WHY HENRY COUNTY NEEDS A BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB:
JUST A FEW REASONS…

• In 2009, there were 260 babies born to mothers ages 15-19 in Henry County. More than 3400 children ages 1-4 were enrolled in the WIC program, and over 12,000 children in the county live with a single parent.

• Educational preparation in children from birth to three years of age, who are at risk of school failure, will reduce grade retention, enrollment in special education classes, school dropout rate, and incarceration. At birth a baby’s brain is only 20% developed, by age 3 it is 80% developed.

• Boys and Girls Club activities provide positive out-of-school learning and socialization opportunities in a structured, fun environment

• On any given day in Henry County, over one thousand, 16 and 17year-olds are not in school.

• In 2010, there were 181 children who were in the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) custody in Henry County. Henry County is the only county out of 17 DFCS Regions in the state which does not have a Boys and Girls Club.

• There are over 400 active juvenile probation cases among middle and high school students.

• Approximately 75% of juvenile crimes occur between 3:00 and 7:00 pm on weekdays, and it triples in the hour after school is out. Children are also at greater risk of being victims of violent crime in the four hours after the school day ends before parents get home from work.

• Almost 25% of youth who are suspended or expelled from school will end up in the juvenile justice system. (Inside Criminal Justice, February, 2011) The average cost of incarcerating a youth in Georgia is $228.00 per day—almost $84,000 per year for EACH CHILD!

• Kids given long-term suspensions, especially high school students, often turn into drop-outs, which not only severely limits their ability to get decent employment, but, according to a paper published in the Journal of School Psychology in 1998, makes them 26% more likely to become involved in the criminal justice system than their peers.

• From a study at the Rose Institute in Claremont, CA - each dollar invested in after-school programming for an at-risk child brings a return of $8.92 to $12.90 to its community by saving on school performance costs, crime, and more.

• John J. Diluio, the first Director of the White House Office of Faith and Community Based Initiatives under President George W. Bush said, “Strategically, the key to preventing youth crime is to improve the real, live, day to day connections between responsible adults and young people – period… No policy, program or intervention that fails to build a meaningful connection between adults and at-risk young people has worked or can.”

The Henry County Board of Commissioners will be deciding on the utilization of $850,000.00 in Community Development Block Grant Funds (CDBG). If you would like to see all or a portion of these funds used towards establishing a Boys and Girls Club in areas of greatest need within the Henry County Community please contact the Henry County Board of Commissioners

Highlight “ALL” at the “Commissioner” prompt. Or call 770-288-6001 and leave a message supporting the use of CDBG dollars for the purpose of establishing a Boys and Girls Club in Henry County. Our children and youth are depending on us.

You can download the Boys and Girls Club of America Fact Sheet here.

2012 SUMMER TOUR

June 25–July 15

Pre-tour concert in
Atlanta June 24

Post-tour concert in
Houston July 15