Afterschool in the time of COVID-19: Barriers to afterschool and summer participation

Unmet demand for afterschool and summer learning programs and other barriers to access are impacting parents and families across the country, though some families are facing more barriers than others. Inequities exist, with unmet demand and barriers to participation being greater among communities of color and families with low incomes.

In this blog, we’re taking a closer look at barriers that families face when accessing afterschool and summer programs through our new survey of almost 1,500 parents, caregivers, or guardians of school-aged children across the country, administered by Edge Research from May 12 to June 28, 2022.

• Children of color are more likely to be balancing other obligations after school:
   
  • Among parents without a child in an afterschool program, approximately 4 in 10 Black parents (39 percent) and more than 1 in 3 Hispanic/Latinx parents (34 percent) shared that an important factor in their decision not to enroll their child in a program is that their child has other commitments like caring for younger siblings or working after school hours, as opposed to 27 percent of White parents.
     
• Low-income families reported concerns around the availability and cost of programs:
   
  • Almost 4 in 10 parents in the lowest income bracket without a child in an afterschool program (39 percent) shared that afterschool programs being too expensive was an extremely important reason why they didn’t enroll their child in a program as opposed to 29 percent of parents in the highest income percentile. This trend continued for summer learning, with more than half (54 percent) of parents in the lowest income bracket sharing they were concerned about expenses when asked about summer programming, as opposed to 28 percent of parents in the highest income bracket. Additionally, one-third of parents (33 percent) in the lowest income bracket shared they were concerned about not knowing what summer programs were available for their children as opposed to 7 percent of parents at the highest income bracket.
     
• COVID-19 has impacted families, especially moms:
   
  • More than half of parents surveyed with children in afterschool programs (56 percent) shared that “the economic conditions created by the pandemic made it difficult for me to currently afford placing my children in an afterschool program.”
     
  • These challenges have been amplified even more for mothers during the pandemic, whether they are working or not. According to Pew Research, moms of children ages 5 to 12 have spent more time on secondary care, defined as “supervising their children while doing other things, such as working, doing chores or watching television” which increased by over two hours in 2020, to an average of over eight hours a day, and slightly dipped to an average of over seven hours a day in 2021. Afterschool Alliance’s survey found that working moms with a child in an afterschool program were more likely to agree that their child’s program allows them to keep their job or work more hours, compared to parents overall (91 percent vs. 86 percent). Unfortunately, our team found that among working moms without a child in an afterschool program, 46 percent shared an important reason they did not enroll their child in an afterschool program is that the hours of operation do not meet their needs.
     
  • Learn more about challenges for moms and working parents in the previous blog in this series.
     
• Waiting lists varies by region:
   
  • We found that only 5 percent of parents in the Midwest with a child in an afterschool program had to put them on a waiting list, while 31 percent in the West, 24 percent in the Northeast, and 21 percent in the South had to wait.

These barriers are coupled with growing recognition of the benefits of afterschool. Parents, caregivers, and guardians nationwide recognize the value of afterschool, with more than 8 in 10 parents (83 percent)  agreeing that afterschool allows working parents to keep their jobs and keep kids safe and out of trouble (82 percent). Yet, our findings show that lack of access to high-quality afterschool programs and other barriers prevent all children across the country from being a part of afterschool. A recent charge from the Department of Education could change that, with Secretary Cardona and partners launching the Engage Every Student Initiative, which is a call to action to give every student who wants to participate access to a high-quality out-of-school time program.

This is the third in our series taking a closer look at our parent survey results, read more about differences in results for working parents or rural, suburban, and urban communities. And access all of our COVID-19 parent and provider survey work. Stay tuned for the next blog in the series on health and wellness.