The Potential Need For and Use of Out-of-School Time Care for School-Age Children in 2012 and 2019

School-age children need safe, supervised places to learn and grow during non-school hours while their parents and caregivers work. Beyond providing safety and supervision, participation in high-quality school-age child care programs offered before or after school, or during the summer, is associated with positive developmental outcomes for young people.^1,2

Yet, compared to child care and early education for children ages birth to 5 (and not yet in kindergarten), there has been relatively less nationally representative research on the availability and use of nonparental out-of-school time care for children ages 6 to 12. Based on the current analysis, there were approximately 27.9 million school-aged children in the United States in 2019, representing a substantial group of young people potentially in need of care.

This snapshot describes the potential need for out of-school time care for school-age children using the 2012 and 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE). Given past research has found differences in out-of-school time activity participation by race and ethnic background and income level,³ the prevalence of out-of-school time care among different demographic groups is also examined.

Although the data for this snapshot are from before the COVID-19 pandemic began, which led to widespread disruptions to families’ access to child care, the findings provide useful information about differences and declining trends in use of nonparental out-of-school time care arrangements among some subgroups of children that began prior to the pandemic.

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