Four Million Black Children Need Afterschool Programs

Summary

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* The availability of afterschool programs has improved in the last five years, and African-American families are taking good advantage. But overall availability of afterschool is not keeping pace with rising need and demand. Twenty-four percent of African-American children are enrolled in an afterschool program-surpassing the rate of enrollment of children in the general population-15 percent. Importantly, the number and percentage of children participating in afterschool programs has increased significantly in the last five years, with 8.4 million children now participating. That compares with 6.5 million children in 2004 (11 percent). But for African-American families, the percentage of parents who say they would enroll their children in a program if one were available has also gone up-by a lot-from 53 percent in 2004 to 61 percent in 2009.

* The economic downturn is taking a toll on African-American families' care'arrangements for their children. African-American parents are feeling the impact of the economic downturn more severely than parents in general. Half of African-American parents (49 percent) report that the economy has affected how they care for their children after school (compared to 41 percent overall) and 51 percent say it has affected their ability to pay for care (compared to 46 percent overall). Pour in 10 (41 percent) African-American parents say their children are spending less time in the care of someone other than a parent after school this year compared to last, which is somewhat greater than the 31 percent reported by parents overall. The primary reason for less outside care is that the parent is no longer working outside the home.

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Four Million Black Children Need Afterschool Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Despite an increase in the number of children attending afterschool programs over the last five years, today more than a quarter of the nation's schoolchildren are on their own in the afternoons, and the parents of 18 million children say they would enroll their kids in afterschool programs ...

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