"She uses her words and talks": Importance of After School Programs to Latino Youth and Families

Latinos are often underrepresented in positive youth development studies about the importance of after-school programs. As the Latino youth population continues to grow, the potential for after-school programs to positively benefit the home life of Latino youth and their families should be studied. Our goal in the study was to address the following question: According to parents of Latino youth, what skills transferred from after-school programs to youth, and how does the incorporation of those skills impact the family? Data are from a larger study on youth development in after-school programs. Interviews were conducted with 29 Latino parents (4 fathers, 25 mothers) of adolescents who attended ten different programs in 3 geographic areas. During the interview, parents were asked about changes they had seen in their childs emotion regulation, social activities, and responsibility development, among similar questions. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, then read and coded for specific themes. Parents descriptions of changes they had seen in their child (transfer to home) were coded and entered into a qualitative data management program (NVivo). Data was then sorted and analyzed. Preliminary analyses were based on 16 parent interviews conducted in the first year of the study. These results suggest that youth bring home responsibility, emotional regulation, and social skills, among others, that positively benefit families and, as a result, are incorporated into home life. I will continue coding year 2 interviews and add/refine codes as data become available.William T. Grant FoundationOpe