be more than academic achievement, they will be healthier communities, high graduation rates, lower crime rates, employment opportunities and the chance to have a voice in civic life.

A colleague who has worked with youth in Boston for many decades perhaps said it best when he noted that a good system must start with the goal "to make every minute we spend with children a good minute."