While Oklahoma Parents Give Afterschool Programs High Marks, New Household Survey Finds Huge Unmet Demand for Afterschool in the State

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Many more Oklahoma parents want afterschool programs for their children than are able to access them, according to a household survey commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance and released today. It finds that, by overwhelming margins, parents express strong, broad-based support for afterschool programs. But unmet demand – the percentage of children in Oklahoma not currently in an afterschool program whose parents say they would be enrolled if an afterschool program were available to them – has increased over the past six years, with low-income families in particular citing cost as a barrier to enrolling their children. As a result, for every child in an afterschool program in Oklahoma today, four more are waiting to get in.

America After 3PM 2020 is based on survey responses from more than 30,000 American households, including 578 in-depth interviews in Oklahoma. It was completed before the coronavirus pandemic struck. It finds that 9% of Oklahoma students, 61,908 children and youth in all, are enrolled in afterschool programs, down from 11% in 2014, when the survey was last conducted. In addition, 276,280 Oklahoma students are without the afterschool programs their parents say they need today.

"Afterschool providers and advocates in Oklahoma are doing remarkable work, but the state is still not coming close to meeting the demand for these programs," said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant. "Most parents in the state who want their child in a program can't find one. We need to fix that. Every parent should have access to an affordable, quality afterschool program that will keep their child safe, supervised and learning."

"While we are incredibly pleased that parents express such strong support for the afterschool programs their children attend, we recognize the urgent need to broaden opportunity and make afterschool programs available to many more children and youth here in Oklahoma," said Brent Bushey, Leadership Team Member of the Oklahoma Partnership for Expanded Learning Opportunities. "America After 3PM 2020 finds that 94% of parents are satisfied with the afterschool program their child attends. We are also encouraged that 88% of Oklahoma parents express their support for public funding for afterschool programs." 

Read the full release here, http://afterschoolalliance.org/press_archives/AA3PM-2020/OK-AA3PM-2020-NR.pdf.

SOURCE Afterschool Alliance