FARMINGTON — U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd warned Saturday that the failure to develop comprehensive after-school programs places not just children, but the nation as a whole at risk.

Speaking before nearly 300 delegates of the Connecticut After School Network symposium, Dodd hailed their efforts and told the delegates he uses Connecticut’s programs “as a model for national after-school programs.”

Dodd is chairman of the Children and Families Subcommittee and is also the founder and co-chairman of the Children’s Caucus in the Senate.

In his remarks to the delegates, Dodd painted an alarming picture of the continuing need for such programs, and underscored the risks if those needs are not met.

Every school day, Dodd said, an estimated 14 million children go home to a house without any adult supervision.

That number includes 40,000 kindergarteners,Dodd said.

As the father of two girls, ages 3 and 7, the state’s senior senator said, “I find that frightening.”

The total also includes 4 million middle school students, he said.

Left on their own, he said, children, particularly middle school children, run the risk of falling victim to “inappropriate behavior, drug and gang activity and promiscuous behavior.”

It is, he suggested, “a tragedy waiting to happen.”

And it is a problem with consequences for the nation, Dodd cautioned.

Dodd said it is his belief that if children fall behind for a decade, then America will fall behind for a century.

After-school programs present a unique opportunity, according to Dodd.

“It can be a time to develop new skills. It’s a time for growth and learning, not just a custodial environment,” Dodd added.

Of course, he acknowledged, the key to developing comprehensive programs is funding. And that is especially a matter of concern “in the times we are in.”

However, there is another way to measure the need to fund after-school programs, he argued.

“In the U.S., the average parent misses eight work days [a year] because of the absence of after-school programs.”

The cost of those missed work days? An estimated $300 billion, Dodd said.

“Developing after-school programs is not just a good investment,” he said. “it’s a smart investment.”

Dodd also emphasized that developing after-school programs “is not an issue that belongs to any one political party or special interest group.”

The co-chairman of the Children’s Caucus is Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.

Ensign is, Dodd acknowledged, a mirror image of himself.

“He is a very conservative Republican,” Dodd said. But Ensign is also a senator “who gets it,” and who is “a strong advocate” for children’s needs, Dodd added.

As they seek support for after-school programs, he told the delegates, “don’t forget anyone.”

Michele Doucette Cunningham, executive director of the After School Network, said Saturday’s conference “is the largest we have ever had.”

There is, Doucette Cunningham said, a need for after-school programs at every level, from kindergarten through high school.

And, just as every age group needs such programs, “every corner of the state needs it,” too, she said.

The key, she suggested, is to build awareness of the need, which in turn can build support for funding and thus the creation of more programs.