Abstract
Researchers have demonstrated that Black caregivers (a) are more likely than caregivers of any other race to enroll their children in after-school programs, (b) face considerable challenges finding quality after-school programs, and (c) consider family engagement to be a hallmark of quality after-school programs. To date, however, researchers have largely ignored the voices of Black caregivers about what motivates and enables them to engage with their children’s after-school programs. As a result, after-school program staff report continued challenges effectively engaging Black families. The current case study aims to address this gap in the literature using evidence from participant observations, interviews with program staff, and focus groups with caregivers from the Downtown Boxing Gym, a community-based after-school program in Detroit, Michigan that primarily serves Black youth. Results suggest caregivers were largely motivated to engage with the program because of the gains they observed in their children and themselves, causing them to feel thankful and sparking a desire to give back. Caregivers also named specific program practices that made it easier for them to participate, including explicit expectations and requests for family engagement and multiple ways for them to participate. Implications for increasing family engagement at other after-school programs are discussed.
Highlights
Let’s begin with a fact: The United States is not as safe for Black youth as it is for their nonBlack peers
The current study aimed to address some of these gaps by drawing on multiple sources of data to understand what motivates and enables Black caregivers to be engaged in one community-based after-school program
Black caregivers are more likely to enroll their children in after-school programs than caregivers of all other races, up to this point their voices have not been represented in the literature about family engagement in after-school programs
Summary
Let’s begin with a fact: The United States is not as safe for Black youth as it is for their nonBlack peers. Black youth are 1.5 times more likely to die than White youth, 1.8 times more likely to die than Latinx youth, and nearly 3 times more likely to die than Asian youth (Kids Count, 2020). Unlike their non-Black peers, one of the leading causes of death for Black youth, and especially for Black boys, is homicide (Heron, 2019), often at the hands of police (Edwards et al, 2019). While death is certainly the most severe threat Black The Journal of Youth Development is the official peer-reviewed publication of the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals and the National AfterSchool Association
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