Out-of-Pocket Expenses and Cost Assistance for Fees Associated With After-School Activities and Care Arrangements

Parents of sampled students in kindergarten through eighth grade were asked to report any out-of-pocket expenses associated with after-school care or programs and whether any financial assistance was received to help with expenses for those arrangements.

• The mean hourly out-of-pocket expense for students at or above the poverty threshold was greater than the hourly out-of-pocket expense for those below the poverty threshold for after-school care with a nonrelative ($10.15 vs. $4.43) and after-school care at a school- or center-based program ($7.57 vs. $4.50) (table 5).
• For students in kindergarten through eighth grade for whom there was an out-of-pocket expense, the mean weekly out-of-pocket expense was greater for students in nonrelative care than for those in school- or center-based care. Specifically, the average weekly cost for nonrelative care was $67.83, compared to $40.12 for school- or center-based programs (table 6).
• Students living in two-parent families were less likely to receive assistance with expenses for after-school arrangements than were students who lived in one-parent families (11 percent vs. 35 percent) or those who lived with nonparent guardians (11 percent vs. 59 percent) (table 7).