While Parents in the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta Region Give Afterschool Programs High Marks, New Household Survey Finds Huge Unmet Demand for Afterschool in the Region

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Many more Arkansas-Mississippi Delta region 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 the region not currently in an afterschool program whose parents say they would be enrolled if a program were available to them – is high, with families citing cost as a barrier to enrolling their children. As a result, for every child in an afterschool program in the Delta region today, three more are waiting to get in.

America After 3PM 2020 is based on survey responses from more than 30,000 American households, with 157 Delta region households and 276 children screened. It finds that 15% of Delta region students, 13,426 children and youth in all, are enrolled in afterschool programs, while more than 35,000 students in the region are without the afterschool programs their parents say they need.

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

"It is great news that 89% of parents in the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta region are satisfied with their child's afterschool program, and that 93% of parents support public funding for afterschol programs. Still, we recognize the need to make these essential programs available to all children and youth in the Delta region," stated Arkansas Out of School Network Director, Laveta Wills-Hale. "Students and families need afterschool programs now more than ever, because the pandemic has disrupted school schedules, destabilized our economy, and placed unprecedented numbers of children and youth at risk. That's why we are calling on policymakers, business leaders and advocates to help us ensure afterschool programs are available to additional Delta region families right away." 

Read the complete release at http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/press_archives/aa3pm-2020/Ark-Mississippi-Delta-Region-AA3PM-2020-NR.pdf.

SOURCE Afterschool Alliance