The Pew Charitable Trusts has announced grants totaling $8.46 million over three years to forty-six Philadelphia-area organizations serving the region's most disadvantaged children and their families.

Grants ranging from $105,000 to $270,000 were awarded to nonprofits working to help young people overcome obstacles to academic success, reduce the harm that results from difficult childhood experiences such as abuse and exposure to violence, and intervene to prevent childhood problems from becoming irreversible challenges.

Grant recipients include the Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA, which was awarded $265,000 to improve the quality of home-based child care in its service area; Drexel University, which will receive $114,000 to provide training and tools for parents, teachers, and childcare providers to address the needs of children at risk of developing social, emotional, or behavioral problems; Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia, which was awarded $135,000 to provide a high-quality out-of-school academic enrichment program; and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, which will receive $200,000 to help families in the region meet their basic needs by assisting with applications for public benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid.

"Many children growing up in Philadelphia face significant challenges," said Frazierita D. Klasen, director of the Pew Fund for Health and Human Services in Philadelphia. "The statistics are sobering. Approximately 40 percent of Philadelphia's children live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, and their circumstances place a substantial number of young people at risk of doing poorly in school and developing social, emotional, and mental health problems that, absent intervention, are likely to compromise their futures."

For a complete list of grant recipients, visit the Pew Charitable Trusts Web site.