Children who are left unsupervised after school have higher absentee rates, perform lower on academic tests, and are more likely to use alcohol and tobacco. Funding for school-age programs has decreased dramatically. Before 1997, Connecticut spent a little over 1 million State and Federal dollars on school-age programs. There are few specialized training opportunities available for school-age providers. Because of split-shift requirements and low pay, it is difficult to recruit new programs and providers.
Staff turnover remains high.
Incentives are needed to encourage new providers to work in school-age programs. Currently, many providers in school-age programs are college students working on degrees in education or recreation.