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.
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Uncertain Times 2012: Afterschool Programs Still Struggling in Today's Economy This is the third installment of the Uncertain Times series, which assesses the impacts of economic conditions on afterschool programs. Based on 1,012 survey responses, this report finds that afterschool programs are struggling to meet the needs of children and families in their communities as they face shrinking resources and dismal prospects for new support. Hardest hit are programs serving disadvantaged communities—the very population that has the most to gain from afterschool and summer programs. |
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Two Decades of 21st Century Community Learning Centers: Providing afterschool and summer opportunities to millions of young people and families (February 2021) The 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) initiative supports local afterschool, before-school, and summer learning programs serving students attending high-poverty, low-performing schools. Since the start of the initiative in 1994, 21st CCLC programs have grown and evolved—funding, demand, and the number of students served has increased, as well as what programs offer. Today, programs support whole-child development by providing a safe and supervised space for youth to take part in various enrichment activities ranging from service learning to physical fitness and health, explore their interests, build key life skills, and connect with positive adult mentors. This issue brief explores the history of the initiative and the program’s evolution over its 25 years, while highlighting the importance of 21st CCLC programs and the breadth of work that they do.
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Top 10 States for Afterschool (Oct 2014) This report highlights the top 10 states in afterschool programming and provides data supporting these rankings. Top 10 States for Afterschool is presented as part of third edition of America After 3PM, which spans a decade of household survey data chronicling how children spend the hours between 3 and 6 p.m. |
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Thriving in Afterschool: Promoting Healthy Futures for Young People (June 2021) Afterschool and summer enrichment programs have been a consistent source of support to young people and families who are juggling remote school or work, dealing with the health and economic stressors created by the pandemic, and managing the toll that COVID-19 is taking on their mental health and overall well-being. Throughout 2020 and into 2021, afterschool and summer learning programs have risen to meet the needs of their students and families, finding ways to support them as the nation continues to navigate the short- and long-term effects of the pandemic. Health and Wellness |
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This is Afterschool: Helping Kids Reach Their Full Potential (June 2019) From birth through young adulthood, our brains are continuously developing: brain pathways grow stronger, information is processed more rapidly, and we build more complex connections that enable more complex thinking. Children and youth need continued support throughout this development. Reaching 10.2 million children and youth, afterschool and summer learning programs are a part of the continuum of supports that promote learning and foster healthy development. |
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This is Afterschool: Building Workforce Skills and Inspiring Future Careers (June 2019) Afterschool and summer learning programs provide students—from elementary to high school—with a ladder of supports that help them reach their full potential, offering a step up to discover who they are and what they love to do. From building foundational skills to opening students’ eyes to potential career pathways to providing opportunities to gain real work experience, afterschool programs are helping prepare young people for the jobs of tomorrow. |
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This is Afterschool STEM (2019) Jobs in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields power our economy and build shared prosperity among our society. Investing in afterschool and summer STEM learning programs will help students explore their interests, build skills, connect with mentors, and prepare for jobs in growing fields like health care, information technology, and cybersecurity. |
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This is Afterschool Fact Sheet (March 2020) After the school day ends, 1 in 5 kids across America are alone and unsupervised. These hours—from 2 to 6 p.m.—are the peak time for juvenile crime according to a 2019 report by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national organization of law enforcement leaders. Afterschool programs turn that time of risk into opportunity, keeping kids safe and helping them realize their full potential. Across the county, afterschool programs are inspiring learning, providing safety, promoting smart choices, and supporting working parents. |
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This is Afterschool (May 2022) This fact sheet includes data points on how afterschool and summer programs are accelerating students' learning and growth, promoting healthy futures, and providing peace of mind to working parents. Despite programs being vital partners in supporting students’ well-being and academic growth, too many kids are being left out. 21st CCLC Summer Learning |
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Then and Now: A Retrospective on the Afterschool in the Time of Covid-19 Survey Series - Waves 1-9 (July 2023) Over the course of the past three years, the U.S. has gone through a tumultuous time, from statewide stay-at-home orders in March 2020 to the recent end of the national and public health emergency declarations. We are grateful to the afterschool community for being generous with their time and responding to our series of surveys in the midst of this challenging time. This dashboard provides an overview of the afterschool field’s changing landscape as it responded to the immediate needs of the children and families they served. Surveys |
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The Afterschool Alliance is working to ensure that all children have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs. Afterschool programs are critical to children and families today, yet the need for programs is far from being met. Learn more
