The legislature hereby finds and declares the following:

(1)  There is a greater threat to public safety resulting from gang and drug-related activity in and near Rhode Island’s inner cities.

(2)  Young people, especially at-risk youth, are more vulnerable to gang and drug-related activity during the potentially unsupervised hours between the end of school and the time their parents or guardians return home from work.

(3)  Without local prevention and treatment efforts, hard drugs will continue to threaten and destroy families and communities in and near the inner cities. Drug-related violence may then escalate dramatically in every community, and thereby burden the criminal justice system to the point that it cannot function effectively.

(4)  It is the intent of the legislature that a pilot program, the “After School Alternative Program” (ASAP), be established and implemented within a specified Rhode Island community. This community program would utilize the public schools, businesses, and community facilities to provide supportive programs and activities to young people during the time between the end of school and the return home of their parents or guardians (from approximately 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.).