Age range

Website: www.bgcma.org/index.asp

Mission/Goals: To provide a quality developmental program which empowers metro Atlanta youth, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to become productive adults.

Other Relevant Information: Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta offers a wide range of programs that focus on health, education, and employability.

Note: While the above evaluation did not include Atlanta programs, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta lists (on its website) the following outcomes for participants of programs in Atlanta Clubs from non-experimental studies:

1) 87 percent of Club members graduate from high school compared with a national average of 66 percent; 25 percent of those members finish college, relative to the 16 percent national average.
2) In neighborhoods with Boys & Girls Clubs, teen pregnancy and arrests related to substance abuse decrease by as much as 50 percent. Of at-risk youth referred to Clubs, 94 percent have no further encounter with the law. 84 percent of Club members have learned about drug and alcohol prevention through Club programs.
3) 85 percent of teen members learned about abstaining from premature sex through Club programming. Only 26 percent of Club members report having had sex - compared with the national average of 53 percent.

Source(s): www.bgcma.org/index.asp

Type of Evaluation: Quasi-Experimental.

Note: The research sample did not include Atlanta programs.

Objective: This evaluation sought to examine the effects of a non-school educational enhancement program (part of Boys & Girls Club) on school performance among economically disadvantaged early adolescents who live in public housing.

Impact/Outcomes: After 30 months, greater engagement and enjoyment in reading, verbal skills, writing, and tutoring, plus greater enjoyment in geography, were found for program youth compared to the comparison group, and for the comparison group compared to the non-BGC control group.