Programs: After-School Programs

The Afterschool Alliance reports that 14.3 million school-age children are responsible for taking care of themselves after school. Only 6.5 million children currently participate in after-school programs, but another 15.3 million children would participate in after-school programs if they had access to high-quality programs. Children who are unsupervised after school are at higher risk of getting poor grades, abusing drugs or alcohol, engaging in sexual activity, and becoming the victims of crime. They are also missing out on extended learning opportunities and additional opportunities to build positive relationships with caring adults in safe environments.

National PTA supports federal and state incentives for high-quality child-care and preschool programs that are affordable and accessible; coordinated at all levels (federal, state, and local); flexible enough to provide services that reflect local needs; planned, implemented, and evaluated with parent involvement; and characterized by high standards for caregiver and teacher training as well as for health and safety.

Third Party Resources

Afterschool.gov: Connecting afterschool providers to federal resources

SafeYouth.org: Afterschool program fact sheet

Concept to Classroom: Workshop on afterschool programs

Afterschool Alliance