As the children head back to school in this region and throughout the nation, a survey recently released by the Afterschool Alliance reports that, amid a rocky economic climate and budget-tightening at the local, state, and federal levels, many after-school programs face shrinking resources and uncertain prospects even as they are already struggling to meet the needs of children and families in their communities. Programs that principally serve minority communities have been especially hard hit.
Nearly two in five after-school programs (39 percent) report that their budgets are in worse shape today than at the height of the recession in 2008, and more than three in five (62 percent) report that their funding is down “a little or a lot” from three years ago. That leaves many after-school programs – which provide children with a safe and supervised space, hands-on educational opportunities, and access to homework help, mentors and other caring adults – unable to fully support the children in their communities who are most in need of after-school now, and without the financial security to do so in the future.
The results are part of the Afterschool Alliance’s Uncertain Times survey project. The Afterschool Alliance previously conducted Uncertain Times surveys in 2006 and 2009.
“The latest Uncertain Times results are a painful reminder that the nation’s slow road to economic recovery is a particularly rough journey for the afterschool programs that children, families and educators rely on,” said Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance, in a prepared statement. “These programs are not a luxury; they’re vital to a bright future for children all across the country. What’s particularly discouraging is that programs most in need – those serving minority and high-poverty communities – are hurting the most. That means the students they serve are at risk of being denied access to afterschool programs, which keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families.”
Among other key findings of the new Uncertain Times survey:
- Nearly nine in ten programs (88 percent) report that children in their communities need after-school care but are unable to access it.
- More than half of programs (57 percent) report that their budgets are inadequate to meet the needs of their communities, close to a 10-point increase from 2009.
- Nearly one in four programs (24 percent) report that they would need to at least double capacity to meet the needs of all the kids in their communities.
- Sixteen percent of programs report that a loss of funding caused major cutbacks or shut down sites, up from 14 percent in 2009.
- More than eight in ten programs (85 percent) anticipate that the challenging economic climate will affect their programs during the 2012-2013 school year.
To view the full 2012 survey, please visit:
Additional information:
Uncertain Times 2012: Summer Learning Fact Sheet
Background information:
New England City & Town: Education Issues: After-school Programs
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