The Afterschool Alliance, sponsored by the JCPenney Afterschool Fund, recently contracted with RTi to conduct a national survey of more than 30,000 households to find out how and where America’s children and youth spend their afternoons once the regular school day ends. The findings for Vermont are summarized below:

• 41% (41,394) of Vermont’s K-12 children are responsible for taking care of themselves after school. These children spend an average of 9 hours per week unsupervised after school.
• 20% (20,239) of Vermont’s K-12 children participate in afterschool programs. On average, afterschool participants spend 5 hours per week in afterschool programs. Participation averages 2 days per week.
• Other care arrangements include traditional child care centers (12%), sibling care (11%) and non-parental adult care, such as a grandparent or neighbor (18%).
• 92% of Vermont parents are satisfied with the afterschool program their child attends.
• Vermont parents cited convenient location (69%), child enjoyment (67%) and affordability (67%) as their top three reasons for selecting an afterschool program.
• 89% of adults surveyed in Vermont agree that there should be “some type of organized activity or place for children and teens to go after school every day that provides opportunities to learn” and 84% support public funding for afterschool programs.

About America After 3PM

In Vermont, 256 households were surveyed for this study. Among those households, 24 percent qualified for free or reduced price lunch, 1 percent was Hispanic and 1 percent was African-American. According to U.S. Department of Education data from 2005-2006, the total school enrollment in Vermont is 101,706, which is the foundation for all statewide projections in Vermont After 3PM.

America After 3PM was sponsored by the JCPenney Afterschool Fund. Between March and May 2009, 29,754 parents/guardians responded to survey questions about their after school child care arrangements during the 2008-2009 school year. RTi, a market research firm, conducted the survey and analyzed the data for the Afterschool Alliance. Additional information from America After 3PM is available at the Afterschool Alliance.