Characteristics of After-School Programs or Care Arrangements

Parents of sampled students in kindergarten through eighth grade were asked to report on characteristics of after-school programs or care arrangements. Those characteristics include, but are not limited to, the number of adults and the number of children in the room or group with the student, the types of activities the student participates in while at a care arrangement, and the location of the school- or center-based care arrangement.

• For students in kindergarten through eighth grade, the average ratio of the number of children to the number of care providers was lower in after-school care with a relative than in nonrelative care (1.8 vs. 2.9 children per care provider) or in school- or center-based after-school programs (1.8 vs. 8.6 children per care provider) (table 8). Likewise, the child-to-care provider ratio was lower in nonrelative after-school care arrangements than in school- or center-based programs (2.9 vs. 8.6 children per care providers).
• Students in kindergarten through eighth grade were more likely to engage in educational activities (including homework, reading, or writing) when receiving after-school care from a relative than when receiving after-school care from a nonrelative (81 vs. 71 percent) or in a school- or center-based after-school care program (81 vs. 70 percent) (table 9). Also, a greater percentage of students participated in educational activities while in self-care than at a school- or center-based after-school program (76 vs. 70 percent).
• Students in kindergarten through eighth grade were more likely to attend a school- or center-based after-school program at a public school (61 percent) than at a church or other place of worship (9 percent), private school (10 percent), community center (8 percent), a program in its own building (15 percent), or any other location (5 percent) (table 10).