Petition.

Dear Gov. Schwarzenegger, Our state has an increasingly high amount of children spending their time home alone after-school. Parents find that alone at home is their only option when taking into consideration the lack of afterschool care and the financial situation they are faced with. According to the After School Alliance Organization, between the hours of 3pm and 6pm, juvenile crimes and experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and sex is at its peak. Do we have to wait until it is too late to save our children from this? Are we expected to believe that the welfare of our children is not a priority? In 2002, your support for the After-School Education & Safety Act led to a raise in after-school funding. That was 7 years ago and it’s about time. The well being of our children depend on this. The number of children left unsupervised in the afternoons has risen from 14.3 million in 2004, to 15.1 million in 2009. California can not allow for this number to increase. Without this funding, the physical, mental, and emotional state of the state’s children are at risk. With more after-school programs readily available, their growth and development is greatly enhanced resulting in happier, healthier, and safer children. Do our state’s children not deserve that opportunity? We demand there be an increase in after-school funding in order to fulfill the drastic need for such programs across our state. Name 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Signature

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