Afterschool or latchkey programs provide professional care for youngsters while building confidence among students and parents. This article describes three program options: site-based, centralized, and outsider programs. Before proceeding, principals must discover parents' expectations, consider available facilities, obtain trained staff, and…

The author documents development of the After-School Care Program in the Dade County School System and assesses the extent to which its clients agreed on the goals, staff, program, supplies, and facilities based on a survey of parents. Recommendations are included. (CH)

Currently at least 5 million children--some estimates are as high as 15 million--are left unsupervised before or after school for 3 or more hours a day. In response to the problems of these latchkey children, many public schools are now developing some form of school-based or school-related before- and after-school child care programs. The purpose…

Noting the need for parents, schools, and community members to work together to meet the needs of unsupervised adolescents during after-school hours, this practicum was designed to address those needs in one middle school. Lack of adolescent after-school supervision was documented by means of a parent interest survey distributed to parents of…

Information and materials are presented to aid in the development of an after school program for latchkey children. An introduction describes the program that served as the basis for this manual and that provided this community service while giving hands-on learning experience to high school vocational child development and child care students.…

The Madison Local School District offers guidelines for developing and implementing an independently financed, after-school enrichment program for latchkey children in rural areas. The district, located 40 miles from Cleveland, Ohio, borders on Lake Erie. Sections of the guide concern: (1) program development; (2) establishment of the environment;…

This manual details the events which led to the opening, in April, 1986, of the Cleveland (Ohio) Public Schools' Family Life After-School Program for urban latchkey children. Sections of the manual concern: (1) assessment of need; (2) resource inventory; (3) community input; (4) planning; (5) program design; (6) site selection; (7) program size;…

Discusses the need for extended-day programs for latchkey children and describes several existing programs, including cooperative ventures between school and public libraries. Strategies for the development of afterschool programs by media specialists are recommended. (MES)

Provided are guidelines for developing and implementing a before- and after-school child care program for elementary school students in suburban areas. Guidelines are based on the experience of Ohio's Groveport-Madison Local School District. Contents concern: (1) the process of establishing need; (2) the process of laying the groundwork; (3) first…

This report describes a before- and after-school program for children in prekindergarten through grade 5, implemented at a rural elementary school. The feasibility of the program was evaluated by a survey conducted at a Parent Teacher Association meeting. Because it has become more common for both parents to work outside the home, the number of…

Various agencies are attempting to meet the needs of latchkey children through programs run by parent alliances, community organizations, social service agencies, youth groups, schools, businesses, churches, and private day care centers. Studies of latchkey children during the past 15 years have concentrated on measuring the effects of self-care…

This report on young adolescents 10 to l5 years old, who are on their own from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. discusses after-school programs, barriers to providing a broader array of programs, and strategies for decision making about after-school opportunities for latchkey children. Explored are the nature and extent of the problem, its multiple causes and…

A framework for gaining community involvement in planning for school-age child care initiatives is reported. The framework incorporates a plan than could be used as a model for the involvement of the public school system. Four primary components are described: (1) a "Kids' Council" Saturday meeting in which third graders in school-age…

Recognizing the importance of and need for high quality after-school care for 5- to 14-year-olds, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration commissioned a set of 9 School Age Care Technical Assistance Papers discussing the steps in designing high quality programs. This two-videotape set, based on those papers, provides guidance to…