The Afterschool Alliance's fourth edition of "America after 3PM" provides a detailed accounting of the circumstances and conditions of U.S. children during the hours of 3 to 6 p.m. and compares afterschool program participation and unmet demand statistics for 2020 with results from 2004, 2009, and 2014. It identifies trends in…

"America after 3PM" began in 2004, precisely because of the absence of reliable data about such topics. That year, the Afterschool Alliance set out to fill the information gap, conducting what was at that point the most in-depth study on how children spend their time after school. The 2014 "America after 3PM" edition spans a…

For many adults in America, thinking about the hours after the school day ends conjures up memories of doing homework, playing pick-up basketball, taking guitar or dance lessons or going home to Mom and a snack. But for millions of children today, those images are nothing like their reality. In fact, each day in America, some 15 million…

Most employed parents, many in dual-earner couples, are at work when their children get out of school, generating parental concerns about children's welfare after school. Parental concerns are hypothesized to be related to respondent and partner work hours, respondent schedule control, and child's unsupervised time and to give rise to job…

Self care is one of the options for parents in need of after school care for their children. In certain studies self care is seen as detrimental to development and academic performance, but in other studies children do fairly well notwithstanding their latchkey situation--self care could teach young people a sense of personal responsibility and…

As childhood obesity has increased, schools have struggled with their role in this epidemic. Parents with a school-age child in a suburban latchkey program were surveyed regarding their perceptions of childhood obesity, body mass index, and the school's role in prevention and treatment of obesity. More than 80% of participants identified…

Reviews existing research on the characteristics and consequences of after-school child care arrangements. Addresses three questions: (1) what effect does adult-supervised versus unsupervised after-school care situations have on children; (2) what factors are associated with working parents' decisions to use such arrangements; (3) and what…

Hawaii's executive branch initiated on February 1, 1990, a large-scale plan to relieve the problem of "latch key children" with an afterschool supervised program. Since the legislature had not appropriated funds to establish the program, the governor chose to finance it from monies paid by the United States as compensation for federally…

Although children left at home without adult supervision may function very well, studies have shown potential problems with self-care and latchkey children. This study investigated the attitudes of 30 employed parents in New York whose first or third grade children were regularly left home alone after school. The 20-question survey covered such…

The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of an after-school child care program on the academic and social development of children in grades one through five. The project had three objectives: (1) to measure and compare the academic achievement of the students before and after their enrollment in the program; (2) to evaluate the social…

An evaluation was made of the PhoneFriend program at State College, Pennsylvania--an after-school phone-in service designed as a "friend-in-need" outreach service for children 5 through 13 years of age. The evaluation specifically investigated the extent to which PhoneFriend provided information and support to children at home alone after school…

A survey on the need for school-age child care in Boston was conducted as part of a Parents United for Child Care (PUCC) campaign to increase the supply of child care and after-school programs for children between the ages of 5 and 14. The survey was distributed in May, 1989 to 4,913 families with elementary school children at 10 Boston Public…

Rural, urban, and suburban parents of 447 children were surveyed to determine patterns of children's self-care. Sixteen children received simulated telephone calls and package deliveries while they were in self-care. Results indicate these children were at risk: vulnerable to individuals from the outside. Questions to be addressed by subsequent…

Presents background information and reviews empirical research concerning the phenomenon of latchkey children. (Author/BB)

This school-age child care needs assessment was administered in September 1989 in Prince Georges County (Maryland) Public Schools special education centers and schools with special education wings. Disabilities among the 853 children attending the seven schools responding to the survey were mental retardation, orthopedic disabilities, and…