Service as a Strategy in Out-of-School Time: A How-To Manual

Out-of-school time (OST) programs are being developed to provide safe places and constructive after-school activities for children and youth from families in which a single parent or both parents work and neither parent would be home after school. This manual is intended to help program directors, child care providers, service members, school administrators, and leaders of community-based organizations to effectively integrate service in the development and implementation of OST programs. The manual discusses quality OST programs, highlights effective practices, discusses service and service-learning activities for children and youth in OST, and lists resources and contacts. Discussions among practitioners and researchers in the emerging fields of service and OST have developed a body of knowledge about what makes a high quality program, and some of these efforts to define quality standards are summarized. Existing service programs are presented as examples of effective practices that incorporate service and out-of-school time activities.