Despite the potential benefits of afterschool programs, much of the related research has been limited to an examination of only their immediate or short-term effects. The LA's BEST afterschool program has been in operation for more than 20 years, providing researchers with a unique opportunity to explore the long-term effects of afterschool programming. This study examined the dropout rates of the LA's BEST afterschool participants and compared them to a stratified random district sample that was matched to the characteristics of the afterschool students. The results indicated that students who had participated in the afterschool program for at least three years showed a significantly lower dropout rate than the district students overall.

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This study describes how staff qualifications, decisions on staffing procedures, and professional development opportunities support the recruitment and retention of quality staff members. Four high-functioning programs were identified. Qualitative procedures and instruments were designed to capture staff and parents' emic perspectives about relationships and professional development. Study findings revealed that all staff across the four afterschool programs consistently reported an intrinsic reason for working in their program. Interview data implied that program incentives such as a career ladder and an ascending pay scale were not enticing enough to recruit or retain staff. The decisions to stay with a program tend to be altruistic in nature, such as to provide academic, social, or emotional support for the students. Thus, at these four programs, the motivation for the staff to stay with the programs could be the organized environments, clear program structures, open communication, clear program goals, consistent expectations, positive relationships, and program climates that foster staff efficacy in "making a difference" in their students' lives. Thus, promoting strategies in enhancing staff efficacy, such as empowering staff with decision-making and providing professional development opportunities to enhance their professional skills could help programs to recruit and retain quality staff members.