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Cultural Council of Indian River County <br /> After School Arts Program <br /> Children's Services Advisory Committee - Indian River County <br /> C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION (Entire Section C, 1 — 6, not to exceed two pages) <br /> 1 . List Priority Needs area addressed. <br /> Mental Wellness Issues <br /> Parental Support and Education <br /> Childcare Access <br /> 2. Briefly describe program activities including location of services . <br /> The main activities of this program are chosen to provide children and teens with tools to help <br /> them succeed to adulthood in a safe, healthy and productive manner, This program offers p <br /> creative classes in music, visual and performance arts in a variety of settings . Instructors for <br /> these classes are community artists that want to share their love of their craft with young people . <br /> Eligible children have an interest in the arts, participate in the free or reduced lunch program <br /> and/or have been referred to the program through the Student Support Specialist at their school . <br /> Some classes take place in schools, some in artist studios and others at community centers . <br /> Children placed in after school programs such as Gifford Youth Activities Center, Boys & Girls <br /> Clubs, Dasie Bridgewater Hope Center and Children' s Home Society have the opportunity to <br /> participate in these classes at their sites as well. The Teen Writer' s Workshops, held quarterly, <br /> also attract young people in off school hours, engaging them in productive activity. <br /> 3. Briefly describe how your program intends to address the stated need/problem . <br /> Include reference to any studies or evidence that indicate proposed strategies are <br /> effective with target population . <br /> Mental Wellness is the most important focus of this program. A recent report issued to the <br /> Florida Senate from the Committee on Criminal Justice in December 2002, entitled "Review <br /> Effectiveness of Juvenile Programs that use a Visual and Performing Arts-Based Intervention <br /> Approach" summarized numerous studies that illustrate the positive impact these types of <br /> programs have. Arts programs, especially ones containing mentorship opportunities and <br /> relationships to the community, influence at-risk children toward positive goals and behaviors . <br /> ( The Arts and Prosocial Impact Study, Rand, 1999 . ) Students who have been consistently <br /> involved in music and theatre exhibit higher levels of success in math and reading . (Secretary 's <br /> Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, U. S . Department of Labor, 199 1 ) A lengthy national <br /> project that studied children form low income backgrounds found that those exposed to arts <br /> learning were more likely to be class officers, involved with math and science fairs and to be <br /> recognized with a writing award , (Community Counts: How Youth Organizations Matter for <br /> Youth Development), Shirley Brice Health, Milbrey W. McLaughlin, 2000 . Exposure to arts <br /> impacts the developmental growth of children and helps to equalize the learning curve that cuts <br /> across diverse socio-economic backgrounds . (UCLA Imagination Project, Americans for the <br /> Arts, 1998) By providing arts opportunities and choices at a young age, children become <br /> motivated and engaged in this healthy outlet for expression. <br /> 6 <br />