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Boys and Girls Club presents plan to expand after‑school programs to every county; emphasizes partnerships and affordability
Summary
Carter Clark, president and CEO, told the committee the Boys and Girls Club aims to scale from about 145 current sites to more than 500 sites statewide in five years, citing current metrics and plans to partner with schools and DSS to maintain licensing and affordability.
Carter Clark, president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Club, told the Committee on Children he aims to scale after‑school youth development programs across South Carolina — from about 145 current locations to more than 500 sites in five years — and said the organization will focus on quality, partnerships with schools and affordability.
Clark said the organization currently serves "a little over 25,000 kids a year, a little over 12,000 a week, and we're in 145 locations, 26 school districts in 20 counties across South Carolina." He added, "We have challenged ourselves to try to figure out how to get to 500 programs in the next 5 years, bringing high quality, affordable aftercare programs" to communities that lack them.
Clark described program outcomes the organization tracks: he said 87 percent of participating children are on the honor roll, 96 percent are on track to graduate and 90 percent participate in community service. He said programs include structured academic and youth‑development curricula, job training for teens and continuity into teen centers for older youth.
Committee members asked about potential overlap with school-run after‑school programs and transportation. Clark said the model is typically a partnership, not a replacement: the Boys and Girls Club provides structured programming and in some cases pays rent to schools or helps with transportation. Clark also said the organization uses the state's Working Families Scholarship and other resources to keep services affordable and that "a child has never turned away for the inability to pay." The Department of Social Services representative noted many sites are licensed by DSS and participate in ABC Quality.
Members asked about the main constraints on scaling. Clark identified two choke points: staffing and the capacity of DSS to process licensing and site reviews quickly enough to match the organization's planned scale. He said some school districts provide transportation or other support; others do not. Clark said the program aims to increase access to high‑quality aftercare as a workforce and community development strategy.
