Models of After-School treatment programs as agents of empowerment

In Israel, community programs have been set up with the purpose of improving the functioning and empowerment of school-age children (6–12) who are raised in recognized “multiproblem” families. The most common are after-school programs that combine therapy and education. The community after-school treatment programs enable the children to continue to live at home; they spend the daytime hours in frameworks designed for them and return home in the evening. The purpose of the research is to examine whether there are differences among children at-risk who are treated in three different models of after-school treatment programs, in terms of variables related to their empowerment. Each model represents a different style of leadership: after-school programs led by women only, after-school programs run by a mixed-gender co-team (one man and one woman), and after-school programs held in private homes under the leadership of the woman of the house. The research findings indicate differences among the children treated in the three models of after-school programs in terms of the variables related to their empowerment. The after-school programs led by a man and a woman were found to be the most empowering. Three variables contribute to these differences: psychological empowerment, self-esteem, and satisfaction with the after-school program. No differences were found among the groups with regard to involvement of the children in the after-school treatment program.