Don't Neglect Care for School-Age Children

School-age children need before – and after – school care that keeps them safe and provides them with opportunities for extended learning. But states are beginning to scale back support for school-age care. While eligibility for federal child care assistance is open to children up to age 13, a number of Florida's Early Learning Coalitions, which administer the child care assistance program at the local level, have cut back on help for school-age children. Most recently, Pinellas County has decided to stop providing child care assistance to children in fourth grade and above. This leaves parents of about 635 school-age children scrambling to ensure that their children are safe after school. Unfortunately, these types of cuts are not unique to Florida. In California, 11- and 12-year-olds will no longer be eligible for assistance to help pay for after-school care between 3 pm and 6 pm unless they are disabled, homeless, or at risk of abuse.

If we want children to be successful in school and, at a more basic level, safe when their parents are at work, supportive after-school programs make sense, especially for our poorest youngsters. Supporters of these cuts argue that shrinking budgets must be focused on the needs of younger children, but they overlook the value of constructive after-school experiences as well as the potential dangers for the 10- to 12-year-olds left alone. These children are often not ready to take care of themselves or their younger siblings. Research shows that children left unsupervised in the hours right after school are more likely to engage in risky behavior such as drug use, sexual activity, and juvenile crime than their peers who participate in after-school programs. It also shows that after-school services increase children’s interest in school and enhance their social skills.

"I think we are going to end up with kids being left at home or even worse, looking after younger siblings," Pinellas County Early Learning Coalition board member and acting Juvenile Welfare Board chair Martha Lenderman told the St. Petersburg Times.

States and communities should not be pitting early education for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who need a strong start against after-school care for school-age children who need safe places to go and engaging activities at the end of the school day. States and communities need to invest in both our youngest children and our older children to help them thrive.