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Many of the country’s most vulnerable children and youth are not benefiting from afterschool and summer learning programs, which have a proven track record of success helping students succeed in school and in life, because these programs are in short supply in communities of concentrated poverty (CCPs). America After 3PM Special Report: Afterschool in Communities of Concentrated Poverty (August 2016).
The Afterschool Alliance’s new study identifies accessibility, affordability and perceptions as hurdles to enrollment in afterschool programs in CCPs.
Among the findings:
More than nine in ten parents in CCPs (91 percent) report that they are satisfied overall with the experiences and opportunities provided by their child’s afterschool program.Parents report that 56 percent of children in CCPs who are not in afterschool programs would be enrolled, if programs were available. That compares to 41 percent of children who are not in afterschool programs nationwide, whose parents say they would be enrolled, if programs were available.
Two in three parents living in CCPs (67 percent) report that finding an enriching environment for their child in the after school hours was a challenge, compared to 46 percent of parents living outside these communities.
Three in five parents living in CCPs (61 percent) agree that current economic conditions have made it difficult for them to afford to place their child in an afterschool program, compared to 47 percent of parents living outside these communities.
Seven in ten Hispanic (75 percent) and African-American (71 percent) children living in these communities who are not in an afterschool program would be enrolled if a program were available to them, their parents say.
Two in five parents living in a CCP (41 percent) report that their child took part in a summer learning program, compared to 33 percent of children in the United States.
Two-thirds of parents in these communities (66 percent) say they would like their child to take part in a summer learning program, compared to 51 percent of parents overall.
