COVID Funding & Recovery Resources | Accessing American Rescue Funds

Afterschool Alliance Research

Informing providers, advocates, and policymakers for 20 years

Delve into our vast collection of research resources that show afterschool programs are keeping kids safe, inspiring learning, and helping working families across the country.

An integral component of Afterschool Alliance’s mission to ensure that all children have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs is research that assesses and examines the ways children spend their time during the afterschool hours, the opportunities afterschool programs provide the children and families in their communities, and the public support for these programs.

This section contains research materials the Afterschool Alliance has produced over the past 15 years. Find the resource that best fits your needs by searching by document type or by issue area. If you are interested in learning more about afterschool programs, explore Afterschool Essentials, or find out how many children are in afterschool programs by visiting the America After 3PM page. You can also search by issue topic and learn more about afterschool programs supporting young people in variety of areas and subjects, ranging from the arts to health and wellness to STEM.

Afterschool Essentials

Find valuable information that will help you make a strong case for afterschool.

America After 3PM

Spans a decade of data chronicling how children spend the hours between 3 and 6 p.m.

Fact Sheets

Fact sheets offer to-the-point information on a variety of key afterschool topics.

Issue Briefs

Issue briefs balance exploring topics in greater detail and delivering information in a succinct package.

Reports

Reports are the Afterschool Alliance’s longer, more in-depth research work.

Polling and Survey Data

Public views on afterschool, program provider surveys, and more.

Page 14 of 20

Recent Evaluations of 21st Century Community Learning Centers Illustrate Wide Range of Benefits (July 2023) This brief highlights a cross section of recently conducted statewide evaluations on 21st CCLC programs to illustrate the impacts of this initiative, which is accelerating academic growth, improving students' engagement in school and behavior in class, fostering well-being, and helping students thrive both in school and out. 21st CCLC	Download Featured
Recruiting and Retaining Older Youth in Afterschool (2009) The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the second of four issue briefs in this series examining critical issues facing older youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief highlights the importance of afterschool for older youth, the challenges providers face in recruiting and retaining older youth and the innovative strategies that programs have used to better serve older youth in afterschool.	Download
Resources Explore a variety of resources on afterschool based on your needs—from to-the-point fact sheets to more in-depth issue briefs and reports to public opinion research. Issue Briefs	Go to Resource
Roadmap to Afterschool for All (2009) With the Harvard School of Public Health and through support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the Atlantic Philanthropies, the Afterschool Alliance initiated the Roadmap to Afterschool for All, a scientific study assessing current investment in afterschool programs from the public sector, parents, foundations and businesses. The study also estimated the additional investment required to provide quality afterschool programs for all children. This study shows that funding of all types is insufficient, and the cost burden is falling heavily on parents, even among programs serving high-poverty children.	Read Resource
September 2000 Alliance Poll of California Voters September 2000 Alliance Poll of California Voters	Download
Service-Learning in Afterschool: Helping Students Grow and Communities Prosper (2011) The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third of four issue briefs in our fourth series examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief addresses the difference between community service and service-learning, discusses the benefits of service learning and outlines how afterschool programs are already promoting service learning.	Download
Snapshot of the African-American Community After 3PM (Oct 2009) The Afterschool Alliance is proud to present this fact sheet as part of the second edition of America After 3PM, which spans five years of household survey data chronicling how children spend the hours between 3 and 6 p.m. This fact sheet provides a snapshot of the African American community after 3PM, including a look at how many children are in afterschool programs, how many children remain unsupervised and the demand for more programming.	Download
Snapshot of the Hispanic Community After 3PM (Oct 2009) The Afterschool Alliance is proud to present this fact sheet as part of the second edition of America After 3PM, which spans five years of household survey data chronicling how children spend the hours between 3 and 6 p.m. This fact sheet provides a snapshot of the Hispanic community after 3PM, including a look at how many children are in afterschool programs, how many children remain unsupervised, and the demand for more programming.	Download
Spotlight on CT PDF	Download
Spotlight on Maine Spotlight on Maine, released in June 2008, examined the views of Maine's principals and found the vast majority agree that afterschool and summer programs are a necessity, but that funding is inadequate to meet the need for programs across the state.	Download