A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Background

The National Study of Before- and After-School Programs is the first nationally representative study to document the characteristics of formal before- and after-school programs, which have grown in response to the increased need for high-quality, affordable day care. It examines the prevalence, structure, and features of formal programs that provide enrichment, academic instruction, recreation, and supervised care for children between the ages of 5 and 13 both before and after school, as well as during vacations and holidays.

Data for the study were gathered in the spring of 1991 through a computer-assisted telephone interview of more than 1,300 before- and after-school programs that were (a) center- or school-based, (b) providing a minimum of two hours of care four days per week, and (c) not operating exclusively as a drop-in program. Among the public school-related programs, a special emphasis was placed on sampling programs that serve children from lower-income families. In addition, site visits were conducted to 12 selected programs in three geographic regions of the United States to provide a deeper understanding of program operations. Findings from the full study and vignettes from the case studies of before- and after-school programs that serve low-income families follow.

Findings

Scope

• In 1991, approximately 1.7 million children, enrolled in kindergarten through grade 8, were also enrolled in 49,500 formal before- and/or after-school programs. Including both licensed and nonregulated programs, the estimated total capacity of programs meeting study criteria is 3.2 million children.

• Children enrolled in before- and/or after-school programs are overwhelmingly in prekindergarten through grade 3: 90 percent of the before-school enrollments and 83 percent of the after-school enrollments are in this age range.

• Although more programs and spaces are available in the South, utilization rates tend to be higher in programs located in the West (69 percent) than in the South (52 percent). Fewer programs/spaces are available in the Northeast and Midwest. In the Northeast, enrollment and capacity fall below potential need as indicated by population estimates.

• The majority of before-school sessions (79 percent) and after-school sessions (64 percent) enroll 30 or fewer children.

Auspices

• Nonprofit organizations operate two-thirds of before- and after-school programs. These organizations include private nonprofit organizations (19 percent); the public schools (18 percent); private schools (10 percent); private nonprofit social service or youth-serving agencies (7 percent); church or religious groups (6 percent); state, county, or local government agencies (5 percent); and other unspecified nonprofit organizations (2 percent).
• The largest single category of providers is private for-profit corporations, with 29 percent of . the programs. Other for-profit sponsors include for-profit private schools (3 percent); and other unspecified for-profit organizations (2 percent).

• Approximately half of all programs use shared space. The sharing of space is more common for programs located in public schools (67 percent) and religious institutions (60 percent) than in child- care centers (31 percent).

Mission

• The most important purpose of before- and after-school programs cited by more than three- quarters of the programs' directors is the supervision of children.

• Cited by less than half the program directors is the provision of remedial help to children having difficulty in school.

Programs for lower-income families

• Slightly more than a third (35 percent) of the programs primarily serve children from lower- income families.

• Lower-income programs are more likely to stress purposes related to the quality of life and future success of children among their primary aims. Yet their relatively greater emphasis on cultural/enrichment opportunities and remediation does not necessarily translate into an increased availability of related activities: lower-income programs do not offer activities related to the arts, field trips, team sports, or counseling to any greater degree than do higher-income programs.

Services

• Activities available on a daily basis in more than 80 percent of all programs include socializing, free time, board or card games, reading, time for homework, physically active play, and block building. Most programs (85 percent) report that children are involved in planning activities using a variety of informal methods, although children are permitted little say in how they are grouped for activities.

• Only 11 percent of programs require parent involvement, although the extent of it is not specified. Most of the programs that report any parental involvement (82 percent) rely on talking informally with parents as their mode of communication; about one-third have newsletters or send notes home with children.

Staffing

• On average, programs employ two to three senior level staff and two other staff members. Onsite directors reporting their salary on an annual basis earn an average of $19,490. The average starting wage of the most senior staff other than the director in before- and/or after-school programs is $6.77 per hour; other staff start at $5.81 per hour. Approximately 28 percent of the programs overall do not offer staff any fringe benefits. Almost 40 percent of the staff working in before- and after- school programs also have second jobs.

• More than 90 percent of onsite directors report that at least some paid staff, including themselves, have received training related to school-age children in the past year, although the extent, content, and quality of the training could not be determined.

• Almost 90 percent of staff members are women; more than 70 percent are white. Overall, the ethnic composition of the staff reflects the ethnicity of enrolled children.

• Across all programs, the average child-to-staff ratio is 8.9-to-1.

• Staff turnover rates are high in before- and after-school programs, averaging 35 percent. For those programs that experienced turnover in the last year, the average turnover rate is 60 percent.

Funding

• Income from parental fees constitutes the largest source of revenue for programs (83 percent). Most of the remaining income comes from government (local, State, and/or federal) funds (10 percent), although some form of government funding is received by only a third of all programs.

• Chapter 1 funds are being used by only 3 percent of the programs nationally and only 4 percent of the programs that primarily serve children from lower-income families.

• The average hourly fee for combined before- and after-school sessions is $1.77. Programs quoting separate fees by type of session tend to charge more per hour: $2.89 per hour for before-school and $1.96 for after-school sessions. Most parents (86 percent) pay the full fee for enrolling their children in before- and after-school programs, with a third of the programs reporting that parental fees are sometimes adjusted based on family income.

Implications of the Findings

The study draws four major implications for programs and practice.

• A systematic needs assessment of families in the community with school-age children is necessary to find out who wants, and would use, a before- and after-school program, the kinds of care they require and prefer, and what they can afford to pay.

• A major need identified in the survey data, and illuminated further in site visits, is for adequate space within facilities. In addition, staff training should be expanded from activity planning and basic health and safety to encompass learning about effective methods of interacting with children, particularly as programs strive to serve children beyond grade 3.

• Programs should be made more accessible to lower-income families. Programs remain very dependent upon parent fees for their operating revenue, and only limited funds are available from state social service agencies. These funding patterns are leading to the development of a school-age child care system that is stratified by family income.

• The relationship between schools and child care should be explored further. Public school-based programs represent only a quarter of the programs and a third of enrolled children overall. Programs sponsored by private nonprofit schools represent only an additional 10 percent. Locating a program in a school often helps solve transportation problems; minimizes costs related to rental space, staff, equipment and materials; and reduces the fee burden on lower-income families. However, if programs are expanded in the school setting, care should be taken to ensure that activities meet the needs and desires of children and their parents and are not simply extensions of the school's instructional methods and structure. Many parents prefer informal learning that emphasizes social and emotional growth.

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Last update September 1996 (swz).