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Afterschool Participation Grows but Unmet Demand Nears 20
Million Children
Special to The Truth
“America After 3 PM,” a
new survey commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance, finds
that participation in afterschool programs has increased
dramatically, from 6.5 million children in 2004 to 10.2
million today. Unmet demand has increased, as well. The
parents of 19.4 million children not in afterschool programs
say they would enroll their children if programs were
available.
Every day, children in
afterschool programs expand their horizons, enhance their
skills and discover their passions by programming computers,
planting gardens, cleaning up parks and playgrounds, and by
participating in many more activities that prepare them for
college, career and life. But despite an increase in
participation over the last decade, the new survey of 30,000
American households found that, for every child currently
enrolled in an afterschool program, there are two more who
are not – and whose parents would like them to be.
“I’ve seen firsthand what
reams of data have proven: Afterschool programs do
remarkable things for our children, families and
communities,” said former California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger, founder of After-School All-Stars. “They
help kids with their homework, teach them teamwork, engage
them in community service, pair them with mentors, give them
the chance to get — and stay — physically fit, engage them
in activities like rocketry and robotics that turn them on
to 21st-century professions, connect them to community
partners, and much more. We need to make an afterschool
program available to every child.”
The new “America After
3PM” survey finds that both participation in, and unmet
demand for, afterschool programs are much higher among
children from low-income households than households with
higher income, and higher among African American and
Hispanic than white children. The parents of 60 percent of
the nation’s African-American children would enroll their
children in programs if ones were available, as would the
parents of 57 percent of Latino children. The same is true
of 35 percent of white children.
“Afterschool programs help
students use the skills and information they learn in
school, while keeping them safe, inspiring them to learn,
and providing essential help to working families,” said
Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant. “While
we have made some progress, we are nowhere close to meeting
the demand for afterschool and summer programs. Too many
children are missing out on the fun, educational activities
afterschool programs offer because federal funding has been
stalled for years. It’s past time to increase our country’s
investment in afterschool.”
The benefits of
afterschool programs are clear to families. More than eight
in ten parents with children in afterschool programs say
these programs help working parents keep their jobs.
Eighty-five percent say the programs give working parents
peace of mind.
“America After 3PM, 2014”
was funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, the
Ford Foundation and the Noyce Foundation, with additional
support from the Heinz Endowments, The Robert Bowne
Foundation and the Samueli Foundation.
Courtesy StatePoint
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