Every child deserves access to high-quality afterschool and summer programs. These opportunities provide holistic support essential for children’s healthy development and thriving. Out-of-school (OST) programs also ease the burden for parents, reducing their stress as they juggle the demands of work and parenting.
Yet despite these benefits, not all families have access to these programs.
Demand is High but Often Unmet
The new Afterschool Alliance, America After 3pm report finds that many more parents across the country would like to enroll their children in after-school than are able to do so. The demand for afterschool programs is rising among low and middle-income families, parents of color, and parents in urban communities. America After 3pm survey data showed that:
- More than half (53%) of low-income parents whose children were not already enrolled in afterschool programs say they would like to enroll them.
- Sixty percent of Black parents and 65% of Hispanic parents whose children were not already enrolled in afterschool programs would like to enroll them.
- In Pennsylvania, four out of five parents with children not currently enrolled in after-school would enroll them if a program were available.
America After 3pm clearly demonstrates that parents want more afterschool opportunities. But persistent and systemic barriers block access to OST programs, and these barriers are enduring.
Persistent Barriers to Access Nationally and in Philadelphia
The America After 3pm report sheds light on key barriers to OST program access. These barriers are the same barriers that Research for Action’s (RFA) identified for Philadelphia caregivers in research conducted eight years ago. The barriers include:
Cost: Parents in Philadelphia and nationally identified affordability as the top barrier to enrolling their children in programs, suggesting that more free and low-cost programs are needed.
Location: Free and low-cost programs may exist but not be geographically accessible. In Philadelphia and nationally, parents reported a lack of programs near home or their children’s school.
Transportation: Nationally, America After 3pm survey respondents reported a lack of safe ways to get to and come home from the after-school programs.
Hours: Parents in Philadelphia and nationally could not find programs with hours that aligned with their schedules.
Available programs and program seats: Parents around the country and in Philadelphia reported that existing programs had waiting lists or were generally not available.
Awareness of opportunities: Parents in Philadelphia also identified lack of information about opportunities, particularly for summer programs, as a barrier. Additionally, existing information was not often available languages other than English.
Beyond access, parents in Philadelphia described selection criteria for OST programs, seeking programs that were safe, high quality, and staffed by caring, attentive adults.
Why do access barriers persist?
The most obvious barrier to expanding access to OST programs is funding. Since the time of RFA’s original research, Philadelphia has made efforts toward addressing this issue. While COVID-era resources have disappeared, new investments and initiatives have emerged in the city, school district, state, and with private foundations. We do not know what Philadelphia caregivers would say today about barriers to access today but the America After 3pm report suggests that many of these barriers are likely to persist.
Another critical challenge is centralized data. Cities need centralized data to deploy existing resources equitably and understand if and how new investments are closing access gaps. In Philadelphia, OST program data is largely fragmented across multiple datasets maintained by public funders and systems. Many smaller, neighborhood-based providers are not connected to these systems at all, leaving additional gaps in understanding where programs exist and where more are needed.
What’s Next in Philadelphia: How Data Can Be Part of the Solution
Philadelphians are aware of the data challenge and would like to find new ways to address it. RFA hopes to contribute to this effort through a new study, Every Child, Every Neighborhood: The Philadelphia OST Access Study, funded by the William Penn Foundation. This study will:
- Estimate demand for OST programs based on where children live and where they go to school.
- Map existing programs to assess supply by age group, program type, and zip code.
- Compare the potential supply and demand to highlight where gaps persist.
- Provide actionable insights to foster a conversation among funders, policymakers, and practitioners about expanding access.
Parents want after-school programs and children need safe and enriching spaces to thrive. This study will offer data that can help ensure that every child in every neighborhood has access. Stay tuned for future updates as we share what we are learning about gaps in access to OST programs across the city.