By Maja Pehrson
Last year, we wrote about the importance of preserving dedicated federal funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program (21C) as it faced the threat of elimination. 21C is the only federal funding source exclusively dedicated to Out-of-School Time (OST) programming, providing vital services before and after school and during the summer for children attending high poverty schools.
In early April, for the second year in a row, the Administration proposed zeroing out stand-alone funds for 21C, a move that would consolidate it with 16 other programs and reduce combined funding by over $4 billion. This means that 21C programs are again at risk, despite research showing their benefits and evidence that funding would need to increase, not just continue, to meet demand and support high-quality programming.
What is at stake?
Currently, 21C funding supports nearly 10,000 programs serving 1.4 million youth across the country. Programs provide academic enrichment as well as a range of additional enrichment opportunities, focusing on areas such as career readiness, STEM, the arts, violence prevention, athletics, and nutrition.
What does RFA know from the field?
Through
- Safe environments that support youth well-being. At programs run by the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, staff provide youth with designated space to decompress, community circles, and a student‑run anti‑violence initiative, where youth lead discussions, support peers, and build a sense of safety and belonging after school.
- Engaging enrichment and career‑connected learning. Young people in Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) programs engage in career‑connected learning through partnerships with local universities, participating in hands‑on STEM activities, guest speaker sessions, and experiential learning that introduces college pathways and real‑world careers.
- Family engagement. At Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership (PAEP), families are invited into learning through arts showcases that celebrate youth work, paired with workshops, such as sessions on youth mental health and neurodiversity, designed in direct response to caregiver feedback collected through on-site surveys.
While these examples don’t capture the full range of 21C programming, they illustrate some of the ways in which providers translate public investment into concrete supports for young people and families.
What does broader evidence show?
It is not just researchers who see the value in these programs. The latest America After 3pm report from the Afterschool Alliance shows that parents recognize the benefits of afterschool programming. Most parents, including those who have a child in a program and those who do not, report that these programs help keep youth safe, develop a range of skills, and more actively engage in school. Among those who have a child who do participate, satisfaction is high, as parents see how programs help youth develop foundational skills and build their confidence.
Yet access to programs is limited. The same report details how high demand is and how much of it is unmet, with an overwhelming three in four children missing out. This comes to over 20 million children not in programming whose parents would otherwise enroll them if they had access. Unmet demand for programming among This opportunity gap could be directly addressed by expanding 21C, as funds are distributed to programs serving students from high-poverty schools.
Why does uncertainty matter?
Given the high need and public support for these programs, Congress ultimately rejected the Administration’s proposal to eliminate funds last year through bipartisan backing. Yet the funding instability was not without consequences, as we heard from providers about the adverse effects on staffing, planning, partnerships, family communication, and program continuity. Now, as Congress considers education funding for Fiscal Year 2027, the policy question is not only whether 21C survives another budget cycle, but whether providers, families, and young people can count on the stable federal investment needed to sustain quality programming and meet demand.
What does the evidence suggest for decision-makers?
The evidence points to a clear policy implication: preserving dedicated 21C funding is necessary, but not sufficient. If policymakers want afterschool and summer programs to provide safe, enriching, relationship-centered learning opportunities, particularly in communities with fewer resources, then funding must be stable enough for providers to plan, hire, partner, and improve.
Afterschool and summer programs are not peripheral supports; evidence suggests that, for many families, they are part of the infrastructure that makes learning, work, safety, enrichment, and youth development possible. While preserving dedicated 21C funding is an immediate evidence-backed priority, building a more stable and sustainable funding approach is the longer-term challenge. Without that stability, providers are forced to plan around uncertainty—and children and families bear the cost.
Research Sources
This article synthesizes findings from the following peer-reviewed studies, evaluations, and research reports:
Benefits of Out-of-School Time programming:
- Dearing, E., Bustamante, A. S., Zachrisson, H. D., & Vandell, D. L. (2024). Accumulation of opportunities predicts the educational attainment and adulthood earnings of children born into low‑ versus higher‑income households. Educational Researcher, 53(9), 496–507. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X241283456
- Levine, R. S., & Viano, S. (2025). Promising practices of out‑of‑school time programs for low‑income adolescents: A systematic review. Journal of Adolescence, 97(5), 1145–1160. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12506
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2025). The future of youth development: Building systems and strengthening programs. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27833
Benefits of 21st Century Community Learning Centers programming:
- Afterschool Alliance. (2023, July). Recent evaluations of 21st Century Community Learning Centers illustrate wide range of benefits (ED633896). ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED633896.pdf
- S. Department of Education. (2024). 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) analytic support for evaluation and program monitoring: An overview of the 21st CCLC performance data: 2022–2023 (19th report). Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. https://www.ed.gov/media/document/21st-cclc-annual-performance-report-92724-108033.pdf
Demand for afterschool programming:
- Afterschool Alliance. (2025). Lost opportunity: Afterschool in demand, but out of reach for many. America After 3PM. https://afterschoolalliance.org/documents/AA3PM-2025/AA3PM-Lost-Opportunity-Afterschool-in-Demand-But-Out-of-Reach-for-Many-Full-Report-2025.pdf