Choose from a variety of reports that present evaluation data on afterschool, recent afterschool developments and research on how states and afterschool programs are dealing with tough budget times.  Click on the links below to read the reports.

MetLife Innovator Awards

With support from MetLife Foundation, the Afterschool Alliance has published this compilation of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing older youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues.

Released in June, Uncertain Times 2009 finds that just as children in their communities need more help, afterschool program leaders across the country say they are being forced to increase fees and reduce staffing, activities and hours to cope with budget cuts and rising costs. Nearly all respondents to a survey of afterschool programs (95 percent) say the recession is affecting their communities, with 60 percent seeing more kids going hungry or families struggling to provide food for children, and half seeing increased homelessness. Yet afterschool programs are unable to provide as much help as children need because their budgets are down. Eighty-six percent of respondents say children in their communities need afterschool care and are unable to access it.

With the Harvard School of Public Health and support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the Atlantic Philanthropies, the Afterschool Alliance initiated the Roadmap to Afterschool for All  a scientific study that for the first time assesses the current investment in afterschool programs from the public sector, parents, foundations and businesses, and estimates the additional investment needed from each sector to provide quality afterschool programs for all children. The research shows that parents are paying the lions share of afterschool costs, even among programs serving high poverty children, and that funding of all types is insufficient.

The past year presented the afterschool community with many obstacles, most notably the economic crises, but also many opportunities for growth. The year 2008 saw the celebration of ten years of 21st CCLC, one of the largest Lights On Afterschool rallies ever was held, and the Afterschool Alliance published the stories of so many whose lives have been transformed by afterschool in America's Afterschool Storybook.

The Afterschool Alliance has updated its, "Evalulations Backgrounder: A Summary of Formal Evaluations of Afterschool Programs." The update includes new data from ongoing evaluations of Citizen Schools, as well as recently released evaluations of After School Matters, CORAL, a state level evaluation of New Hampshire programs, and findings from two meta-analysis studies and a large-scale quasi-experimental study conducted by Deborah Lowe Vandell, Elizabeth Reisner and Kim Pierce. (Updated July 2008)

The Afterschool Alliance has updated its "Evaluations Backgrounder: A Summary of Formal Evaluations of Afterschool Programs' Impact on Behavior, Safety and Family Life." The update includes new data from ongoing evaluations of Citizen Schools, as well as recently released evaluations of After School Matters, CORAL, LA's BEST, and more. Studies examining health benefits for students and families are also included. (Updated August 2008)

In 2007, funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers increased for the first time since 2002. New research and polls show enduring and far-reaching support. More community leaders and policy makers are pledging their support for afterschool, and new dedicated state level funding streams are cropping up across the country. These positive developments, and more, as well as critical challenges that remain, are discussed in "2007 Afterschool Year in Review." (January 2008)

With support from MetLife Foundation, the Afterschool Alliance has published "Afterschool Innovations in Brief," a compilation of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing children, schools and communities, and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. (May 2008)

A 2005 report on how states are addressing the federal failure to fully fund afterschool programs.

Funding Insecurity Puts Afterschool Programs at Risk - An August-September 2006 survey of more than 2000 afterschool programs examining issues related to funding and accessibility. Includes state level data where available.