A new household survey reveals an enormous, yet largely unmet, demand for afterschool programs across Florida, with three in four parents who want them for their children unable to enroll them. The study, America After 3PM, commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance, highlights that cost, accessibility, and unavailability are the primary barriers shutting out over a million families.
While nearly all Florida parents (93%) whose children are enrolled in afterschool programs rate the quality as “excellent” or “very good,” the barriers are pushing these highly-rated opportunities out of reach for a significant portion of the state’s families.
The study, based on interviews with 1,784 Florida parents, finds that the parents of 2,000,955 Florida children want afterschool programs, but only 527,771 children are currently enrolled. This leaves 1,473,184 children without the programs their parents desire.
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“Parents recognize that programs in Florida are doing outstanding work,” said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant. “In Florida and across the country, afterschool programs are giving students a safe place to go after the school day ends, boosting their academic achievement, helping address the youth mental health and chronic absenteeism crises… Every child deserves access to a quality afterschool program but sadly, this study shows we’re far from reaching that goal.”
The survey points to a clear need for increased support:
- Cost is the Biggest Barrier: 56% of Florida parents whose child is not in a program cite cost as a major factor preventing enrollment.
- Accessibility Issues: Other major barriers include a lack of safe transportation (49% of non-participating parents) and inconvenient program locations (48%).
- Overwhelming Support for Funding: More than 9 in 10 Florida parents favor public funding for afterschool opportunities. Support is high across the nation, with 89% of all surveyed parents favoring public funding.
Parents widely acknowledge the benefits, agreeing that afterschool programs keep children safe and out of trouble (78%), provide opportunities to learn life skills like responsible decision-making (85%), and help children become more excited about learning (75%).
The programs are also crucial for Florida’s workforce, with 84% of parents agreeing these opportunities allow them to keep their jobs or work more hours, and 88% reporting that the programs boost their productivity at work.
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“This study is an urgent call to action to Florida and federal leaders to increase funding and capacity, so all families will be able to access afterschool programs,” said Lili Murphy, Executive Director of Florida After School. She noted that Florida is a “Top Ten state for participation” but stressed, “When 1,473,184 Florida children whose parents want them to be in afterschool programs are not, it’s clear we have more work to do.”
The national America After 3PM study, which surveyed over 30,515 U.S. parents, found that nationally the parents of 29.6 million children want programs but only 7 million are enrolled. The highest unmet demand for afterschool programs in the U.S. is concentrated among children in low- and middle-income families.
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