Here's a scary thought: 42,819 5-year-olds -- 1 percent of all kindergarteners -- are home taking care of themselves after school. The Afterschool Alliance reports that while most children are in the care of an adult after school, millions of elementary and secondary school kids spend an average of 7 hours a week caring for themselves. Only 11 percent are in after-school programs, though many more would participate if they could afford them or find suitable programs in their community.

The National Collaboration for Youth offers toolkits supporting the need for partnerships between schools and community-based organizations.

Coming home to an empty house—or at least one empty of adults—is a common experience for many school-aged children. Yet parents worry, with good reason, about the risks. This article from the September-October issue of Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children, looks at latch-key reality.

While Head Start primarily serves low-income preschool children ages 3-5, the Early Head Start program serves low-income infants and toddlers (birth to age three) and pregnant women. This brief describes the unique features of the Early Head Start program.

Looking for a good summer camp? Here's a list of lists compiled by the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities.

Summer programs that provide students with extra instructional time and remedial support can improve their performance, even those with the most to gain, according to this evaluation of Chicago's Summer Bridge program.

The National Collaboration for Youth has compiled the key findings on the impact of after-school programs, which show they are a cost-effective federal investment--boosting kids' achievement in school and keeping them safe and supervised while their parents work.

Testifying before the Senate committee considering funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers -- the major federal program for funding after-school programs -- Arnold Schwartzenegger said he used to feel that, "Everybody should pull themselves up by their bootstraps just like I did" but when he toured schools across the country he learned that "not everybody has boots. Many of our children are not getting the same foundation I did as a child."

The Forum for Youth Development argues that the 21st Century Community Learning Centers served as the flagship for a systematic approach to out-of-school youth programs. The use of the first-year evaluation to justify funding cuts would not only hurt this program, but could derail the momentum to create a system of out-of-school learning.

After the seed money runs out, out-of-school programs must scramble to stabilize their funding, especially in rural areas. This February 2003 Finance Project strategy brief describes federal programs that can support rural programs and identifies strategies that state and local leaders can use in rural communities.