This commentary is by Monica Caserta Hutt, Vermont’s chief prevention officer.
After-school, summer and third-space programs — programs and activities that happen after school hours and away from the home space — are at their core prevention.
What does that actually mean? It means that creating safe places for children and youth to be — spaces that engage them, offer the opportunity to learn, explore, play and create connections — keeps them safe from the urge or the opportunity to engage in dangerous and risky behaviors.
In fact, the idea of a community-based approach to prevention that builds connections, skills and passions came from Iceland and is commonly referred to as the Icelandic prevention model. It is wildly successful.
From 1998 to 2023, among Iceland’s 15- and 16-year-olds, there have been substantial declines in the use of substances across the board. Those who reported being drunk in the past 30 days decreased from 42% to 6%; lifetime cannabis use from 17% to 5%; and daily smoking rates from 23% to 1%. If you’re interested, you can learn more about the IPM at PlanetYouth.org.
And the data from our own Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the Vermont Department of Health Young Adult Survey shows us that this is a critical time for Vermont to focus on prevention for our youth. National data confirms that the majority of individuals between the ages of 18 and 30 in treatment for a substance use disorder initiated engagement between the ages of 12 and 24, and 74% at or before the age of 17.
We cannot look at the epidemic of substance use and the tragedy of overdose deaths without acknowledging that the only way to truly cure that epidemic is to make sure we prevent new disorders from occurring. We have to act now and look to the future to save the lives of our children.
Successful prevention strategies for youth must occur in places and spaces in which they feel at home and connected, in addition to their homes. Recently, there has been a debate about what entities are best to manage after-school, with some believing it should fall entirely to the public school system. But in considering a tool with so much potential, we cannot limit choices. A mix of school-based and community-based spaces must all be on the table. More is better.
An array of after-school options offers access to multiple trusted adults and role models, in addition to children’s own parents and caregivers. More is better.
After-school programs can and must include diverse opportunities, offering a variety of activities so that an individual child or youth can find “their space,” identify their passion and engage. More is better.
And finally, those offerings must be accessible and available to all — safe spaces that everyone can get to and everyone can utilize so that income and geography aren’t barriers. More is better.
I celebrate the work that Vermont has done to create and support a robust structure of after-school and summer programs for our children and youth, and I look forward with hope as we build towards a future where we can offer that layer of protection universally.
When it comes to protection and prevention, more is truly better.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Monica Caserta Hutt: When it comes to after-school programs, more is better.