America After 3PM: Top 10 States for Afterschool

On October 15, I traveled to Dallas, Texas with Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant to celebrate the release of the America After 3PM “Top 10 States for Afterschool”. We were joined in Texas, one of the states that made the list of top ten states, by Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, Chief of Police David Kunkle and a host of afterschool participants and advocates from the local YMCA and Dallas AfterSchool Network at Peak Preparatory School for the release of America After 3PM state data.

Nearly 1,500 miles away in New York City, another release event was occurring to highlight the work being done in each of the fifty states to improve the quality and accessibility of afterschool programs at the Elias Howell School in Manhattan.  At the event, leaders from across the state of New York including NYS Deputy Secretary of Education Duffy Palmer; John Albert, Vice President, External Relations and Lucy Friedman President at TASC; Janice Molnar, Deputy Commissioner, Division of Child Care Services at OCFS and Chris Caruso, Assistant Commissioner, NYC DYCD spoke on the value of afterschool programs and children from the Abundant Waters afterschool program displayed their talents.

Both events were well-attended by the local media, and afterschool leaders from every state were excited to receive the state breakdowns of the America After 3PM data, which will be a very valuable advocacy tool for the future. The overlying message that each state, including those in the top ten, can take away from the study is that while there have been some advancements in afterschool program care since the release of the last America After 3PM study in 2004, there is still so much work that needs to be done to meet the growing need and demand for afterschool programming.

Though the “Top 10 States for Afterschool” in 2009 still have some work to do, these states have some of the lowest rates of self-care combined with the highest rates of afterschool participation and satisfaction. This all adds up to a winning combination for children, families and communities in these “Top 10 States for Afterschool”:

1. Hawaii
2. Arizona
3. New York
4. California
5. New Jersey
6. Virginia
7. New Mexico
8. Florida
9. Texas
10. North Carolina

Check out the more on the America After 3PM study.

Chris D'Agostino is Research Associate at the Afterschool Alliance. Bio.