The need for youth sports programs is validated and magnified by information that attributes long-term value to participants in these programs. Numerous studies document the direct value of youth participation in sports. These studies indicate a direct correlation demonstrating that involvement in sports results in reducing the potential to become involved in drugs, sex, crime, and gang-related behaviors. Research indicates the economic, social and personal value of "investing" in the development of children in a positive and constructive manner avoids the social and penal system costs that may later result.
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Nearly one in seven children aged 18 and under in the Chicago region lived below the federal poverty level in 2000. There is a wide disparity in academic achievement in the region, and some of the disparity can be correlated to household income. The supply of early childhood programs has outpaced the population growth of children under the age of 5, but the increased supply only allowed one out of three young children to enroll in those programs in 2000. (Chicago Metropolis Index Highlights, 2002). |
