State Efforts to Assess Needs for After-School Programs
The Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit organization advocating quality after-school programs for all children, estimated that 6.5 million children are in after-school programs, but another 15.3 million children would participate in after-school programs if they were available. The National Child Care Information Center tracks, advises, and provides support for statewide after-school initiatives through a project called Afterschool Investments. Afterschool Investments reported that only 15 states have examined availability and demand for after-school programs in their state. The map below shows the states that have conducted after-school program needs assessments (as of 2004).
Read recent articles about afterschool programs in Education Week:
“House Panel Studies Ways to Boost Tutoring Under NCLB,”
Sept. 27, 2006.
“Demand to Add Academics to After-School Care Grows,”
March 8, 2006.
To build your own tables, graphs, and maps with state-level policy indicators, access the Education Counts database.