Survey: 70% of programs are still serving kids during COVID

For the past four months, I have heard stories from the field about the hardships afterschool program staff are seeing in their community and the creative ways they have adapted their programming to support the children and families they serve. From adjusting operations to serve children of essential workers to shifting resources to provide and deliver meals to families experiencing food insecurity, the stories have been a source of hope and inspiration during a time when we could all use more of that in our lives.

We also heard about the financial strain the pandemic has placed on programs. In our new survey of nearly 1,000 program providers, conducted May 28 through June 30, 84% report that they are concerned that they will not be able to provide services in the fall. Among the 45% of programs that report staff layoffs or furloughs, half report having to layoff or furlough more than 75% of their staff.  More than half of afterschool programs are unsure if the worst is over or yet to come.

In spite of the challenges, 70% of respondents report that they are serving students in some capacity, including serving youth remotely (60%), serving as a meals site or delivering meals (48%), or connecting families with community resources (47%). These numbers are even higher among 21^st CCLC programs and programs that serve more than 75% students from low-income families.

Right now, our afterschool and summer programs are more important than ever. As we look ahead to the fall and school re-openings, they will be a critical component of recovery to keep kids connected to and engaged in learning, while helping parents return to work. Increased investment at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as flexibility within funding streams to allow for programs to provide the supports most needed in their community, is paramount. Our survey found that programs that relied only on parent fees were almost twice as likely to be completely closed that programs overall (46% vs. 26%).

This survey is just one in a series of surveys the Afterschool Alliance will be conducting throughout the year to provide an up-to-date snapshot of our field. The second program provider survey in this series to examine the state of summer plans and how programs are faring this summer is now open.

As each day brings new challenges, and the status of plans are in a constant state of flux, collaboration between schools and programs are essential. In a recent blog post on school re-openings by Michael Funk, Director of the Expanded Learning Division at the California Department of Education, he wrote, “To actually be engaged in the collective process will require programs to be at the table with school district partners.” Although 62% of respondents shared that they are in conversations organized by the school district or schools about how to reopen schools in the fall, we are hopeful that this number will go up. To be helpful in those conversations, the Afterschool Alliance has released “A Blueprint for How Afterschool Programs & Community Partners Can Help.” Programs are a valuable resource in communities; now is the time to invest in them and bring them to the table to ensure that our kids emerge from this crisis strong, resilient, and hopeful.