New Household Survey: Support Among Parents is Strong
But Unmet Demand for Afterschool Programs in the State is High
Connecticut is failing to keep pace with the rest of New England and the nation on participation in afterschool, according to a new household survey commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance. The 2014 edition of America After 3PM found that demand for afterschool programs in Connecticut far exceeds supply; the number of children in Connecticut who would be enrolled in an afterschool program if one were available is greater than the number of children enrolled in afterschool programs. The household survey also finds that the vast majority of parents of children in afterschool programs in Connecticut see significant benefits from their children’s participation.
The America After 3PM survey included 30,000 American households and 213 in-depth interviews in Connecticut. It found that 17 percent of Connecticut students, 99,710 children in all, are enrolled in afterschool programs, down from 18 percent in 2009, when the survey was last conducted. But 109,150 Connecticut students are still without adult supervision in the afternoons. The parents of 213,766 Connecticut children not already in an afterschool program say they would enroll their child if a program were available.
“Afterschool providers and advocates in the state are working tirelessly to provide quality afterschool programs to as many children and families as resources will allow,” said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant. “But Connecticut has a lot of work ahead if it’s to keep up with other states, and even more if it is to provide all children with the afterschool opportunities they need. Most parents in the state who want their child in a program can’t find one, and that needs to change. Every child who is unsupervised after school is a child potentially at risk. Quality afterschool programs keep kids safe, inspire them to learn, and help working families. Every Connecticut family that needs an afterschool program should have access to one.”
“The unfortunate reality is that afterschool programs in Connecticut reach only a fraction of the children and families who need them,” said Michelle Cunningham, Executive Director of the Connecticut After School Network. “That’s why we’re not keeping pace with the rest of the nation. We need to fix this, and that will require committing the resources necessary to grow afterschool programs and create the opportunities our children urgently need. We must make it a priority to turn these results around.”
For a two-page summary of the Connecticut data: /wp-content/uploads/PDFs/CT-AA3PM-2014-Fact-Sheet.pdf
Download the Connecticut news release here: /wp-content/uploads/PDFs/Connecticut NR FINAL.pdf
For a full look at the Connecticut findings from this survey, please visit the Afterschool Alliance website here: http://afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM/detail.html#s/CT/demand/p_of_children_in_programs_2014