After-school programs for middle-schoolers could lose funding.
Started in 1994, the Support Our Students program has provided grants to provide after-school programs to at-risk kids. It is currently administered by the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice.
The $5.9 million program is among 20 that Gov. Beverly Perdue proposed eliminating as part of her $21 billion budget.
During the 2007-08 fiscal year, the program served 14,333 youth in programs run in 92 counties by local schools and nonprofits. Programs include homework, conflict management skills and recreational activities such as basketball.
"We know the prime time for juvenile crime is between 3 and 6 o'clock, right after school," Juvenile Justice spokesman William Lassiter said.
An annual evaluation of the program conducted by an outside agency found that 86 percent of surveyed youths said it helped them do better in school and nearly half improved their math and language arts grades.
Only 1.3 percent were involved in the juvenile justice system at year's end.
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