[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 140 (Tuesday, September 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S5911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                            AFTER SCHOOL Act

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, it is September, which means that, 
across the country, America's 54 million K-12 students are starting the 
new school year. For so many parents and students, this is an exciting 
time, with new classes and teachers and projects and friends and 
opportunities for academic success. But for too many others, the new 
school year brings a growing risk, and that is juvenile crime.
  Across the country, 64 percent of violent juvenile crime happens on 
school days, peaking between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. At a time when violent 
juvenile crime is rising across the country, I know many communities, 
including in Tennessee, are looking to the new year with apprehension.
  After years of steadily declining juvenile crime, in 2023, Shelby 
County saw a staggering 4,546 juvenile charges. Now, that is up 37 
percent from 2021, and that spike in Memphis follows spikes we are 
seeing in cities like Washington, DC, and New York City, where the 
average age of a carjacking suspect last year was 15 years old.
  Now, young people are facing little supervision at the end of the 
schoolday and before their parents get home from work, and they are 
being lured into gangs that plague cities with theft, drug dealing, and 
murder. In Memphis, there are at least 30 criminal gangs that are out 
recruiting children as young as 8 years old into their operations.
  Every young American and Tennessean deserves the opportunity to 
succeed and avoid the dangers of criminal activity, and Congress has an 
incredible opportunity to help ensure that. Alongside Senator Cortez 
Masto, I have introduced the AFTER SCHOOL Act, which would create a 
grant program administered through the Justice Department for local 
communities like Memphis to establish, maintain, and strengthen 
afterschool programs with the goal of reducing violent crime among 
juveniles.
  Time and again, afterschool programs--ranging from athletics and 
tutoring to music and volunteer work--have proven to be successful at 
keeping young children out of trouble and focused on their own personal 
development. Across two different studies conducted by researchers at 
the University of Chicago, afterschool programs helped reduce arrests 
among at-risk teens by 28 to 35 percent and violent crime by 45 to 50 
percent. Recidivism rates among participants, meanwhile, fell 21 
percent.
  At the same time, studies have shown that afterschool programs 
improve behavior in class, decrease the likelihood of drug abuse, and 
promote academic success. The success of these programs is a big reason 
why the Memphis City Council unanimously endorsed and supported this 
bipartisan legislation.
  With juvenile crime on the rise, the lives of countless young 
Tennesseans and Americans are at stake, and I call on all of my 
colleagues to support the AFTER SCHOOL Act to secure a brighter future 
for our Nation's youth.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Markey). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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