With most children now living in families with a single parent or both parents working outside the home, lack of supervision during the summertime is a serious and growing problem.
Statistics reveal that, across the country, four million children between the ages of 5 and 12 spend time without adult supervision on a regular basis.
Low income children being raised by a single mother were more likely to spend time unsupervised by adults. The implications of this lack of supervision and support when school is not in session are grave.
Children without proper supervision are at significantly greater risk of truancy, poor grades, risk-taking behavior and substance abuse. Unsupervised children are less likely to graduate high school and be prepared to enter employment and higher educational opportunities. As a result, instead of growing into a contributing workforce, they become a drain on society's resources.
For children and youths, time outside of school represents more than a period of higher risk. It also represents missed opportunities--lost hours that could be filled with activities to help children and teens build their skills and prepare to be productive and successful adults. Without support from the community, these children are potentially exposed to violence and crime and are presented with many more opportunities to experiment with risky activities and substances like cigarettes, drugs and alcohol.
The challenge, while daunting, is not overwhelming. Research and experience have shown that there is a solution. All that is needed is the will and the investment. Quality summer break programs can help children improve their performance in school and increase the ability to cooperate and collaborate with others. They can also enhance work productivity by giving working parents peace of mind, knowing that their children are safe and supervised until the workday ends.
As a part of their program at RFI, mothers are often at work or at school during the day. Alumni and graduates of the program stay connected with RFI throughout the year as a touchstone of support and community.
RFI strives to offer a summer school program for the children of residents and alumni who would otherwise be left unsupervised after the school year ends. The Rainbow Family's Summer School Program will provide a variety of services to children, such as transportation, nutrition, activities, and educational field trips.
- Transportation: RFI staff will provide transportation to and from any appointments or extracurricular activities that the children have scheduled.
- Nutrition: RFI will provide breakfast, lunch and snacks for the children, and will ensure that the food offerings are healthy and nutritional.
- Activities: Indoor games and outdoor sporting activities will be organized, as well as camping trips, and visits to local amusement parks.
- Educational Field Trips: Trips to include libraries, museums, exploratoriums, and special events.
By providing a summer school program, RFI aims to improve the lives and outcomes of young people by providing a supervised and values-driven environment during summer vacation and when the mother is unable to care for her child because she is working or attending school herself. By providing children with a structured, and playful environment with adult supervision, RFI strives to keep children sheltered from negative societal influences. In such an environment, children are more inclined to have positive social interactions, and to improve their performance in school year after year.
