Affordable after-school care is in high demand in Connecticut, but spaces are limited.
“There's certainly a lot more demand than there is space for kids,” said Michelle Doucette Cunningham, executive director of the Connecticut Network for Children and Youth.
“For every one child in a program, there's three more waiting to be in a program that just can't find accessible, affordable care,” she told Connecticut Public’s “Where We Live.”
Across the state, it’s parents who pick up the majority of all child care expenses. But Cunningham said federal and state funding also play a role. Each year, the state spends $5.7 million on after-school programs, she said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, that number received a boost from federal funding. The state promised to dedicate an extra $11 million of federal money on summer programs and additional $11 million on after-school programs to be used throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
But now, a lot of that federal money is going away, Cunningham said.
“Unless there’s room to replace that, there’s going to be even less capacity going forward,” Cunningham said.
In the absence of federal and state funds, it’s fundraising and grants that allow many after-school and summer camp programs to maintain affordable options for families.
But Cunningham said there are two major areas that remain an issue: transportation home from after-school programs and additional support for children with special education needs.
“If you need a one on one paraeducator during the day, you probably need one after school,” Cunningham said. However, “there is no additional funding for students who have extra needs like that, and they can often really benefit from participating in these programs.”
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Connecticut Public's Catherine Shen contributed to this report.
