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BY REQUEST...
JANUARY 1999
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Historical Perspective
In the United States, the first out-of-home, after-school care programs for school-age children were offered by private charities and nurseries around the turn of the century (Seppanen, 1993). Gradually new ideas in education led private schools to begin offering arts and crafts and other recreational activities to their students after school. These first after-school programs were called "play school" and spread across the country during the 1920's and 1930's as the population continued to move from rural to urban areas of the country. In the midst of the Great Depression the federal government started funding after-school programs as part of the effort to create jobs for both women and men. The government's support of after-school programs dramatically increased during World War II as many women entered the workforce to support the war effort.
During the war years, nearly 3,000 extended-day school programs served over 100,000 school-age children, and 835 school-age child-care centers served another 30,000, along with several hundred combined school-age/nursery child-care programs (Seligson et al., 1983). After the war, many working women returned to their homes, and the federal government's support of after-school programs dwindled. In a few urban areas state and local governments funded after-school programs, but these efforts were not widespread.
In the 1970s demographics in the United States once again began to shift. The 1993 National Study of Before- and After-School Programs by Seppanen and her colleagues highlighted four demographic shifts in the United States that affected and continue to influence the number of students needing after-school care. All four of these changes (listed below) have increased most dramatically since the early 1970s.
- Growth in the number of young children as the baby boom cohort has begun to reproduce (often referred to as the "baby boom echo")
- A sharp increase in the employment of mothers with young children
- An increase in the proportion of single-parent families
- A decrease in the number of extended family members available locally to care for school-age children during nonschool hours
In response to these shifts, the federal government increased its support for after-school programs. A 1994 report on after-school programs shows that many departments of the government support a variety of programs with after-school, or potential after-school, components (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1994). The Department of Agriculture, for example, has developed the 4-H program to assist youth in acquiring knowledge, developing life skills, and becoming self-directed, productive, contributing members of society. In 1991 approximately 5.7 million five- to 19-year-olds and 650,000 teen and adult volunteers participated in 4-H programs. Current research is demonstrating that 4-H can be an effective program in a variety of settings. A 1996 study of seven- to 13-year-olds participating in urban 4-H programs found that over 85 percent felt their 4-H program helped to keep them out of gangs (Fleming-McCormick & Tushnet, 1996).
Another federal department that actively sponsors after-school programs is the Department of Defense, which has established 481 "Youth Centers" around the world. At these Youth Centers, comprehensive programs and services are provided to over 950,000 six- to 18-year-olds. Though both 4-H programs and the Youth Centers have a major impact on the lives of certain populations of students, the current level of support for after-school programs is still far from meeting the need that exists.
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© 2001
Date of Last Update: 09/19/2001
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