The recent arrest of a South Carolina mother for letting her daughter play in a nearby park while she was at work illustrates the lack of options for parents in need of affordable care and learning programs for their children while at work, particularly for parents working low-wage, part-time jobs.
The Afterschool Alliance polled parents nationwide this past spring and found that 33 percent reported having sent at least one child to a summer learning program last year. This figure is a jump from 25 percent in 2009, the last time the Afterschool Alliance conducted the survey.
About half of parents surveyed reported that they would want their child to participate in a learning program this summer if a high-quality program were available.
Despite growing demand, the survey found that the average cost of programs was $250 per child per week, which puts summer care out of reach for far too many families and raises concerns about equitable access to these programs.
Parks and libraries are often the child-care programs of last resort for families without good options for summer child care.
In addition to concerns about the safety of children over the summer while their parents are at work, summer provides expansive hours that can be used for learning and enrichment to spark interest in learning, support grade-level reading and help children explore and develop their talents and interests.
I encourage Ohio communities to work together to create better options for children and their families by investing in sufficient high-quality and affordable summer care and learning programs.
Ohio Afterschool Network